How to deploy VSTO add-ins for Outlook?
“What is the best way to deploy VSTO add-ins for Outlook?” This is one of the most common question asked by our customers who are developing add-ins using Visual Studio Tools for Office(VSTO) for Outlook and other Office Applications. Simple answer is that it’s all depend on you requirements and environment. We can opt for either ClickOnce Deployment or Windows Installer.
We can refer to Choosing a Deployment Strategy and the following table compares the features of ClickOnce deployment with Windows Installer deployment to make informed decision:
| Features | ClickOnce |
Windows Installer |
|---|---|---|
Automatic update1 |
Yes |
Yes |
Post-installation rollback2 |
Yes |
No |
Update from Web |
Yes |
No |
Does not affect shared components or other applications |
Yes |
No |
Security permissions granted |
Grants only permissions necessary for the application (more safe) |
Grants Full Trust by default (less safe) |
Security permissions required |
Internet or Intranet Zone (Full Trust for CD-ROM installation) |
Administrator |
Application and deployment manifest signing |
Yes |
No |
Installation-time user interface |
Single prompt |
Multipart Wizard |
Installation of assemblies on demand |
Yes |
No |
Installation of shared files |
No |
Yes |
Installation of drivers |
No |
Yes (with custom actions) |
Installation to Global Assembly Cache |
No |
Yes |
Installation for multiple users |
No |
Yes |
Add application to Start menu |
Yes |
Yes |
Add application to Startup group |
No |
Yes |
Add application to Favorites menu |
No |
Yes |
Register file types |
Yes |
Yes |
Install time registry access3 |
Limited |
Yes |
Binary file patching |
No |
Yes |
Application installation location |
ClickOnce application cache |
Program Files folder |
| Articles to refer |
|
Notes:
1. With Windows Installer, you must implement programmatic updates in the application code.
2. With ClickOnce, rollback is available in Add or Remove Programs.
3. ClickOnce deployment can access HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) only with Full Trust permission.
Feel free to put questions related to ClickOnce or Windows Installer deployment for Office Add-ins to me.