Running too many add-ins?

[greggbeck2000]

I need information about add-ins. I plan to create a large number of
custom add-ins designed specifically for users within my company. My
concern is that some users might install and enable many of them,
causing machine slow down. They might even neglect to disable those
they don't use anymore.

What are the limitations of add-ins, as far as volume that can be
installed and used? How much of an impact on memory and resources does
running many add-ins have?

Any suggestions on how to help users manage their add-ins, or how to
create/distribute them for less negative impact?

If you have pointers to more detailed information I can use for
research on this subject, I'll take them.

Thank you.

v2002

 

[Gregg]

I'm not sure of the number of add-ins, but I'm certain it will grow
over time. I plan to offer more than any a reasonable user would want
to load at once. But the level of reasoning with some of my users gives
rise to my concern. ;-) Also, many add-ins just might apply to a user,
justifying their reasons for loading a lot. I want to be prepared for
the eventual challenge, but so far your feedback is encouraging.

The custom-built add-ins would address specific tasks within our
company. They will be designed from an ongoing tasks survey. My idea is
to have add-ins offered on our intranet in areas of task, subject,
department, job title, etc., where they could DL them onto thier
machines. Some add-ins would offer multiple related features and others
a single feature. Some would be simple, others complex. But, I envision
some user needlessly downloading the entire collection out of
confusion. There again is my concern that it will jack up PowerPoint.

Of course I will start with a small sample as a test and take it one
step at a time from there. But one thought that hits me is how to DL
the add-in directly into the specific folder where it can then be
enabled in PPT? I'm thinking that would have to be an EXE file to do
that? Is there a way to have it DL and be enabled in PPT on the users
machine without them having to do any configuring?

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

 

[Gregg]

I think, too, "packaging" the smaller add-ins together would be best.
I'll have to see what I can use to code the DL from our intranet when
the user clicks the link.

I'll let you know how it goes and what I find when I start this. Thanks
for your time.

 

[Gregg]

Ok, I understand the code you wrote, but are you saying that would be
the reference string for the link? I've never written one like that. Or
are you saying that command line would go somewhere else?

I use UNC's, and prefer them, so that won't be a problem for the
source, but the destination path might involve a variable. I have to
decide what's best to copy to - a hard drive folder (no variable) or a
profiled folder (variable). The benny of the latter is they retain the
addins even though they move to a new machine.

Here's an example of a profiled path:
C:\WINNT\Profiles\ThisIsMyName\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns

You can see the variable "ThisIsMyName". It seems going this route
might require a bit of server side script to capture their profile ID
and concatenate the destination path.

BUT... to slam it into a local folder is awfully tempting and would
reduce work and red tape. So far I'm leaning for this simpler solution.

So, once the add-in is DL'ed and setting in a local folder, would the
user still have to "add" it through Tools|Add-Ins, or is there a trick
to make that happen?

Hey, Steve, mucho thanks for your time in helping me sort out my
initial thoughts on this. It's been a great help.

 

[Glen Millar]

I think, too, "packaging" the smaller add-ins together would be best.

Smart move! It is called "User Centred Design" <g>.

 

[Gregg]

Yeah, with my work load, I'm using as much "Self-Centered" design as I
can.