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Hi everyone, welcome to my fourth video on creating Excel add-ins
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In my previous videos, I've used VBA and XML to create Excel add-ins
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I've included the links to those videos in the description below. Today, I'll show you how to create a com add-in using C Sharp in Visual Studio
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Although I'll be using C Sharp, you can also use Visual Basic if you prefer
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It's up to you. First, download Visual Studio from the Microsoft website
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The link is shown on the screen. If you already have Visual Studio installed
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make sure you've installed the Office slash SharePoint development components. If not, download and run the Visual Studio installer
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Check the Office slash SharePoint development box to install them. Open the Visual Studio, create a new project
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choose Excel VSTO add-in option from the list, and click Next. In the next window, enter the project name BrainBell and click Create
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Visual Studio will automatically generate the necessary files for the project. This add-in .cs is the main class for your add-in
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and Visual Studio provides some initial code for this file. Go to the Solution Explorer on the right
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If it is not visible, go to the top menu, choose View, and then click Solution Explorer
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In the Solution Explorer, right-click on your project name and click Add
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then choose New Item. Select Ribbon Visual Designer and click Add to insert it into your project
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A new file, Ribbon1.cs, will appear where you can visually design tabs
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groups, and buttons using the toolbox. Drag a tab and a group from the toolbox to the designer if they are not already inserted
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Select the tab, go to the Properties, and set its label to BrainBellTab
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Then select the group and set its label to BrainBell. Now select the BrainBell group in the designer
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click Toolbox on the left to expand it, and drag a button into the group
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While the button is selected, go to its properties, set the label to Toggle Gridlines
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set Control Size to Ribbon Control Size Large, and go to the Image property to select an icon for the button
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Next, double-click the button to edit its event handler code. Visual Studio will generate an event handler method for the button
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Insert your own code into this method and remember to import the Excel namespace into this class
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This code will execute when you click the Toggle Gridlines button in Excel
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Now your project is ready for demonstration. Press F5 or click the Play icon below the top menu to build and run the project
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Excel will open and the BrainBell add-in will be loaded. The BrainBell tab will appear before the Help tab
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Try clicking Toggle Gridlines in the BrainBell tab and you'll see it working properly
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Go to the Developer tab and click Comm Add-ins. You will see the BrainBell add-in listed and checked
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Go to the Visual Basic Editor. Unlike VBA add-ins, you won't find any VBA code or add-in modules here
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Close Excel and go back to Visual Studio. In the Solution Explorer, right-click on the BrainBell add-in project
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and select Publish from the context menu. The Publish Wizard window will appear
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Click Browse and choose an empty folder to save the add-in setup files
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Once Visual Studio finishes copying the setup files, your add-in is ready
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You can distribute it over a network, on a website, or install it on your own computer
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Go to the add-in setup folder, run the setup file, and the add-in will install on your computer
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You may need to enable it in the Developer tab's Comm Add-ins button
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Thanks for watching. Please like, share, and subscribe for more videos
