When you write code to add functionality to a document, you often need to give people who use the document a way to perform the customized actions. For example, if the solution enables users to add preformatted blocks of text to a document, you might want to provide a user interface where users can select the right text and add it by clicking a button. A good place to put this kind of interface is on a custom task pane. Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System (also known as Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition, or VSTO 2005 SE) provides tools to help you create a custom task pane quickly. The custom task pane is a familiar, convenient place to put text and controls for your solution.

Help for Visual Studio Tools for Office includes the code and steps that are demonstrated in this video. See Walkthrough: Automating an Application from a Custom Task Pane.

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Video Length: 00:03:29

File Size: 10.4 MB WMV

• Custom Task Panes Overview

• How to: Add a Custom Task Pane to an Application

• Creating Custom Task Panes in the 2007 Office System