This is a follow on from my overview of Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO). If you are interested in learning more then here’s a list of resources.
General VSTO resources
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MSDN VSTO Developer Portal
Start here. This is the best place to start in terms of getting up to speed with what is happening in the VSTO world. See also the MSDN Intro to VSTO. |
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MSDN Forums
This is where I learn most of the tips for coding with VSTO, simply by reading through what problems people are having and how they are being solved by experts like Cindy Meister and Sue Mosher. Cindy also has an excellent VSTO 2008 Resource List on the forum. |
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How Do I videos
I love this site. Steve Hansen and Ty Anderson do most of these excellent videos. Most videos are between 10 and 15 minutes long which makes them ideal for watching when you need a quick break. Highly recommended. |
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VSTO Blog
The Microsoft VSTO blog. Contributed to by a number of authors including Christin Boyd, Harry Miller, Mary Lee and Beth Massi, this is a useful (and sometimes entertaining!) resource. Make sure you watch Harry’s videos. |
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VSTO Code Gallery
Download code for a range of VSTO add-ins. Most come with documentation and each has a discussion thread for asking questions. This is where you’ll find the code samples for the VSTO MSI Installer walk-through. |
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Visual Studio Tools for Office videos
A collection of simple videos demonstrating key VSTO techniques. Make sure you also check out the MSDN section on VSTO architecture. |
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VSTO on Office Zealot
Office Zealot is a great resource for all things office, including VSTO. |
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Outlook Code
Since my focus is predominantly on Outlook 2007 add-ins this is a favourite site of mine. And make sure you check out the Forums – very helpful. This page alone is worth viewing, as it gives a comprehensive overview of VSTO and links to a number of references. The site is managed by the amazing Sue Mosher. |
VSTO related Blogs
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VSTO blog
As mentioned above the official Microsoft VSTO blog is well worth reading. |
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Andrew Whitechapel
An excellent resource that dives into the nitty-gritty of VSTO. |
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Eric Carter
Eric is a long time VSTO expert (and author). |
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John Durant
John blogs about VSTO, SharePoint and a whole bunch of Office related stuff. Aside: John is one of the most energetic presenters I’ve ever seen! |
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Nikhil Khandelwal
Nikhil covers a range of topics including VSTO and SharePoint workflow. |
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Misha Shneerson
A fantastic blog, especially covering setup and deployment. |
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Kristopher Makey
An excellent resource for deployment details. |
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Kathleen McGrath
Primarily a VB blog, but includes VSTO content as well. Kathleen wrote one of the first books I read on VSTO. |
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Steve Fox
More focused on OBA in general than VSTO specifically, but definitely one to keep on your regular blog reading list. |
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Andrew Coates
A Sydney based Developer Evangelist, Andrew often blogs about VSTO. I was fortunate enough to co-present with Andrew recently at TechEd on VSTO deployment. The demo videos are here and here. Andrew has a useful collection of deployment related resources here. |
Other VSTO blogs (that haven’t been updated lately regarding VSTO but are worth keeping an eye on) include: Chris Castillo, Ken Getz, Mike Hernandez, Tim Huckaby, Maurice, Maarten van Stam.
Have I missed something obvious? Please leave me a comment and I’ll add it to the list.
Craig, that’s a great list of resources! Thanks for the kind words about my site.
Craig, that’s a great list of resources! Thanks for the kind words about my site.
Hello Graig,
Setting my first steps in VSTO I indeed find this a welcome resource. Also the site
of Sue Mosher is one particularly of my liking. I am a strong believer of new ways of interconnecting businesses via Internet to bring unprecedented possiblities to businesses. Only not trying to get too overexcited from the new technologies but more tending towards the perspective of the business-owners to see and persuade and convince them what it can do for their business. Very interesting times I think.
Hello Graig,
Setting my first steps in VSTO I indeed find this a welcome resource. Also the site
of Sue Mosher is one particularly of my liking. I am a strong believer of new ways of interconnecting businesses via Internet to bring unprecedented possiblities to businesses. Only not trying to get too overexcited from the new technologies but more tending towards the perspective of the business-owners to see and persuade and convince them what it can do for their business. Very interesting times I think.
Craig — you rock!
Thanks for promoting the VSTO developer portal (http://msdn.com/vsto). We’re always improving the site (working on better navigation, UI, and learning content) so please pass along anything you’d like to see to make the site better. It’s still a work in progress.
Oh and you forgot to mention that you are one of our featured bloggers on the site, right on the home page ;-)
Thanks,
-Beth
Craig — you rock!
Thanks for promoting the VSTO developer portal (http://msdn.com/vsto). We’re always improving the site (working on better navigation, UI, and learning content) so please pass along anything you’d like to see to make the site better. It’s still a work in progress.
Oh and you forgot to mention that you are one of our featured bloggers on the site, right on the home page ;-)
Thanks,
-Beth
Thanks Beth.
I didn’t realise the VSTO portal URL was that easy:
http://msdn.com/vsto
I’ll update the main post too.
Thanks,
Craig
Thanks Beth.
I didn’t realise the VSTO portal URL was that easy:
http://msdn.com/vsto
I’ll update the main post too.
Thanks,
Craig