Editor's Note
Hello, Office
Joshua Trupin
Nothing’s more disappointing than clever design paired with poor implementation. Bluetooth headsets come to mind: they’re tiny, wireless, and cute. But, they don’t pair properly, they turn on when you want them off, or off when you want them on. You just never know when they’re going to work the way they’re supposed to.
Good design needs to be paired with a solid implementation. After months of testing Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, we’re seeing a lot of well-designed features that work solidly.
This month’s MSDN Magazine focuses on the new 2007 Microsoft Office system, which has a number of innovations that make tasks more convenient and/or consistent for both users and programmers. (When we think about who does development, it’s easy to forget that millions of people do some level of programming with Microsoft Office, even if it’s just the occasional macro.)
The most obvious change in the 2007 Microsoft Office system is the new Ribbon interface. In place of the familiar menuing system used by almost every Windows-based app of the past 20 years, Microsoft Office provides a UI that puts a lot more information and functionality right in front of the user, and a lot more underlying capability for the developer. A product with as large an installed base as the 2007 release doesn’t change things on a whim, so what, after all this time, prompts such a fundamental design change? In our lead article, Eric Faller discusses the whys and wherefores behind the Ribbon, goes over new and unfamiliar concepts, components, and terminology, and shows developers how to take advantage of associated APIs to create their own Ribbons for the 2007 Microsoft Office system.
Another unusually cool feature in the 2007 system is called SmartArt graphics. This set of intelligent graphics lets you add oomph to your Office documents. It’s a bit like Visio on steroids, but also lets you do a lot of things that you never could in Visio. Even someone who has no graphical arts training to speak of can make attractive diagrams to display, say, beloved pet beagle timelines. For this lovely inset, we just clicked the shape we wanted, added text, and clicked again to insert pictures.
The 2007 Office system comes with a gallery of templates and predefined shapes that can quickly be inserted into your documents. Even better, it’s extensible! In this issue, Janet Schorr discusses what SmartArt graphics are, how they work, and how you can create your own.
Another way to extend Microsoft Office is by creating custom add-ins for the 2007 Office system applications using Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO). There’s a new release of VSTO and it marks the first time VSTO has included support for PowerPoint and Visio. Paul Stubbs looks at this support in his feature article and shows you how to extend these applications.
Finally, in yet another upgrade, Ted Pattison puts his Basic Instincts column to rest and turns his attention to Office Space, a new column devoted to developing with and for the 2007 Microsoft Office system. In this issue, he focuses on programmatically building Office Open XML files.
There’s a lot of treasure to be dug out of Microsoft Office, not just for users but for developers too. And unlike with Bluetooth, the features actually work reliably, and the 2007 Office system and Windows Vista pair up properly every time.
Before we sign off, we’d like to add a personal note. After 165 columns, Paul DiLascia has decided to take a break from the monthly grind after this issue. We wish Paul well, and hope to see him back in MSDN Magazine soon. —J.T.
Thanks to the following Microsoft technical experts for their help with this issue: Shawn Burke, Claudio Caldato, Pablo Castro, Jonathan Caves, Shy Cohen, Matt Gibbs, Mark Hall, Steven Hemingray, Doug Mahugh, Matt Nunn, Doug Purdy, Stefan Schackow, Ayman Shoukry, Don Smith, Herb Sutter, Damien Watkins, and Matthew Yip.
Access, Active Directory, ActiveX, Excel, Expression, IntelliSense, Internet Explorer, InfoPath, Microsoft, MSDN, Outlook, PowerPoint, SmartArt, Virtual Earth, Visio, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual C#, Visual Studio, Windows, Win32, Windows CardSpace, Windows Live, Windows Media, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks or tradenames mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
MSDN Magazine does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied with respect to any code or other information herein. Msdn magazine disclaims any liability whatsoever for any use of such code or other information. The recommendations and technical guidelines in MSDN Magazine are based on specific environments and configurations. These recommendations or guidelines may not apply to dissimilar configurations. MSDN and Microsoft are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. MSDN Magazine, MSDN, and Microsoft logos are used by CMP under license from owner. MSDN Magazine is published by CMP Technology LLC. CMP Technology LLC is an independent company not affiliated with Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Corporation is solely responsible for the editorial contents of this magazine.
MSDN Magazine does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied with respect to any code or other information herein. MSDN Magazine disclaims any liability whatsoever for any use of such code or other information.