Application Manifests for Office Solutions
An application manifest is an XML file that describes the assemblies that are loaded into a Microsoft Office solution. The Microsoft Office development tools in Visual Studio use the ClickOnce application manifest schema defined in the ClickOnce Application Manifest reference.
Application manifests for Office solutions use the following ClickOnce elements and attributes.
Element |
Description |
Attributes |
|---|---|---|
Required. Top-level element. |
manifestVersion |
|
Required. Identifies the ClickOnce application's primary assembly. |
name version publicKeyToken processorArchitecture language |
|
Identifies the application security requirements. |
None |
|
Required. Identifies the application code entry point for execution. |
name dependencyName customHostSpecified |
|
Required. Identifies each dependency required for the application to run. Optionally identifies assemblies that need to be preinstalled. |
None |
|
Required. Identifies each non-assembly file that is used by the application. Can include Component Object Model (COM) isolation data associated with the file. |
name size |
Application manifests for Office solutions have the following element in the co.v1 namespace.
<entryPoint>
<co.v1:customHostSpecified />
</entryPoint>
These application manifests also have the following elements and attributes in the vstav3 namespace.
<addIn>
<entryPointsCollection>
<entryPoints>
<entryPoint>
</entryPoint>
</entryPoints>
</entryPointsCollection>
<update></update>
<postActions>
<postAction>
<postActionData>
</postActionData>
<postAction>
</postActions>
<application>
<customizations>
<customization>
</customization>
</customizations>
</application
</addIn>
Element |
Description |
Attributes |
|---|---|---|
<customHostSpecified> Element (Office Development in Visual Studio) |
Required. Marks the manifest specifically as an Office solution. |
None |
Required. Stores entry points into a single namespace. |
None |
|
<entryPointsCollection> Element (Office Development in Visual Studio) |
Required. Groups all the assemblies for one or more Office solutions. |
id |
Required. Groups all the assemblies to run an Office solution. |
None |
|
Required. Identifies the assembly to run in an Office solution. |
class contract |
|
Required. Configures updates for the solution. |
enabled expiration |
|
Optional. Groups all the post-deployment actions, which run after Office solutions are installed. |
None |
|
Optional. Identifies a post-deployment action. |
None |
|
<postActionData> Element (Office Development in Visual Studio) |
Optional. Configures data for a post-deployment action. |
None |
Required. Wraps the application-specific information into a single node. |
None |
|
<customizations> Element (Office Development in Visual Studio) |
Required. Stores all application host-specific information in a separate namespace. |
None |
<customization> Element (Office Development in Visual Studio) |
Required. Stores application host-specific information in a separate namespace. |
xmlns |
Required only for document-level solutions. Stores customization-specific information. |
solutionId |
|
Required only for application-level solutions. Stores customization-specific information. |
application loadBehavior keyName |
|
<friendlyName> Element (Office Development in Visual Studio) |
Optional. Stores the name of the add-in that appears in the list of installed add-ins. |
None |
Required only for application-level add-ins. Stores the description that appears in the list of installed programs. |
None |
|
Required only for Outlook 2007 add-ins that include form regions. |
None |
|
Required only for Outlook 2007 add-ins that include form regions. |
Name |
|
Required. Describes a specific version of the Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime that is supported by the Office solution. |
release version supportUrl |
Remarks
You can manually edit application and deployment manifests in Office solutions. Afterwards, you must re-sign the application and deployment manifests by using the Manifest Generation and Editing Tool (mage.exe and mageui.exe). For more information, see How to: Re-sign Application and Deployment Manifests.
File Location
An application manifest is specific to a single version of a solution. For this reason, application manifests should be stored separately from deployment manifests. Visual Studio places the version-specific files in a subdirectory named after the associated version in the Application Files subdirectory in the publish folder.
File Name Syntax
The name of an application manifest file should be the full name and extension of the application as identified in the assemblyIdentity element, followed by the extension .manifest. For example, an application manifest that refers to the OutlookAddIn1.dll customization would use the following file name syntax.
OutlookAddIn1.dll.manifest
Document-Level Customization Example
Description
The following code example illustrates the sections of an application manifest that are specific to a Visual Studio Tools for Office solution. This example describes a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 document-level customization.
Code
<entryPoint>
<co.v1:customHostSpecified />
</entryPoint>
[...]
<vstav3:addIn
xmlns:vstav3="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vsta.v3">
<vstav3:entryPointsCollection>
<vstav3:entryPoints>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.ThisWorkbook">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.Sheet1">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.Sheet2">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.Sheet3">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
</vstav3:entryPoints>
</vstav3:entryPointsCollection>
<vstav3:update
enabled="true">
<vstav3:expiration
maximumAge="7"
unit="days" />
</vstav3:update>
<vstav3:application>
<vstov4:customizations
xmlns:vstov4="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vsto.v4">
<vstov4:customization>
<vstov4:document
solutionId="73e" />
</vstov4:customization>
</vstov4:customizations>
</vstav3:application>
</vstav3:addIn>
Application-Level Add-in Example
Description
The following code example illustrates the sections of an application manifest that are specific to a Visual Studio Tools for Office solution. This example describes a Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 application-level add-in that includes a form region.
Code
<entryPoint>
<co.v1:customHostSpecified />
</entryPoint>
[...]
<vstav3:addIn
xmlns:vstav3="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vsta.v3">
<vstav3:entryPointsCollection>
<vstav3:entryPoints>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoOutlookAddIn.ThisAddIn">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoOutlookAddIn"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
</vstav3:entryPoints>
</vstav3:entryPointsCollection>
<vstav3:update
enabled="true">
<vstav3:expiration
maximumAge="7"
unit="days" />
</vstav3:update>
<vstav3:application>
<vstov4:customizations
xmlns:vstov4="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vsto.v4">
<vstov4:customization>
<vstov4:appAddIn
application="Outlook"
loadBehavior="3"
keyName="ContosoOutlookAddIn">
<vstov4:friendlyName>
ContosoOutlookAddIn
</vstov4:friendlyName>
<vstov4:description>
ContosoOutlookAddIn - Outlook add-in
created with Visual Studio Tools for Office
</vstov4:description>
<vstov4:formRegions>
<vstov4:formRegion
name="OutlookAddIn1.FormRegion1">
<vstov4:messageClass name="IPM.Note" />
<vstov4:messageClass name="IPM.Contact" />
<vstov4:messageClass name="IPM.Appointment" />
</vstov4:formRegion>
</vstov4:formRegions>
</vstov4:appAddIn>
</vstov4:customization>
</vstov4:customizations>
</vstav3:application>
</vstav3:addIn>
Multi-Project Deployment Example
Description
The following code example illustrates the sections of an application manifest that are specific to a Visual Studio Tools for Office solution. This example describes a multi-project deployment that installs a Microsoft Outlook 2007 application-level add-in with a form region and a Microsoft Excel 2007 document-level customization.
Code
<entryPoint>
<co.v1:customHostSpecified />
</entryPoint>
[...]
<dependency>
<dependentAssembly
dependencyType="install"
allowDelayedBinding="true"
codebase="ContosoExcelWorkbook.dll"
size="12800">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
<hash>
<dsig:Transforms>
<dsig:Transform Algorithm=
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:HashTransforms.Identity" />
</dsig:Transforms>
<dsig:DigestMethod Algorithm=
"http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#sha1" />
<dsig:DigestValue>ONF</dsig:DigestValue>
</hash>
</dependentAssembly>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<dependentAssembly
dependencyType="install"
allowDelayedBinding="true"
codebase="ContosoOutlookAddIn.dll"
size="10240">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoOutlookAddIn"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
<hash>
<dsig:Transforms>
<dsig:Transform Algorithm=
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:HashTransforms.Identity" />
</dsig:Transforms>
<dsig:DigestMethod Algorithm=
"http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#sha1" />
<dsig:DigestValue>i4e</dsig:DigestValue>
</hash>
</dependentAssembly>
</dependency>
<vstav3:addIn
xmlns:vstav3="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vsta.v3">
<vstav3:entryPointsCollection>
<vstav3:entryPoints
id="ContosoExcel">
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.ThisWorkbook">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.Sheet1">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.Sheet2">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoExcelWorkbook.Sheet3">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoExcelWorkbook"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
</vstav3:entryPoints>
<vstav3:entryPoints
id="ContosoOutlook">
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="ContosoOutlookAddIn.ThisAddIn">
<assemblyIdentity
name="ContosoOutlookAddIn"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
</vstav3:entryPoints>
</vstav3:entryPointsCollection>
<vstav3:update
enabled="true">
<vstav3:expiration
maximumAge="7"
unit="days" />
</vstav3:update>
<vstav3:application>
<vstov4:customizations
xmlns:vstov4="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vsto.v4">
<vstov4:customization
id="ContosoExcel">
<vstov4:document
solutionId="73ec4ba9-a983-40b3-af63-5fb172ea81db" />
</vstov4:customization>
<vstov4:customization
id="ContosoOutlook">
<vstov4:appAddIn
application="Outlook"
loadBehavior="3"
keyName="ContosoOutlookAddIn">
<vstov4:friendlyName>
ContosoOutlookAddIn
</vstov4:friendlyName>
<vstov4:description>
ContosoOutlookAddIn - Outlook add-in created with
Visual Studio Tools for Office
</vstov4:description>
</vstov4:appAddIn>
</vstov4:customization>
</vstov4:customizations>
</vstav3:application>
</vstav3:addIn>
Post-Deployment Actions Example
Description
The following code example illustrates the sections of an application manifest that are specific to a Visual Studio Tools for Office solution. This example describes a post-deployment action that creates a registry key after installation is complete.
Code
<vstav3:postActions>
<vstav3:postAction>
<vstav3:entryPoint
class="PostDeploymentAction.PostDeploymentActionSample">
<assemblyIdentity
name="PostDeploymentAction"
version="1.0.0.0"
language="neutral"
processorArchitecture="msil" />
</vstav3:entryPoint>
<vstav3:postActionData>
</vstav3:postActionData>
</vstav3:postAction>
</vstav3:postActions>