VSTO For Dummies

Chapter 3. Making Your Documents Smart

In This Chapter

• Bringing your documents to life

• Reviewing the realities of smart documents

• Building a sample smart document

In this chapter, you get started with Document Customizations. You create a simple Document Customization that displays a message box when the document is opened and closed. You also insert information into the predefined bookmarks. This chapter shows you how simple and easy it is to create Document Customization and make your documents smarter.

What Is a Smart Document, Anyway?

When we talking about a smart document, we're referring to an Office file, such as a Word or Excel template or document file, that is not just a plain document with text, pictures, and formatting but contains some component that makes it smart. The smart part of an Office document, in this case, means additional functionality that brings the document alive. This smart part is a .NET assembly created with VSTO technology.

If you've ever created any macros using VBA in Word, Excel, or other Office applications, then you've already created a type of a smart document. Macros you record are stored together with the document and live inside it.

The term smart document suggests two separate pieces to the puzzle: smart and document. The first piece, or smart part, is a .NET assembly created with VSTO. The second piece is an Office document, or host, which is hosting the smart component.

Note

To use the proper terminology, instead of using smart documents, we use ...