Introduction to the Programmable Customization Model for the 2007 Office system User Experience

1. Introduction to the Programmable Customization Model for the 2007 Office system User Experience Hans Verbeeck Microsoft EMEA Jan Tielens U2U

2. Agenda • The new user experience • How to extend the Ribbon • Other client development options

3. The Museum Of Office Past Why a new UI?

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16. Why a New User Experience? • Menus and toolbars were designed for less full-featured programs • The feature set of Office has grown and stretched existing UI mechanisms to the limit • It’s harder to find functionality than it was a decade ago • “There must be a way to do this…” • “I don’t even know where to start looking.”

17. Creating great looking documents • Finalizing documents

18. Agenda • How to extend the Ribbon • Other client development options

19. Custom Ribbon Extensions Core Tasks TaskPanes Customizing the Office ’12’ UI

20. Creating Application-Level Ribbon Extensions • Application level or document/template level • Create a COM add-in that loads the ribbon XML at run-time • Today • Shared Add-In Project in VS.NET 2005 • Implement IMsoRibbonExtensibilityinterface • Return RibbonX XML through the GetCustomUImethod • Add callbacks to execute event-handling codegetImage, onAction, getEnabled, getPressed, … • Call Invalidate when your UI needs to change visual properties. • Later • VSTO ‘3’ wizard and designer support

22. Non-Extensible Components • The Status Bar • The mini bar • Right-click menus • Inside built-in chunks • “Legacy” right-click customizations work • Global Enable/Disable works on all controls

23. Ribbon Extensibility

24. Best Practices Focus on User Experience Embrace Paradigms of the New UI

25. Agenda • Other client development options • Task panes and add-ins • New XML File format • Word 2007 Placeholders

26. Existing Solutions Work

27. Custom Ribbon Extensions Core Tasks TaskPanes Automation of TasksDevelopment options • Document or template specific automation • Visual Basic for Applications • Visual Studio Tools 2005 for the Office System (VSTO) • Office 2003 solutions are compatible with Office ’12’ • Host controls, Windows controls, databinding • VSTO ‘3’ • Offers same support as VSTO 2005 but for Office ’12’ • Application-level automation • Shared add-ins built with VS.NET 2005

28. Custom Ribbon Extensions Core Tasks TaskPanes Custom Task Panes • Document level • VSTO 2005 task pane solutions (smart documents) will continue to work • VSTO ‘3’ basically gives the sametype of developer experience for document-level task panes • Application Level • Make the task pane available in the Office ’12’ products of your choice • Simple architecture - Two main components • ActiveX control is used to fill the CTP frame for content display • InfoPath, WinForms

29. Document Parts • Most parts are XML • Each XML part is a discreet, compressed component • Can add, extract and modify individual parts without using Office programs • Corruption or absence of any part would not prohibit the file from being opened Questionnaire. docx Open XML Formats Architecture User view: single Office “file” Developer view: modular file

30. The Role of XML with Documents

31. XML File Format

32. Word 2007 Solutions • Structural Integrity through Placeholders • Ad-hoc creation of structure • Content restrictions • Structural lockdown • Data/View Separation with Office XML data store and Data binding • Separating XML data from the document surface • Providing live programmatic access to data • Mapping between presentation and data

33. Word Placeholders

34. Then there’s even more • Outlook consolidated object model • Infopath managed OM

35. The Beta Experience: http://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/en/default.aspx