During the summer Microsoft released a new tool, MSDN English Forum Assistant. It’s a gadget tool and it provides us with a shortcut to MSDN forums, i.e. we don’t need to use any web browser. The tool targets all visitors and makes it easy to ask questions, monitor threads or forums, access FAQs and search for knowledge.
I have been using it since June 2011 and I find it quite useful and easy to use. So I suggest that You at least checkup this free tool. (It reminds me about the nice utility we can use at Expert Exchange (EE) – QuickEE).
But since the tool only target MSDN forums it does not cover the native MS Excel Q&A forums. The forums included in MSDN forums that target MS Excel are; Excel for Developer, VBA and VSTO.
The first screen shot below shows the start page of the gadget (on the desktop):
The next screen shot shows the settings we can do:
The below screen shot shows the list of forums (I have selected) and where I can ask questions in. After selecting the forum the tool opens a page (in the web browser) and I can write my question.
Finally, the below screen shot shows the list of forums’s FAQs. What is noteable is that this list of FAQs is fixed and we cannot manipulate it. When selecting one FAQ the web browser opens the FAQ’s page:
If You are still interested You can find more information and download at:
MSDN English Forum Assistant (Gadget)
Kind regards,
Dennis
VSTO & .NET & Excel 