Word Template Project Template
Applies to |
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The information in this topic applies only to the specified Visual Studio Tools for Office projects and versions of Microsoft Office. Project type
Microsoft Office version
For more information, see Features Available by Application and Project Type. |
The Word Template project template in Visual Basic and Visual C# provides the groundwork for solutions that are based on new or existing Microsoft Office Word templates. There are different project templates for Word 2003 templates and Word 2007 templates. The project templates automatically add the necessary assembly references, files, and generated code to use as a starting point for your solution.
Word templates that reference managed code extensions cannot be used as global add-ins. The assembly is not called if the template is loaded from the Startup directory of Word. For more information, see Limitations of Global Templates and Excel Add-ins (.xla Files).
If you open a template to edit it outside of Visual Studio after the solution has been compiled, the template will run the code just as if you had created a new document from the template. Depending on the code, this could alter the template while it opens, before you begin to edit. To prevent the code from running, hold down the SHIFT key while you open the template.
Note
By default, some of the files and references in the following list are hidden. To see them, click Show All Files on the Solution Explorer toolbar. Additionally, there are some files and references not in the following list that are common to many Visual Studio project templates.
Files
Visual Studio Tools for Office generates the following visible files in Word 2003 and Word 2007 template projects:
Document Name.dot - Represents the Word template in a project. Contains the document design surface and the code file.
ThisDocument (.vb file for Visual Basic or .cs file for Visual C#) - A document that provides the design surface and the code file. For more information, see Document Host Item.
Note
You cannot add additional classes to the code file behind a document, workbook, or worksheet. You must add new files to your project to contain any classes you want to write.
Visual Studio Tools for Office also generates the following additional file when you build a Word 2007 template project:
- Project Name_TemporaryKey.pfx - A temporary certificate that can be used to sign the application and deployment manifests for the project during development. For more information, see Granting Trust to Office Solutions (2007 System) and Security in Office Solutions (2007 System).
Hidden Files
Visual Studio Tools for Office generates several hidden files. Do not modify these files manually; they are regenerated when changes are made to the project and they do not retain manual modifications.
Visual Studio Tools for Office generates the following hidden files:
ThisDocument.Designer.xml - A read-only declarative representation of the programmable objects in the document.
ThisDocument.Designer (.vb file or .cs file) - A read-only code file that provides helper implementations for objects in the document, including code to instantiate objects correctly.
Document Name.Designer.xml - A read-only declarative representation of programmable objects such as custom controls that are not part of Visual Studio Tools for Office by default. This file is generated when you add a custom control to the document.
Document Name.Designer (.vb file or .cs file) - A read-only code file that provides helper implementations for custom controls. This file is generated when you add a custom control to the document.
Template Code
The following event handlers are included in the project template code files. For more information, see Visual Studio Tools for Office Project Events.
ThisDocument_Startup
ThisDocument_Startup handles the Document.Startup event. This event is raised after the solution is running and all the initialization code in the assembly has run. Use this event handler to run code that initializes your solution.
ThisDocument_Shutdown
ThisDocument_Shutdown handles the Document.Shutdown event. This event is raised when the application domain that your code is loaded in is about to unload.
References
Visual Studio Tools for Office automatically creates a set of assembly references in Word template projects. These references include the following assemblies:
Assemblies in the Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime. For more information about these assemblies, see Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime Overview.
Primary interop assemblies for shared Microsoft Office components and for Word. For more information, see Office Primary Interop Assemblies.
.NET Framework assemblies that are used when you develop Visual Studio Tools for Office solutions.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Create Visual Studio Tools for Office Projects
Concepts
Assemblies in Office Solutions Overview