Office-js: How to share the same CustomTab in multiple hosts

Question

We are in the process of creating Office 365 Add-ins.

I was wondering, if there was a way to

use same ribbon menu buttons in different hosts (e.g., Word, Excel and PowerPoint, etc.)
If possible, re-use some of the parts in other hosts (e.g., using same ribbon menu buttons in Word and Excel and using only one button out of various in PowerPoint)

Is this possible, right now?

Rick Kirkham · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-08 18:12:37Z

1

Yes. That can be done. Within the VersionOverides section of the add-in manifest, each host (Document, Worksheet, Presentation) has its own Host section where you specify the ribbon/menu buttons. You can point to the same URLs and the same Resources (strings) within each Host section, so you can reuse button images/labels, etc. in multiple hosts. If there are buttons you don't need in PowerPoint, you leave those out of the Host section for Presentation.

UPDATE: The manifest is an XML file, so re-using markup basically means that once you have the markup you want in one Host section, you copy-and-paste the parts you want to reuse into other Host sections.

edited Mar 8, 2017 at 18:12

answered Feb 23, 2017 at 18:17

Rick Kirkham

9,9172 gold badges16 silver badges34 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

6 Comments

Naveed Butt Over a year ago

Thanks for the response. I meant to write the xml once and then re-use it under each host, if possible. Is there a way for that?

Rick Kirkham Over a year ago

If you want a different set of ribbon/menu buttons for different hosts, then you cannot have identical XML within the different Host sections.

Naveed Butt Over a year ago

Yes. I can understand that. But, I was asking same ribbon buttons for different hosts. What about that? Do I need to repeat that part of the xml for each host? or can I re-use part of that xml?

Rick Kirkham Over a year ago

You repeat it for each host.

Rick Kirkham Over a year ago

Well, it may be sad, but it's a weakness of XML, not the Office Add-in model. It is difficult to encapsulate/refactor with XML other than by just copy-and-paste. You can define complex types, but that does not help in this situation where you need to repeat specific values for specific tags and attributes.

|

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Office-js: How to share the same CustomTab in multiple hosts

1 Answer 1

6 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

6 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related