Customer Reviews

Word 2007 Document Automation with VBA and VSTO (Wordware Applications Library)

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Books about how to program in MS Word are few and far between. This book is a good resource on the ever evolving Word model and how to leverage it using the old, COM based VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), as well as the new, the .NET framework by means of VSTO (Visual Studio Tools for Office).

The book begins with a brief survey of new features in Word 2007, notably the 'notorious' (for some) Ribbon and enhanced support for XML. After a chapter discussing, non-progamming methods of automating and standardizing Word documents by means of templates, fields, etc., the author plunges into the VBE, the Visual Basic Editor, and then VBA, Visual Basics for Applications. I'm an old hand at VB/VBA so I quickly skimmed the chapters. They seemed adequate for introducing VBE and VBA to newbies. Your mileage may differ.

In chapter 6, the book dissects the guts of the Word 2007 Object Model. Separate lists and brief descriptions are provided for the properties, methods and events for the Application, Document and Range and Selection objects. It also has lists and descriptions for objects that support XML which has become a vital part of document construction and processing. There are two whole chapters devoted to utilizing XML in MS Word.

However, if you want to find out how to correctly code specific properties and methods in the Word Object Model -- with examples, the best place to go is the Word 2007 Developer Reference at the Microsoft MSDN Web site ([...]). See also MSDN Library\Office Development\Office 2003\VBA Language Reference node at the MSDN site; most of the information also applies to 2007.

The real 'juice' for me are the 5 chapters, a third of the book, devoted to VSTO (Visual Studio Tools for Office), the .NET implementation for developing automated solutions for the Office Suite. The book focuses on VB.NET coding, not C#, as the VB.NET syntax is similar to VB/VBA and hence easier for Office macro-mavens and VBA coders who are unfamiliar with .NET to apprehend. But make no mistake, VB.NET is a quantum leap from VB/VBA.

The author points out that Microsoft has a way to go before fully integrating VSTO into the MS Office suite. And it remains to be seen whether and when VSTO will effectively displace VBA as the programming language of choice for MS Office. But VSTO is the present and future of programming in the Windows environment and this book is a good introduction for those, such as yours truly, who are migrating their VBA code to .NET.

Whatever your m.o., VBA or .NET, if you want to know how to program MS Word beyond recording macros, this book is a good reference guide.

Good, easy to understand guide to automating Word 2007. Great resource for creating forms with quality control built in.

I am a profesional software developer, and I was lookin for a resource to help me integrate word into a new system.
The book tries to answer all needs. from novice to VBA programmer, to VSTO.
Since I need mainly the addvanced part, it did not help me. I felt the book was not well organized, jumped from topic to topic, explained the obvious (for me, at least), and I did not understand the complex parts.
Maybe the prblem is with Word - it is such a beast, that there is no ordered way to cover it.
Now I ordered a pure VSTO book - hope it will do the trick

A good book, but a little bit fuzzy. It's not apropriate for readers who have no experience with microsoft word and vba.