Making vsto add-in installable

Question

I´ve created several VSTO add-ins for Outlook/Word/Excel/PowerPoint. When i build them & then start the accociated program, the add-ins are installed and work wonderful.

When I try to install the DLL manually, in "Options > Add-Ins > COM-Add-Ins:Go to... > Add..." and then select the DLL, the program tells me, that it is not a valid Add-In.

What is the problem here? Visual Studio 2010 can install them automatically. Can someone help me?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The simplest way to make an installer for your add-ins is to use the "Publish" functionality. Right click your Add-in project and select publish. This will show a wizard with basic options. This will generate an EXE file and a series of other files that are needed to install in other machines.

Answer 2

A .net VSTO addin DLL is not a normal COM dll (for instance, it doesn't self register, it has no TLB embedded within it) so Word can't deal with it through that addin's dialog as far as I know. VSTO addin's have to be installed via an installer.