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Sideload Office Add-ins on iPad for testing

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To see how your add-in will run in Office on iOS, you can sideload your add-in's manifest onto an iPad using iTunes. This action won't enable you to set breakpoints and debug your add-in's code while it's running, but you can see how it behaves and verify that the UI is usable and rendering appropriately.

Note

To sideload an Outlook add-in, see Sideload Outlook add-ins for testing.

Prerequisites for Office on iOS

Sideload an add-in on Excel or Word on iPad using iTunes

  1. Use a sync cable to connect your iPad to your computer. If you're connecting the iPad to your computer for the first time, you'll be prompted with Trust This Computer?. Choose Trust to continue.

  2. In iTunes, choose the iPad icon below the menu bar.

  3. Under Settings on the left side of iTunes, choose Apps.

  4. On the right side of iTunes, scroll down to File Sharing, and then choose Excel or Word in the Add-ins column.

  5. At the bottom of the Excel or Word Documents column, choose Add File, and then select the manifest .xml file of the add-in you want to sideload.

  6. Open the Excel or Word app on your iPad. If the Excel or Word app is already running, choose the Home button, and then close and restart the app.

  7. Open a document.

  8. Select Home > Add-ins, then select Get Add-ins. Your sideloaded add-in is available to insert under the Developer heading in the Add-ins UI.

Sideload an add-in on Excel or Word on iPad using macOS Catalina

Important

With the introduction of macOS Catalina, Apple discontinued iTunes on Mac and integrated functionality required to sideload apps into Finder.

  1. Use a sync cable to connect your iPad to your computer. If you're connecting the iPad to your computer for the first time, you'll be prompted with Trust This Computer?. Choose Trust to continue. You may also be asked if this is a new iPad or if you're restoring one.

  2. In Finder, under Locations, choose the iPad icon below the menu bar.

  3. On the top of the Finder window, click on Files, and then locate Excel or Word.

  4. From a different Finder window, drag and drop the manifest.xml file of the add-in you want to side load onto the Excel or Word file in the first Finder window.

  5. Open the Excel or Word app on your iPad. If the Excel or Word app is already running, choose the Home button, and then close and restart the app.

  6. Open a document.

  7. Select Home > Add-ins, then select Get Add-ins. Your sideloaded add-in is available to insert under the Developer heading in the Add-ins UI.

Remove a sideloaded add-in

You can remove a previously sideloaded add-in by clearing the Office cache on your computer. Details on how to clear the cache for each platform and application can be found in the article Clear the Office cache.

See also