Apps for Office and SharePoint: Common questions
Published: August 28, 2012
Applies to: apps for Office | apps for SharePoint
Apps for Office and SharePoint extend and personalize the way we create and consume information by combining cloud services and web technologies from within the familiar environment of Office and SharePoint. Use your existing skills to build apps and take advantage of familiar tools, languages, and hosting services. Deploy, update and maintain your apps faster in the cloud. Publish and sell your apps on the Office Store, or distribute IT-approved apps within your organizations by using an internal corporate catalog.
Yes.
There are three different types of apps for Office, based on where the app is displayed in the Office application: task pane, content, and mail apps.
See Types of apps for Office in Overview of apps for Office.
There are three different types of apps for SharePoint, based on where the code for the app is hosted: provider-hosted, autohosted, and SharePoint-hosted.
See Where does the code for an app run? in Apps for SharePoint overview.
The general development lifecycle for apps for Office and SharePoint is start, design, develop, and publish. Read the following articles to learn more about the app lifecycle:
Because you don't need to spend time downloading and installing software to get started—Office 365 for developers includes the tools and resources you need to start building and testing apps right now, including:
Office 365 Developer Site
"Napa" Office 365 Development Tools, to create your first apps right within the browser
Office Professional Plus 2013, including Excel, Outlook, Word, and Access
Exchange Online
Sign up and get started now. It's a free trial during the Office 2013.
Already signed up for your Office 365 Developer Site, and ready to get started? Use the following links.
How to: Set up an environment for developing apps for SharePoint on Office 365
How to: Create a basic app for SharePoint by using Office 365 Development Tools Preview
How to: Create your first content app for Excel by using "Napa" Office 365 Development Tools
How to: Create your first mail app for Outlook by using "Napa" Office 365 Development Tools
Because apps for Office and SharePoint are built on web standards, you can build apps with your existing skills, using familiar languages and your favorite web development tools.
Visual Studio offers two great ways to create apps: "Napa" Office 365 Development Tools and Visual Studio 2012.
"Napa" Office 365 Development Tools
"Napa" Office 365 Development Tools enable you to create your first apps for Office or apps for SharePoint right in the browser.
You can install "Napa" Office 365 Development Tools on your Office 365 Developer Site.
Use the links in the following table to learn how to develop your first app for Office or app for SharePoint by using the "Napa" Office 365 Development Tools.
Visual Studio 2012
You can also use Visual Studio 2012 to create immersive, full-featured apps for Office and SharePoint.
Certainly, although you’ll have to download, install, and configure SharePoint and the necessary developer tools yourself.
How to: Set up an on-premises development environment for apps for SharePoint
Want to let Microsoft take care of setting up your developer environment? Sign up for an Office 365 Developer Site.
Tutorials
Use the following tutorials to walk through the steps to successfully create your first app—whether it’s an app for Office or app for SharePoint.
Apps for Office
How to: Create your first content app for Excel by using "Napa" Office 365 Development Tools
How to: Create your first mail app for Outlook by using "Napa" Office 365 Development Tools
How to: Create your first task pane or content app by using Visual Studio
How to: Create your first mail app for Outlook by using Visual Studio
Apps for SharePoint
How to: Create a basic app for SharePoint by using Office 365 Development Tools Preview
Samples
Browse or download sample app projects for Office and SharePoint that illustrate how to use Office and SharePoint features and accomplish common developer tasks in your apps.
Documentation
Use the following links to continue learning how to build great apps for Office and SharePoint.
Training
Browse developer-focused how-to training and walkthrough videos about creating apps for Office and SharePoint.
Date | Description |
|---|---|
August 28, 2012 | Initial publication |
