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c#excelms-officeoffice-interop

The best way to develop excel addin

I want to develop an application for Excel 2016. I have seen that there are two ways to develop: - Using VSTO. - Using "App for Office"

I'm lost and I need your help. What is the best way to develop an application/addin for Excel?

Thaks

Solution

  • It depends on what exactly you need to achieve...

    The main differences are listed below:

    1. Office Apps have a limited set of API while COM add-ins provide rich set of properties and methods available for developers.

    2. COM add-ins are support by all Office versions while Office Apps can work only in Office 2013 and 2016. Note, COM add-ins can be loaded only by the desktop editions of Office.

    3. A rich UI extensibility model is available for COM add-ins. Office Apps supports only Ribbon commands.

    4. Deployment scenarious. Office Apps can be installed via Office Store. You need to develop an installer for COM add-ins. See Deploying an Office Solution for more information.

    Also you may find the Choosing an Excel technology article helpful.