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Content Office Add-ins

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Content add-ins are surfaces that can be embedded directly into Excel or PowerPoint documents. Content add-ins give users access to interface controls that run code to modify documents or display data from a data source. Use content add-ins when you want to embed functionality directly into the document.

Figure 1. Typical layout for content add-ins

Typical layout for content add-ins in an Office application.

Best practices

  • Include some navigational or commanding element such as the CommandBar or Pivot at the top of your add-in.
  • Include a branding element such as the BrandBar at the bottom of your add-in (applies to Excel and PowerPoint add-ins only).

Variants

Content add-in sizes for Excel and PowerPoint in Office desktop and in a web browser are user specified.

Personality menu

Personality menus can obstruct navigational and commanding elements located near the top right of the add-in. The following are the current dimensions of the personality menu on Windows and Mac.

For Windows, the personality menu measures 12x32 pixels, as shown.

Figure 2. Personality menu on Windows

12x32-pixel personality menu on Windows desktop.

For Mac, the personality menu measures 26x26 pixels, but floats 8 pixels in from the right and 6 pixels from the top, which increases the occupied space to 34x32 pixels, as shown.

Figure 3. Personality menu on Mac

34x32-pixel personality menu on Mac desktop.

Implementation

There are minor differences in the manifests between content add-ins and add-ins that use task panes.

For a sample that implements a content add-in, see Excel Content Add-in Humongous Insurance in GitHub.

Support considerations

See also