How to Buy Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO)
Many people have asked how they can buy the new Visual Studio Tools for Office. If you are an MSDN Subscription holder, you can download it direct. Otherwise consult the How to Buy Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System page for details on buy and upgrade options. What do you get when you buy VSTO?
- VS.NET wizards to develop VB.NET or C# solutions for Word & Excel
- Microsoft Office Access 2003 Developer Extensions
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition
- Microsoft Visual Basic .NET
If your not using Access Developer Extensions or SQL Server, why would you buy VSTO just for the VS.NET wizards? Simple answer is the documentation. The VSTO team has done an impressive job collecting useful information, samples, and work arounds for know issues.
The ability to use managed code with Word & Excel are built into Word & Excel (Standalone or Professional editions). You have to manually wire them up and without the documentation their are several subtlies that are difficult to find on your own.
Is VSTO worth having? YES. Is it worth the $499? I hope the upgrade option $199 is available to you.
I wish VSTO (the VS.NET wizard) and Access Developer Extensions were bundled separately. It's disappointing to pay for both if you don't need them together, and I think most wont.