COM or .NET

[NickP]

Hi there,

I have made an add-in for PowerPoint using VS.NET 2003 and VB.NET. It
worked great until I updated it to 2005. Unfortunately it's stopped working
altogether.

Presumably I can just create another .NET add-in and swap the code over
to get it working again so no problems there as such. But one thing I'm not
sure of is compatability, I would like the add-in to be compatible with all
versions of office that support automation. Should I be writing it in C++
rather than .NET?

If I should be writing it in COM does anyone have any examples as I'm
struggling to find any resources on how to communicate with the application
interface. My appologies if Ive already asked for a sample in a previous
thread, thanks loads in advance!

Nickl

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi NickP,

I have made an add-in for PowerPoint using VS.NET 2003 and VB.NET. It
worked great until I updated it to 2005. Unfortunately it's stopped working
altogether.

Presumably I can just create another .NET add-in and swap the code over
to get it working again so no problems there as such. But one thing I'm not
sure of is compatability, I would like the add-in to be compatible with all
versions of office that support automation. Should I be writing it in C++
rather than .NET?

Not really my area of expertise, but since you haven't gotten any response...

If you develop for the library of the oldest Office version, you should be OK
as far as supported commands go. (In a general sort of way, MS tries to ensure
backwards compatibility; they don't hit 100%, but on the whole it's not *too*
bad )

MS does not recommend (especially for .NET apps) developing one app for
multiple versions. It can and does work. You'd be better off with late-binding
than early-binding, unless you're distributing IAs with your application. If
you use early-binding and rely on the "official" Office PIAs then you have to
compile a DLL for each version you want to support.

As for problems with VS 2005 - there are known issues. have you searched the
MSDN site?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

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[NickP]

Hi Cindy,

My aologies, I had forgotten entirely about this post. I have since
found a resolution by developing a COM add-in. It works great, took a
little more time than making a .NET one but it works well through different
versions of Office. Thanks for your time, your information is very helpful.

Nick.

 

[NickP]

*apologies rather ;-)

Hi Cindy,

My aologies, I had forgotten entirely about this post. I have since
found a resolution by developing a COM add-in. It works great, took a
little more time than making a .NET one but it works well through
different versions of Office. Thanks for your time, your information is
very helpful.

Nick.

 

[bosky101]

Hey could you share it with us . i have a problem with interoperability
betwwen win2000 ,powerpoint 2000 and VS 2005 . the thread is
available at
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...e1b5e64a3a8/dcea2653451013b9#dcea2653451013b9

Keep Clicking,
Bosky

 

[NickP]

Hi Bosky,

Unfortunately I cannot, I'ts part of a commercial product and I'd get a
slap wrist if I done that. Instead look up this article,

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Q230689

That's the sample that I used as a base reference and built upon it.
Sorry I can't be of any more help as I can't even find the link now...

Nick.