{"id":23371,"date":"2024-11-19T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T20:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/microsoft365dev\/?p=23371"},"modified":"2024-11-19T08:40:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T16:40:37","slug":"whats-new-for-office-add-ins-at-ignite-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/microsoft365dev\/whats-new-for-office-add-ins-at-ignite-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s new for Office Add-ins\u00a0at Ignite 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Office Platform team continues to improve the developer experience with significant updates across various tools and applications. We\u2019re bringing more Office apps into the Microsoft 365 unified app model, making it easier than ever to build add-ins across the ecosystem. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this blog, we introduce several updated Office Add-in platform and tooling experiences that focus on authentication, distribution, and user experience. Updates across Outlook classic and new versions emphasize functionality and user transitions. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have several interface and workflow updates that aim to streamline tasks and support developers in creating more efficient solutions.\u00a0Let’s dive into the details!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Office Add-in platform and tooling updates<\/h2>\n

We’ve improved the <\/span>deve<\/span>lopment and deployment of add-ins across Microsoft 365 and have some important updates and tools to share.<\/span> With f<\/span>eatures like Nested App Authentication, installation deep links, and <\/span>increased<\/span> unified manifest<\/span> support<\/span>, the platform is more secure, efficient, and user-friendly.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nested App Authentication for Office Add-ins now GA in Outlook and in preview for Word\/Excel\/PowerPoint<\/h3>\n

Nested app authentication (NAA) <\/span>facilitates<\/span> single sign-on (SSO) for applications nested within supported Microsoft applications. Compared <\/span>with the <\/span>on-behalf-<\/span>of flow<\/span>, NAA offers better security and flexibility in app architecture when <\/span>deve<\/span>loping client-driven applications.<\/span> It’s also<\/span>\u00a0the same pattern that other Microsoft 365 experiences <\/span>utilize with <\/span>MSAL.js, just like other standard web applications.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NAA is now generally available (GA) for Outlook on Windows (new and classic), on Mac, on the web, and on mobile devices. NAA is in preview for Office Add-ins in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. To get started with NAA, try out the sample<\/a>. For more information, see Nested app authentication and Outlook legacy tokens deprecation FAQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Web add-in installation deep link for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint now GA on all platforms<\/h3>\n

In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, we simplified the process of distributing Office Add-ins by enabling direct installation from a website. With the install link, you can easily insert it anywhere you need, including an official website, blog, or social media post to streamline the add-in installation process for better acquisition conversion. You can allow users to open your add-in from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the web, or the native apps on Windows or Mac.<\/p>\n

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To learn more, see Sample code for the Web Widget that facilitate Office add-in distribution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Windows installation for all Office Add-ins (Web\/COM\/VSTO) \u2014 (preview)<\/h3>\n

This November, we\u2019ll gradually release the capability to integrate the installation of an Office Add-in together with the developer\u2019s installer on Win32. This capability is used for new user installations and existing user upgrades for either the main application or COM\/VSTO add-ins making it easy for JavaScript add-ins distribution. End users no longer need extra search steps to install an add-in from the Office Add-ins store because add-ins are automatically installed together with the main application installer in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.<\/p>\n

Office Add-ins Development Kit for Visual Studio Code \u2014 (preview)<\/h3>\n

The Office Add-ins Development Kit for Visual Studio Code is already available for public preview and will be generally available very soon! This kit simplifies add-in development by setting up environments, creating new projects, previewing add-ins, and making real-time code changes. It also allows developers to explore real-world samples within Visual Studio Code, making the development process more efficient and user-friendly.<\/p>\n

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To install, visit Microsoft Office Add-ins Development Kit<\/a> on the Visual Studio marketplace.<\/p>\n

To learn more, visit Create Office Add-in projects using Office Add-ins Development Kit for Visual Studio Code<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Microsoft 365 unified store available soon in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint<\/h3>\n

The Office Add-ins store serves as a centralized hub for users to explore, install, and manage add-ins provided by Microsoft and third-party partners. The updated store, integrated into Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, provides a consistent experience across all Microsoft 365 apps. This new unified store is designed to be more modern, user-friendly, and easy to navigate. We’ll be gradually rolling out the new store to all Word, Excel, and PowerPoint enterprise users soon.<\/p>\n

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Create Word, Excel and PowerPoint add-ins with the unified manifest for Microsoft 365 \u2014 (preview)<\/h3>\n

Microsoft is enhancing the ability to create a single unit of distribution for all your Microsoft 365 extensions by using a unified manifest format and schema. The unified manifest is a key <\/span>component<\/span> of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem provid<\/span>ing<\/span> a <\/span>single<\/span> model for distributing and managing Teams apps, Outlook add-ins, as well as Copilot agents which work across Microsoft 365 apps.<\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> At Build 2024, Outlook announced the general availability of this unified manifest, enabling developers to create a single app that works across Outlook, Teams, and Microsoft 365 apps. We’re excited to announce that this capability will be available for preview in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint soon.<\/p>\n

For developers, this update allows you to build a single solution that works seamlessly across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and Microsoft 365 through the updated Teams Toolkit. You can create apps with unified manifest from scratch or import your existing Office Add-ins that use the add-in only manifest. The toolkit helps you convert it to an app with unified manifest. Then, you can debug the app in your targeting Office apps, as well as Teams and Microsoft 365 apps with the Teams Toolkit. In addition, you can also test it by deploying the app in your tenant in the \u201cIntegrated apps\u201d page under Microsoft Admin Center > Settings<\/strong>. This page allows you to manage app access at both the app and user (group) levels.<\/p>\n

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Improved Outlook capabilities across Outlook Classic, new Outlook, and Outlook on mobile<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve introduced a range of updates to expand the capabilities of Outlook across its classic version, the new Outlook on Windows, and Outlook on mobile devices. Key updates include data loss prevention with Smart Alerts, improved attachment management, online signature automation, and better support for web add-ins during the transition to the new Outlook on Windows.<\/p>\n

Expand<\/span>ed <\/span>sc<\/span>enarios and <\/span>c<\/span>apabilities<\/span> on new<\/span> Outlook on Windows<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The new Outlook on Windows<\/a> desktop client unifies the Outlook experience across platforms into a single web codebase. Its modern interface provides a consistent user experience and faster access to feature updates. Due to the web-based nature of the new Outlook on Windows client, only web add-ins are supported on this client.<\/p>\n

As you continue to plan and transition your existing COM and VSTO add-in solutions to a web add-in, we\u2019re excited to announce that we’re making significant progress to enable even more scenarios<\/a> for your web add-in solutions in new Outlook on Windows. These scenarios include:<\/p>\n