Creating Projects

This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

A project consists of separate components that are stored as individual files in a solution. A simple project might consist of a form or HTML document, a database, source code files, and a project file.

All projects are contained within an application, and every project contains a unique project file. The project file is a list of the project's files and objects and is used to store information about the project-specific environment options you establish. This file is updated every time you save the project.

All Microsoft® Office XP Developer development products provide a number of pre-defined project templates (for example, Workflow for Exchange, Workflow for SQL Server, and Digital Dashboard). A project template creates a new project in your application and populates it with the files you must have to develop a project of that type.

When you create a new workflow project, the workflow designer automatically creates a solution (*.sln) file that is stored on your local machine. Each solution can contain multiple projects of various types, including one or more Microsoft Workflow for Exchange Server projects, Microsoft Workflow for SQL Server projects, and Digital Dashboard projects.

In This Section

• Creating Projects for Visual Basic for Applications Applications
  Developing a Microsoft® Office XP application can range from writing a simple Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) procedure to creating a sophisticated financial analysis and reporting application.
• Creating Projects for Workflow for Exchange Server Applications
  Workflow Designer for Exchange Server automatically generates a new, empty workflow process, containing only starting and ending shapes, when you create a new workflow project.
• Creating Projects for Workflow for SQL Server Applications
  Workflow Designer for SQL Server makes it possible for you to build, modify, and add script to workflow processes for your Microsoft® SQL Server™ database.
• Creating Projects for Digital Dashboard Applications
  A Digital Dashboard is a customizable display of multiple information sources. Dashboards can be displayed in Microsoft® Outlook® or Microsoft® Internet Explorer.

Related Sections

• Developing Applications with Microsoft Office Developer
  To manage and monitor your projects and the application to which they belong, Microsoft® Office XP Developer contains the Solution Explorer window, which displays the hierarchical structure of an application and the projects it contains.
• Developing Office Applications Using VBA
  Microsoft® Office XP application development is typically the process of customizing an Office application to perform some function or service. Developing an Office application can range from writing a simple Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) procedure to creating a sophisticated financial analysis and reporting application.
• Developing Workflow Applications for Exchange Server
  Generally, the term "workflow" is used to describe applications that are modeled as business processes. Typical workflow applications include forms routing/approval, document review/publishing, and issue tracking.
• Developing Workflow Applications for SQL Server
  With the Workflow Designer for SQL Server development tools, you can create an application that enforces business rules and includes integrated row-level security features.
• Developing a Digital Dashboard using Web Parts
  A digital dashboard is a container that provides a customized display of information consolidated from various information sources.