Excel Add-in Desktop can't open window (window.open) on MacOS

Question

I’m experiencing a strange issue with my Excel add-in when trying to implement authentication by opening a popup for the login page.

It works fine on Windows (both desktop and online), but when I try it on macOS (desktop), the popup simply doesn’t appear.

I even tried a very simple test — window.open('', '') — and it doesn’t do anything on Mac’s desktop version of Excel. macOS desktop also doesn’t have developer tools like online, which makes it hard to debug.

Interestingly, it works fine in Safari, just not in the desktop client.

Has anyone else faced a similar issue?

Answer 1

Dear @Jirat Meewassana ,
Thank you for posting your question in Microsoft Q&A.  

Based on your inquiry, we understand that you're experiencing an issue where the authentication popup does not appear on the macOS desktop while using Excel add-ins. We will be glad to assist you with this part. 

According to my research, when you're working with Excel Add-ins on macOS desktop, the system leverages a very robust security feature called WebKit sandboxing. Because of this high level of security, macOS can indeed prevent pop-up windows from appearing within your add-in., leading to the restriction of window.open() behavior for reasons like: 

1. Preventing unauthorized content: To stop add-ins from opening untrusted or malicious content outside their confined space. 
2. Controlling user experience: To ensure pop-ups are opened deliberately and securely by the Office application itself, rather than by the COM add-in.  

Privacy and security for Office Add-ins - Office Add-ins | Microsoft Learn 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.  

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