Outlook 2003 and C# Express... Can it be done.

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I am currently implementing a forms solution for my work (Not my job, but I
showed an aptitude for it, and I got elected) and I can see a better way of
solving the problem by making an add-in. Now, I am not a full time developer,
or even an accomplished programmer. I dabble in a little c# here and there,
and I get by with the help of books, and a lot of internet research.
Now for my question.
I see counless articles that demonstrate how to build an Outlook add-in with
c#, yet all of them reference an extesability project that provides
boilerplate code. None of the articles show the code though. So I know it can
be done, I'm just loking for a template or tutorial that explains the base
code. Or even shows it.
The articles also mention an installation project, but never talk about it.

I know it "Can" be done, so why hasent anybody made a tutorial for it? Im
not looking to do this for monetary gain, I just want to fool around with it
a bit. Se what can be done with it.

Anu suggestions where I can look? Oh and I dont need to hear, "Just buy VS
..Net or one of the Language components" as I said, I dont do this full time.
Just for fun, and to solve problems for myself.
 
See
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa700921.aspx
The line that matters is Extensibility. As you can see, it says there
"No Add-ins", while it says for the other editions "write Add-ins".
Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 Second Edition is available as free
download, but requires at least Visual Studio 2005 Professional.

So the answer is that you can't use the Express edition to write an
Office add-in. You do have to actually pay for Visual Studio.
To answer the question why no one posts the Extensibility code: I am
pretty sure you can find online a download of a full Visual Studio
project that is an Extensibility project. However, no one here is going
to provide you with such a sample directly or provide you with any
assistance in trying to make this work with the Express Edition. The
problem is that the End User License Agreement (EULA) of the Express
Edition lists what you can and cannot do with it. Trying to circumvent
such a limitation (and lacking Extensibility support counts as one) is a
violation of the EULA..

Sorry, but you are totally on your own if you want to violate the
Express EULA.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Outlook 2007 Performance Update: http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/13/105
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
RibbonCustomizer Add-In: http://ribboncustomizer.com
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed
 
Wow, now there was an answer I wasn't expecting to hear. Especially after
reading this point on the c# Express Website:

38. What types of applications can I build with Visual C# 2005 Express?
Visual C# 2005 Express can be used to build Windows applications, consoles
(sometimes referred to as "command line applications"), and reusable
components. If you want to create interactive Web sites, you ....

I would think that this is a reusable component. And I dont think this is
working around a technical limitation. I think what they mean there would be
you can unlock or add compiler options like the Profiling thingamajiggy that
the full studio would use.

And as far as the page you referenced, its a table of features, not a table
of limitations. If you look, it also says no mobile device support. Does that
mean that if I use the .Net Compact framework I am violating the EULA? Give
your head a shake.
It also say that Office Development support isnt included for VS Standard or
Profesional. Does that mean that anybody developing components for Office has
downloaded (which MS says is not for commercial Outlook Dev) VSTO or VS Team?
You're way off man.
And to directly deal with your Extensibility, that is extensibility of C#
Express. Microsoft is not making any extensions for C# Express. You can use
3rd party extensions, controls and Content. And as far as I know there is an
add in for C# Express that its only purpose is to speed development of Office
add-ins. I be;ieve its called Add-In Express .Net. Go Check it out.

In your broad interperetation of that portion of the EULA, then downloading
any SDK's, like the .Net framework 3.0, .Net Compact Framework would be
working around a technical limitation only because it isnt included.Or any
other SDK for that matter.

I'm not trying to add or change or work around a technical limitation, I was
asking for code samples, and language reference. MS Lets people sell the
software they make from Express editions for crying out loud.

Did MS Award you that [MVP] moniker or did you just add it in there, because
I would have expected a more factual researched response. Not the conjecture,
and opinion I got.

And before you tell me to go out and buy Add-In Express .Net. I dont do this
professionally, and I dont need to spend a lot of money.

Now, I've had my rant, Im done. If there is anybody with some factual
reasons why I can't do this please step forward.


Patrick Schmid said:
See
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa700921.aspx
The line that matters is Extensibility. As you can see, it says there
"No Add-ins", while it says for the other editions "write Add-ins".
Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 Second Edition is available as free
download, but requires at least Visual Studio 2005 Professional.

So the answer is that you can't use the Express edition to write an
Office add-in. You do have to actually pay for Visual Studio.
To answer the question why no one posts the Extensibility code: I am
pretty sure you can find online a download of a full Visual Studio
project that is an Extensibility project. However, no one here is going
to provide you with such a sample directly or provide you with any
assistance in trying to make this work with the Express Edition. The
problem is that the End User License Agreement (EULA) of the Express
Edition lists what you can and cannot do with it. Trying to circumvent
such a limitation (and lacking Extensibility support counts as one) is a
violation of the EULA..

Sorry, but you are totally on your own if you want to violate the
Express EULA.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Outlook 2007 Performance Update: http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/13/105
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
RibbonCustomizer Add-In: http://ribboncustomizer.com
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed




I am currently implementing a forms solution for my work (Not my job, but I
showed an aptitude for it, and I got elected) and I can see a better way of
solving the problem by making an add-in. Now, I am not a full time developer,
or even an accomplished programmer. I dabble in a little c# here and there,
and I get by with the help of books, and a lot of internet research.
Now for my question.
I see counless articles that demonstrate how to build an Outlook add-in with
c#, yet all of them reference an extesability project that provides
boilerplate code. None of the articles show the code though. So I know it can
be done, I'm just loking for a template or tutorial that explains the base
code. Or even shows it.
The articles also mention an installation project, but never talk about it.

I know it "Can" be done, so why hasent anybody made a tutorial for it? Im
not looking to do this for monetary gain, I just want to fool around with it
a bit. Se what can be done with it.

Anu suggestions where I can look? Oh and I dont need to hear, "Just buy VS
.Net or one of the Language components" as I said, I dont do this full time.
Just for fun, and to solve problems for myself.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
This isn't a EULA issue. "Office Development support" specifically refers to the functionality added in the Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) product for developing document-level managed code for Word, Excel, and InfoPath plus a new add-in architecture for Outlook. A free Second Edition of VSTO is available as an update for Visual Studio 2005 Professional. Yes, the page should be more specific about what "Office Development support" means, but we don't write Microsoft's web site. While you're ranting, you might want to keep in mind that the people who answer questions here are volunteers.

An add-in is not a reusable component that can be incorporated into another .NET application, and the Extensiblity block clearly says: "No Macros, Add-ins or Packages" for Express, while for the other SKUs it says, "Write and consume Add-ins." It doesn't say "Write add-ins" for Express.

However, I did see this at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa663367.aspx:

"The Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions do not contain the Shared Add-In template. However, you can write a shared add-in, it is just a bit more work to get going."

"A bit more work" is rather an understantement. The page at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/80493a3w.aspx says:

"The Add-In Wizard and the automation assemblies are not available in the Express Editions of Visual Studio."

The way I read all this is that if you want to write an add-in using Express, you're on your own. Microsoft does not provide the necessary assemblies (presumably extensibility.dll) nor a template nor any other support. The first article I cited does show the required Connect class, but that's about it. For more on the IDTExtensibility2 interface, see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/extensibility.aspx. The page at http://blog.devstone.com/aaron/archive/2005/03/30/500.aspx also looks potentially useful. You would also have to build your own setup project to install and register your add-in; see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/19dax6cz.aspx

Bottom line: You probably have a steep learning curve to build and deploy an add-in with VS Express. Basically, you'd be engineering your own version of what the add-in template in Standard and Pro does and what Add-in Express does (except that AIE does a lot more than just provide the basic framework for building an add-in). If you want help with the project, then a general C# discussion group may be the best forum. This particular newsgroup is for using the available add-in architectures to build Outlook add-ins, not for engineering an add-in architecture from scratch.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
Hi,
I m interested by this thread as I m looking for information about licensing.
I m not having allucination, I have installed c# express edition and I do
have Extensibility reference. Ok, I do not have any template for creating add
in, but extensibility class is easy enough to use it without template and the
plugin registration can be done via a simple regkey.

I developed an addin for outlook with c# express edition and the PIA from
outlook 2007 installation (by checking .net programmability references at the
installation). I don't think I have broken any rules of the EULA.

I would like to know if I have the right to sell the addin dll itself or its
source code ?
I think the only license I need, is the one from Outlook itself, since the
PIA are found only in its distribution.

Can you tell me if I m wrong ?
 
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