Excel Document-Level Customization Development

A document-level customization for Microsoft Office Excel consists of an assembly that is associated with a specific workbook. The assembly typically extends the workbook by customizing the user interface (UI) and by automating Excel. Unlike an application-level add-in, which is associated with Excel itself, functionality that you implement in a customization is available only when the associated workbook is open in Excel.

For more information about document-level customizations, see Getting Started Programming Document-Level Customizations for Excel nd Architecture of Document-Level Customizations.

Excel Customization Programming Model

When you develop a document-level project for Excel, you work with Visual Studio Tools for Office features and automate Excel by using host items and host controls. These are classes that extend some of the objects that are provided by the native object model for Microsoft Office Excel (that is, the object model that is exposed by the primary interop assembly for Excel). For more information, see Automating Excel by Using Extended Objects.

For general information about the programming model of document-level customizations in Visual Studio Tools for Office, see Programming Document-Level Customizations.

Customizing the User Interface of Excel

For both Excel 2003 and Excel 2007, you can customize the UI in the following ways:

• Add host controls or Windows Forms controls to the surface of a worksheet.

  For more information, see Host Items and Host Controls Overview and Windows Forms Controls on Office Documents Overview.

• Add an actions pane to the workbook.

  For more information, see Actions Pane Overview.

• Add smart tags to the workbook.

  For more information, see Smart Tags Overview.

For Excel 2007, you can also customize the UI in the following ways:

• Add custom tabs to the Ribbon.

  For more information, see Ribbon Overview.

• Add custom groups to a built-in tab on the Ribbon.

  For more information, see How to: Customize a Built-in Tab.

For Excel 2003, you can also 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

Automating Excel by Using Extended Objects

Using Windows Forms Controls on Excel Worksheets

Getting Started Programming Document-Level Customizations for Excel

Programming Document-Level Customizations

Office UI Customization