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Visual Basic Concepts

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How to Build an Add-In

In this chapter, you'll learn the basics of building add-ins. We'll show you how to program each functional group of objects in the extensibility model, as well as how to use the Wizard Manager to easily create professional-looking Wizards. You'll also learn about the Add-In toolbar — a great place to place add-ins and Wizards for quick and easy user access.

Topics

Add-In Creation Basics

All add-ins share a number of common, essential elements. This section covers these elements, as well as use of the CreateToolWindow function, the Add-In template, and how to choose the best compile type for your add-in.
Programming in the Extensibility Model

The extensibility model contains major functional groups of objects and collections that enable you to take control of the Visual Basic IDE. This section covers each functional group and gives example code of how to use the objects and collections in each.
Wizards and the Wizard Manager

This section covers how to use the Wizard Manager to easily create Wizards which help users of your applications through difficult or thorny tasks.
The Add-In Toolbar

This section covers the Add-In toolbar; a dedicated toolbar for your most often-used add-ins and Wizards, allowing you to start them with a single button click.