Re: Updating Outlook Add-Ins Using Application Manifests

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Geert,

This book (recommended!) talks about disconnected Add-In support for
outlook.
Visual Studio Tools for Office: Using C# with Excel, Word, Outlook, and
InfoPath
By Eric Carter, Eric Lippert
http://msdn.safaribooksonline.com/?x=1&b=1&mode=section&s=1&sortkey=title&catid=&u=1&sortorder=asc&p=1&view=&g=&r=&xmlid=0321334884/ch20lev1sec6&a=0&k=10&f=1&t=1&c=1&n=1&o=1&d=1&portal=msdn&uicode=&Key=C23553C55BA3B453CF0D134B5703043BA5551CC7584F2F03977F11E032623076BCADF39DF6BDB87CBFE87F539E8F96AFEF943AFBA9777B5708FA6BDF11D4D77118BF581C6762E25A269BF5B913B6227D37EF5A72864EBD&GUID=4BC00241-17F4-4C30-AF-99-03-00-F0-6D-C0-67&NoIPLog=1

In short, the file share is preferred to the Web Server (see the quote
below). I have had Microsoft assist me on deployment, and found the
following example to be a good starting place:


Below are the steps I took to get the application setup correctly.

1. Create a new project in C# and choose the type Office > Outlook Addin
2. Went to Project Properties and did the following:
a.. Signed the assembly (Did not password protect it)
b.. Set the publishing point to the unc path to my share
3. In the method ThisApplication_Startup. Wrote the following code:
MessageBox.Show("Hello World 1.0");
(I may have made a reference to System.Windows.Forms first)
4. Build project and then published it to my deploy point.
5. Added the application manifest from the deploy point as a file into the
Setup project
6. Built the setup project and ran it on the client where I want the addin
installed
7. Use the .NET Configuration Wizard 2.0 to alter the CAS so that the
assembly can run with FullTrust
a.. Opened in the wizard in Admin Tools
b.. Expanded the nodes My Computer > Runtime Security Policy > Machine >
Code Groups > All_Code
c.. Added a new code group called MyCodeGroup and set its membership
condition to be a strong name
d.. Used the Import button to select my addin assembly to extract the
public key
e.. Used the existing FullTrust permission
8. Opened Outlook to confirm that the message box is displayed
9. Went back to VS 2005 and changed the messsage to 'Hello World 1.1"
10. Built the application and then published it out to my deploy point
11. Opened Outlook again on the client machine and saw my new message.

(This sample is from Dave Vespa at Microsoft support.)


<quote>
All other things being equal, the IntelliMirror technique is to be
preferred over the Web server technique for several reasons. For example,
suppose you deploy your customization assembly to http://accounting, a local
intranet Web server. A user runs the customized document, which downloads
the customization assembly from the intranet site and caches a copy in the
Internet Explorer cache. The user then unplugs his laptop from the wall,
heads to the local library, and connects to the library's free wireless
networking service. Now when the user tries to run the customized document,
the .NET Framework will not load the customization assembly out of the
Internet Explorer cache because Internet Explorer believes that it is
connected to the network. Instead, the .NET Framework attempts to connect to
the intranet server, fails, and prompts the user to go offline to use the
locally cached copy. The user is then faced with the unfortunate choice of
either not running the customization or putting Internet Explorer into
offline mode, negating the benefits of having wireless Internet access.
Also, because the Web server caching scenario puts the customization
assembly into the Internet Explorer cache, anything that causes the cache to
be cleared destroys the cached customization assembly along with everything
else. Many users frequently clear their Web caches when the caches get too
large, and it is very easy to accidentally delete a cached customization
assembly when you do not intend to.

</quote>




--

VS2005B2, VSTO 2005B2
"Geert Klinckaert" <GeertKlinckaert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message news:1F522704-F14D-4F18-8E2E-114300637FE0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>I am confused about how to handle updates for outlook add-ins created with
> VSTO 2005.
>
> The functionality we need is that the add-in can also function when
> disconnected from the network and that new versions are downloaded from a
> web
> server when they are available.
>
> According to the various pieces of documentation i can find, the VSTO
> runtime uses the application manifest on the client to locate the
> deployment
> manifest (which can be on a web server)
> When there is a newer version on the server, the new application manifest
> and assemblies are downloaded.
>
> Using the manifest files generated by the publish wizzard does not seem to
> do the job for me.
>
> I managed to get the add-in more or less loading and working () by
> pointing
> it to a web server, but when the web server is down, the add-in fails to
> load.
>
>
> There is an extensive article about outlook VSTO Add-ins here
> (http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/understanding/vsto/articles/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/odc_vsto2005_ta/html/Office_VSTOOutlookAdd-inArchitecture.asp#office_vstooutlookadd-inarchitecture_updating)
>
>


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