Office Solution Prerequisites for Deployment
All Office solutions have prerequisites that must be installed before the solution can be run. In addition, the solutions have required components that must be deployed. You can create a Setup program that checks for prerequisites before it installs the solution components.
Applies to: The information in this topic applies to document-level projects and application-level projects for Microsoft Office 2010 and the 2007 Microsoft Office system. For more information, see Features Available by Office Application and Project Type.
Office Solution Prerequisites
End user computers must have the following software installed:
The version of the .NET Framework that is targeted by the solution. For more information, see Designing and Creating Office Solutions.
The Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime. Microsoft Office 2010 includes the Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime components required to run solutions that target the .NET Framework 3.5. If your solution targets the .NET Framework 4, or if it targets the .NET Framework 3.5 and it will be loaded by an application in the 2007 Microsoft Office system, you should deploy the Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime as a prerequisite with your solution. For more information, see Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime Installation Scenarios.
Note
For Microsoft Office 2010 projects that target the .NET Framework 4, you must select the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime (x86 and x64) option in the Prerequisites dialog box if you are using ClickOnce to deploy your solution. This option is not selected by default in Microsoft Office 2010 projects. For more information, see How to: Install Prerequisites on End User Computers to Run Office Solutions.
Any utilities assemblies referenced by projects that target the .NET Framework 4. For more information about the utilities assemblies used by Office projects, see Assemblies in the Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime.
An Office application that can run the solution. For more information, see Running Solutions in Different Versions of Microsoft Office.
Note
Microsoft Office Starter 2010 cannot run Office solutions that you create by using Visual Studio 2010.
The primary interop assemblies (PIAs) for the version of Office that is installed.
Note
The PIAs are optional for solutions that target the .NET Framework 4. For more information, see Designing and Creating Office Solutions.
Required Solution Components
All ClickOnce Office solutions consist of the following components:
The assembly that contains the compiled custom code and any dependent assemblies, such as resources, satellites, or helper libraries.
The application manifest.
The deployment manifest.
The document (for document-level solutions only).
Packaging All Prerequisites for Deployment
You can select which components must be installed, and the Setup program will check that the prerequisites are present before starting installation, to help ensure that all Office solutions work. However, if the end user installs the solution by opening a .vsto deployment manifest file, the prerequisites are not checked.
You can select the method of making the prerequisites available to customers:
Include them with the Setup program.
Download and install them from a Web site or network share.
The prerequisites can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center, or you can configure your own server location for the prerequisites. For more information about how to choose the prerequisites and method of installation, see How to: Install Prerequisites with a ClickOnce Application.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Install Prerequisites on End User Computers to Run Office Solutions