Journal of information systems & operations management

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze solutions for developing and extending rich Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) for Office applications through Component Object Model Add-Ins (COM Add-Ins). We begin by presenting the Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO), its previous versions and the main features that it offers to the developers. In the second section, we make a survey of the most important Ribbon controls offered by the latest version of VSTO, launched in 2013, depicting their functionality, properties and possible applications. In the third section, we develop an example for extending rich GUI for Word 2013 through COM Add-Ins. The developed extension implements a new customized tab, three new customized groups within it containing the main customized Office controls: CheckBox, Button, ToggleButton, vertical separators, ToggleButton, ComboBox, DropDown, EditBox. Through this example, we highlight the main VSTO controls and their properties.