Visual Studio Tools for the Office system 3.0 Runtime

The Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) is a comprehensive set of development tools designed as a Visual Studio add-in, including project templates and a runtime, which enables Microsoft Office 2003 and subsequent versions to host the .NET Framework Common Language Runtime (CLR) for exposing their functionality through the .NET type system. This facilitates the development of extensions for Office applications using CLI compliant languages, and allows for the utilization of Office application functionality and user interface constructs in .NET applications. VSTO has replaced the developer editions of Office 2000 and Office XP for Office development, as these editions have been discontinued following Office XP. Additionally, it is important to note that VSTO is exclusively available for Office 2003 and later versions. However, the VSTO runtime, although a part of the VSTO development tools, can be downloaded separately if necessary.