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Deploying COM Smart Documents [Office 2003 SDK Documentation]

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If you developed your smart document by using a COM-based programming language, your deployment strategy may depend on where you are deploying the smart document. The following information may help you determine the best deployment strategy for your organization.

Internal deployment

If you are deploying a smart document within your organization, the simplest strategy for ensuring that your smart document is deployed to all users' computers is to do the following:

  • Deploy the XML expansion pack manifest file and all supporting files from a network share, a Web server, or another location that is available to all users.
  • Ensure that the XML expansion pack is signed with a key trusted by computers within your organization.
  • If possible, deploy your smart document with the XML expansion pack already attached to a location as specified earlier. Doing this may expose security and privacy risks of which you should be aware. For more information, see Security and Privacy.
  • Deploy an XML expansion pack collection to the users' computers, and update the XML expansion pack with the location of every XML expansion pack that you use within your organization.

External deployment

If your deployment audience is external to your organization, or you have other concerns with the internal deployment method discussed above, you can create a Microsoft® Windows® Installer package (or other installation package) to install the smart document on the user's computer. This installation package must set up the file paths and registry entries exactly as Microsoft Office 2003 Editions specify them, which then allows users to open your smart document with full functionality. For more information, see Deploying Smart Documents Without Using an XML Expansion Pack.

Note  Smart document assemblies written in managed code must be granted FULLTRUST permissions on the user's computer in order to execute correctly. There are many ways to grant your managed code assemblies FULLTRUST permissions on the user's computer. For more information about how managed code works with Microsoft Office 2003 Editions, see Using the Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System Loader.

External deployment in Office 2003 Service Pack (SP) 1

If your users have Office 2003 Service Pack (SP) 1, then you can now deploy your smart document externally without having to create an installation package by specifying some additional information in the XML expansion pack manifest file before it is signed. For more information on the requirements to deploy an XML expansion pack over the Internet, see Manifest Files and XML Expansion Packs on a Server.