Powerpoint Add-in: How to create downloadable add-in which modifies Ribbon and calls macros?

Question

I create customised Office solutions for my organisation. To do this, I create Powerpoint/Excel templates which contain customisations I include by modifying the ribbon using Custom UI Editor - the buttons then call macros I wrote in VBA.

Right now, I am facing the problem that I need to keep rolling out new templates (and manually getting people to use it) whenever I want to fix bugs or update features. This is obviously not optimal.

Therefore, I wanted to build an Add-in which:

1. Modifies the ribbon in a similar way to Custom UI Editor
2. Can allow me to call VBA macros
3. Can be updated via the internet

However, (definitely because I'm new to this) the advice out there seems a little vague.

Is it possible to do what I am asking?

Answer 1

Microsoft has 3 different technologies that are all called add-ins. The one you're familiar with is the original VBA-based add-in. That technology can fulfill #2 on your list. However, there is no simple way to directly modify the Ribbon using VBA. It might be possible to update from the Internet, but that would not be an easy project to program.

The second technology is called COM. COM add-ins are most often written in C# or Visual Basic (similar to, but not identical with, VBA) in Visual Studio. COM add-ins can modify the Ribbon and can call VBA macros. Updating from the Internet would still be a more complex problem. Customize the Office Fluent ribbon by using a managed COM add-in

The third type of add-in is the JavaScript add-in technology that Microsoft is currently hyping as the next big thing. There are some UI elements they can manipulate, but not full-scale Ribbon mods. They can't run VBA macros. But they are update-able from the Internet. Understanding the Office JavaScript API