I don’t know how I haven’t seen this site (Office Integration). I just saw it on the MSDN home page. If you are developing with Office and/or integrating data into Office, this site is worth a look.

I took a quick look and the site is really a landing page to help advertise existing Office content. Even so, the site does a good job of grouping content in a new way (versus grouping by each Office application).

Office Integration is just one topic in the realm of Office Business Applications (OBAs). OBAs are making Office-related topics increasingly relevant. VSTO already turns Office development into a pleasant experience. VSTO 2008 will only make better as it targets Office 2007.

When VSTO 2008 releases, Microsoft will unleash their marketing budget and sell the hell out of OBAs. Projects involving Office Integration will continue to gain ground. I believe this to be true not just because Microsoft’s marketing engine will be running at full steam, but because VSTO 2008 does a great job of emulating the WinForm developer model.

Back to the Office Integration site. I recommend you learn about Office Integration now and read the topics that interest you. You will be ahead of the curve and ready for VSTO 2008. Here is the list of the integration topics:

Technical Articles

• Accessing Web Services in Excel Using Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System
• Building a Professional Stock Allocation System Using Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2003
• Create Word and Excel Smart Documents with C++ and XML
• Creating an End-to-End XML Solution with Word 2003 and Excel 2003
• Creating an Office 2003 Research Service Using the Amazon Web Service API
• Generating Active Directory Diagrams with Visio 2003 and Visual Studio .NET 2003
• Host an Interactive Visio Drawing Surface in .NET Custom Clients
• Integrating Excel and Word with ASP.NET 2.0 Web Sites
• Integrating Word, Excel, and InfoPath with SQL Server 2000
• Integrating OneNote 2007 with a Document Management System
• Integrating SharePoint Products and Technologies and InfoPath 2003
• Integrating Visio 2007 and Access 2007
• Integrating Visio 2007 and Active Directory
• Integrating Visio 2007 and Excel 2007
• Integrating Visio 2007 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005
• Integrating Visio 2007 and MOM, Exchange, and Reporting Services
• Integrating Visio 2007 and Project 2007
• Integrating Visio 2007 and SharePoint Products and Technologies
• Integrating Workflows into Access 2007 Applications
• Integrating XML Web Services into Microsoft Office Solutions
• Overview of the InfoPath Designer API for Integrating InfoPath 2007 into Visual Studio 2005
• Sorting Out Microsoft’s Collaboration Technologies
• Security in Microsoft Office 2003 Editions
• Understanding the Excel Object Model from a .NET Developer’s Perspective
• Understanding the Excel Object Model from a Visual Studio 2005 Developer’s Perspective
• Understanding the Word Object Model from a .NET Developer’s Perspective
• Understanding the Word Object Model from a Visual Studio 2005 Developer’s Perspective
• Using Excel 2003 to Create and Manage Windows SharePoint Services Web Sites
• Using XML to Write a Trip Report Using Word 2003
• Using Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services with the Microsoft Office System
• Word 2007 HTML and CSS Rendering Capabilities in Outlook 2007 (Part 1 of 2)
• Word 2007 HTML and CSS Rendering Capabilities in Outlook 2007 (Part 2 of 2)
• Working with PowerPoint Presentations from Access Using Automation