Any easy way to notify user to update powerpoint add-in

is there a way to notify user about a new version of plugin available?

This can be certainly done by writing some custom code to ping webservice, finding status and based on that displaying message, but then i 开发者_JS百科am wondering if there is a predefined way/template available which can be used and achieved.

If you are sharing sample code, I like C#.

I think one of the best ways to achieve this without writing your own custom code is to use ClickOnce (or a ClickOnce alternative) - "ClickOnce applications can be self-updating; they can check for newer versions as they become available and automatically replace any updated files."

ClickOnce can be and is often used in conjunction with Office addins - for example, see http://robindotnet.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/how-do-i-programmatically-find-the-deployed-files-for-a-vsto-add-in/

Also, another question regarding open-source options to Click-Once might be a good idea - clickonce - what is a good open source alternative to clickonce? (DDay.Update)?