VSTO Word add-in - new document event not firing if Word is launched from the executable

Question

In my add-in, I need to create a task pane for each open document. In the add-in's startup method, I subscribe to the ApplicationEvents4_Event.NewDocument and Application.DocumentOpen events, and then create a task pane for each opened document:

((ApplicationEvents4_Event)Application).NewDocument += CreateTaskPaneWrapper;
Application.DocumentOpen += CreateTaskPaneWrapper;

foreach (Document document in Application.Documents)
{
    CreateTaskPaneWrapper(document);
}

This covers cases for opening or creating a document through Word's menu, or opening an existing document file in the OS. However, if Word is already opened, launching WINWORD.EXE (or accessing it through a shortcut, which is a pretty common scenario) doesn't trigger either event, despite a new window with a new document being opened. How can I react to this scenario and create a task pane for a document created this way? I'm using VSTO 3 and Visual Studio 2008, targeting Word 2007.

Answer 1

If Word is started, a new document is created BEFORE the Add-In loads, therefore this event can not be trapped.

If you need to work with the initially created document, just take a look at the Documents collection - if Count is greater zero, this document is the one created by Word before your Add-In was loaded.