Excel Application-Level Add-in Development
An application-level add-in for Microsoft Office Excel consists of an assembly that is loaded by Excel. The assembly typically extends Excel by customizing the user interface (UI) and by automating Excel. Unlike a document-level customization, which is associated with a specific workbook, functionality that you implement in an add-in is not restricted to any single workbook.
For general information about application-level add-ins, see Getting Started Programming Application-Level Add-Ins and Architecture of Application-Level Add-Ins.
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For a related video demonstration, see How Do I: Automate PowerPoint from an Excel Add-in?.
Excel Add-in Programming Model
When you create an Excel add-in project, Visual Studio Tools for Office generates a class, called ThisAddIn, which is the foundation of your solution. This class provides a starting point for writing your code, and it also exposes the object model of Excel to your add-in.
For more information about the ThisAddIn class and other Visual Studio Tools for Office features you can use in an add-in, see Programming Application-Level Add-Ins.
Customizing the User Interface of Excel
For Excel 2007, you can customize the UI in the following ways:
Create a custom task pane.
For more information, see Custom Task Panes Overview.
Add custom tabs that appear on the Ribbon.
For more information, see Ribbon Overview.
Add custom groups to a built-in tab that appears on the Ribbon.
For more information, see How to: Customize a Built-in Tab.
For Excel 2003, you can customize the UI in the following ways:
Add custom toolbars and toolbar items.
For more information, see How to: Create Office Toolbars Programmatically.
Add menus and menu items.
For more information, see How to: Create Office Menus Programmatically.
For more information about customizing the UI of Excel and other Microsoft Office applications, see Office UI Customization.
See Also
Concepts
Getting Started Programming Application-Level Add-Ins