Getting Started with Office Add-ins: A Developer's Guide
6 min read
Building Microsoft Office Add-ins opens up a huge audience: millions of users already work in Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint every day. This guide walks you through the fundamentals.
We cover project setup with the Office Add-in project generator, understanding the manifest (XML) and how it defines your add-in's entry points and permissions. You'll see how to use the Office.js APIs for each host (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint), handle authentication with Microsoft identity, and deploy via centralized deployment or the AppSource marketplace.
Best practices include keeping the task pane lightweight, using SSO where possible, and testing across Office on the web and desktop. By the end you'll have a clear path from zero to a published add-in.
We cover project setup with the Office Add-in project generator, understanding the manifest (XML) and how it defines your add-in's entry points and permissions. You'll see how to use the Office.js APIs for each host (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint), handle authentication with Microsoft identity, and deploy via centralized deployment or the AppSource marketplace.
Best practices include keeping the task pane lightweight, using SSO where possible, and testing across Office on the web and desktop. By the end you'll have a clear path from zero to a published add-in.