Deploying an Excel application level VSTO add-in via ClickOnce
If you are new to VSTO deployment then this simple little screencast (just under 14 mins) may help. It covers the scenario of deploying an application level add-in via ClickOnce to a network share, and then the experience a user would have installing it.
TechEd 2008 – Session DEV320: Deploying VSTO v3 Applications
This is one of the demos Andrew Coates and I will be giving in our TechEd session (next Wed 3 Sep at 4pm for those interested).
In our session we cover all the security and trust issues around VSTO deployment (you can download an earlier version of the PowerPoint from Andrew’s blog here). We cover ClickOnce, MSI and SharePoint scenarios. However, we only have time to demo the ClickOnce and SharePoint scenarios. I’m planning on doing a screencast of the MSI process at a later stage (leave a comment if this is of interest to you).
Andrew and I had a practice run through last week, and I recorded the demo parts. The first demo is available now (below).
Screencast
You can view it a few ways.
- You can view the Vimeo hosted version (or see below), but be aware this is lower res.
- If you want the original 1024 x 768 resolution then click here to view it (Recommended!).
- You can also download the WMV file (16.1 MB).
Acknowledgements: Andrew came up with most of the examples, so if you find the demo helpful then chances are he’s the reason! And if there’s excessive woffle or mistakes, then that’d be my input :-)
Any comments?
I hope this helps.
I’m always keen to improve my demos and presentations. If you have any advice or feedback I’d love to hear it. In fact I might try to organise a little prize for the best bit of feedback… please leave comment against this post.
(UPDATE: Here’s the Deployment via SharePoint screencast)
Hi Craig,
First of all I want to tell you that your blog is excellent. Your first article, when you talk about vsot give me a understanding point. I’m really want to see the video of the deploy of a vsot add-in via clickOnce but the links are broken. Can you help me on this?
On the other hand, I’m thinking in add-in for Word , particularly in a toolbar with some text boxes, a combo-box or similar and a button. It is very important to know your opinion if it is possible to create an add-in like this one that works in Word 2003 and Word 2007 using Visual Studio 2005 with VSOT 2007 SE.
I will really appreciate your answer.
By the way, I’m from Uruguay and I have a Software Factory that you can check in the website.
Thanks and regards,
Juan
Hi Craig,
First of all I want to tell you that your blog is excellent. Your first article, when you talk about vsot give me a understanding point. I’m really want to see the video of the deploy of a vsot add-in via clickOnce but the links are broken. Can you help me on this?
On the other hand, I’m thinking in add-in for Word , particularly in a toolbar with some text boxes, a combo-box or similar and a button. It is very important to know your opinion if it is possible to create an add-in like this one that works in Word 2003 and Word 2007 using Visual Studio 2005 with VSOT 2007 SE.
I will really appreciate your answer.
By the way, I’m from Uruguay and I have a Software Factory that you can check in the website.
Thanks and regards,
Juan
Hi Juan,
Ahhh yes, the videos have been lost since SoapBox was closed down. I’ll see if I can find them and host them on another platform.
In terms of an Add-In for Word, you will need to create two add-ins – one for 2003 and the other for 2007. Whilst they can share a large part of the code base, they will need to have separate projects and installers. SE will allow you to do this, but I recommend upgrading to VS 2008 Professional or above it possible – the developer experience is much better.
Cheers,
Craig
Hi Juan,
Ahhh yes, the videos have been lost since SoapBox was closed down. I’ll see if I can find them and host them on another platform.
In terms of an Add-In for Word, you will need to create two add-ins – one for 2003 and the other for 2007. Whilst they can share a large part of the code base, they will need to have separate projects and installers. SE will allow you to do this, but I recommend upgrading to VS 2008 Professional or above it possible – the developer experience is much better.
Cheers,
Craig
Thanks very much for your answer, I ‘ll consider it.
Cheers, Juan
Thanks very much for your answer, I ‘ll consider it.
Cheers, Juan
Hi Juan,
I’ve uploaded the videos again now.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Craig
Hi Juan,
I’ve uploaded the videos again now.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Craig
Thanks for the video, it’s great to see how all this ties together and how deployment is closer to a web app upgrade. As a web app developer, deployment was always the primary reason for not going back to client app development. However, with ClickOnce, I am now revisiting client side solutions. The one issue I have now is the trust and signing configurations, I can’t seem to deploy to my clients because of the following error:
“System.Security.SecurityException: Customized functionality in this application will not work because the certificate used to sign the deployment manifest for MYExcelAddIn or its location is not trusted”
I am clueless when it comes to these things and was wondering if you could point me to a good resource that would help me figure this out? A screen cast like yours would be fantastic. Thanks a bunch!
When we update the addin, publish it. and when we open the excel, it just updates the addin. Is there any way to make it prompt “If you want to update”?
I think the point is to force out the updates. I’m not aware of how to make this optional for end users – although perhaps they will make that available in a future update.