Creating COM Add-ins for Multiple Applications
Each add-in designer in your project creates an add-in that can run in only one application. To create a COM add-in that is available to more than one application, you create a new add-in designer for each application that you want to use the add-in and then customize the add-in designer for each application.
For example, suppose that you want to create an add-in for Microsoft® Word and Microsoft® PowerPoint® that creates an organizational chart from a table in a database and inserts the chart into the document or slide. You would begin by making sure there is an add-in designer for Word and one for PowerPoint.
To create a new Add-in project
- From the File menu in Microsoft® Visual Basic® Editor, click New Project, and then click Add-in Project. The first add-in designer in the Add-in project appears.
- Change the add-in designer's Name property setting in the Properties window. It might be helpful to indicate in the name of the add-in designer which designer goes with which application. For example, the add-in designer for Microsoft® Excel in the Image Gallery project is named dsrImageExcel.
- Enter the appropriate information in the General and Advanced tabs of the add-in designer. Select the application that you want the add-in designer to work with on the General tab. For details, see Configuring an Add-in Designer.
- To add code to the add-in designer, open the View menu, and click Code.
To add another add-in designer to the Add-in project
- Open the Insert menu, and click Components.
- On the Designers tab, select Addin class, and click OK.
- Open the Insert menu, and click Addin Class.
To make a DLL file for the Add-in project
- Save the Add-in project.
- Open the File menu, and click Make projectname.DLL (the default is AddInProject1.DLL).
- In the Make Project dialog box, select the desired DLL name and location.
- Click the Options button to open the Project Properties dialog box if you want to assign a specific version number, add version information, or specify a DLL base address. After you have entered the information, click OK to close the Project Properties dialog box.
- Click OK on the Make Project dialog box to make the DLL file.
See Also
Working with Add-in Designers | Configuring an Add-in Designer | Working with Host Application Object Models