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Demonstration Build

This repository is intended as a demonstration / proof-of-concept build only.

It is not intended for production use or distribution to end-users without fully rebuilding first.

A new Production Build should be developed and tested before deployment to your end users.

Outline instructions to prepare a new Production solution build are shown below.

An 'Intermediate' level of experience in using Visual Studio is recommended.

Production Build

Create new Visual Studio Solution & Projects

See 1 for further information on Solutions and Projects.

Create new Visual Studio Solution

  • Start Visual Studio and select Create a New Project

  • Select Blank Solution as the Project Template and save with a name of your choice.

  • In Solution Explorer, Right-Hand Click the above and select Add > New Project

Add new Visual Studio .Net Project

Add new Project

  • Add a new Class Library .NET Framework Project and save with a name of your choice.
  • In Solution Explorer, expand References and add 5 new entries as shown
  • Right-Hand click the new solution and select View Properties > Application.
  • Check that Assembly name and Root namespace are correct for your usage.
  • Check that the options below are not selected.
  • Make assembly COM-Visible in section Application > Assembly Information
  • Register for COM Interop in section Compile (scroll down to view)

Add new COM Class

  • Add a new COM Class vb file to the Project and save with suggested name Functions.vb

    The new COM Class file will have new GUIDs created automatically which are valid for production use.

    Edit this file to add your User Defined Functions and change the general structure of it to resemble the demonstrator.

Add new Empty Class

  • Add a new Empty Class vb file and save with suggested name Interop.vb

Replace the entire contents of the new file with the demonstrator version.

Ensure that Partial Public Class Functions matches the Class Name of your main Functions class.

Add new Installer Class

  • Add a new Installer Class vb file and save with suggested name Installer.vb

Replace the entire contents of the new file with the demonstrator version.

Ensure that references to Functions in Sub New() match the Class Name of your main Functions class.

Build the project and check that it completes successfully before continuing.

Create new Visual Studio Setup Projects

Add Setup Projects

In Solution Explorer, right-hand click the main Solution and

  • Add a new Setup Project Project and save with a name of your choice for 32-Bit Install.

  • Add a second new Setup Project Project and save with a name of your choice for 64-Bit Install.

Configure Setup Projects

In Solution Explorer, right-hand click each Setup Project and

  1. Select Add > Project Output and add the Primary Output
  2. Right-hand click the newly-added Primary Output > Properties, Register should be set to vsdrpDoNotRegister
  3. Select View > Custom Actions and add the Primary Output to each of the four categories shown
  4. Press the F4 key and set Company Name etc. to values of your choice.
  5. Right-hand click and select View > User Interface > Installation Folder and set property InstallAllUsersVisible = False

Right-hand click the Primary Output in each of the four categories and

  1. Rename the Primary Output (optional)
  2. Check that Property InstallerClass = True
  3. Set Property Run64Bit to True for 64-Bit Office and False for 32-Bit Office.

Note that the same Primary Output .dll file is used for both 32-bit and 64-bit installers.

Build Setup Projects

  • Right-hand click on each Setup project, select Build and check that an error-free build is produced.

  • Note the directory path and filenames used for the .msi and .exe installation files created.

  • Test the build by selecting Install and complete the installation for your Office version (32/64 Bit)

  • Enable the Add-In from Excel and test your new User-Defined Functions.

  • Right-hand click on the Setup project, select Uninstall and check that it completes without error.

The installation files can be re-tested and distributed to end users along with your instructions for use.

Footnotes

  1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/get-started/tutorial-projects-solutions?view=vs-2022 ↩