Sideload an Add-in for Testing

Try the Word or Outlook add-in on your own account before a rollout. For short tests only, and only with approval from your IT team.

For testing only, and only with approval from your IT team. Sideloading installs an add-in for your own account, outside your organization's central deployment. Many organizations do not allow this without approval, and some switch it off completely. To give the add-in to more people, your IT team deploys it centrally, as described in Add-Ins for admins.

When to use this

Sideloading is for a quick test by one person, for example to try Blockbrain in Word or Outlook for a few days before your organization decides on a rollout.

Use sideloading	Use central deployment instead
You want to try the add-in yourself, briefly, with your IT team's OK	A team, a department or the whole organization should get the add-in
Your organization has not deployed Blockbrain yet	Blockbrain is already in your Word or Outlook ribbon

Before you start

• Approval from your IT team to install a custom add-in for testing.

• A Blockbrain account. You sign in with your work email. Blockbrain also has to be activated for your organization. If the panel says it is not switched on for your organization, contact your Key Account Manager.

• The manifest file of the add-in you want to test. Open its install page and select Download manifest. This saves a small manifest.xml file to your computer.

Add-in	Install page
Word	ms-word-addin.theblockbrain.ai/v/2.0.0
Outlook	ms-outlook-addin.theblockbrain.ai/v/2.4.0

Each install page has a Download manifest button (Outlook 2.4.0 shown)

Test the Word add-in

The quickest way to test the Word add-in is Word on the web.

1

Open a document in Word on the web

Open Word in your browser, for example from office.com, and create or open a document.

2

Open the add-in settings

Select Home → Add-ins, then More Settings.

3

Upload the manifest

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select Upload My Add-in, browse to the Word manifest file you downloaded, and select Upload.

4

Open Blockbrain and sign in

Blockbrain appears on the Home ribbon. Select it to open the panel, then sign in with your work email. The Word Add-in – Quick Tour shows what to try first.

Word on the web keeps a sideloaded add-in in your browser's storage. If you clear the browser cache or switch to another browser, upload the manifest again.

Testing in Word for Mac

1. In Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G and go to ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Documents/wef. Create the wef folder if it does not exist.

2. Copy the Word manifest file into this folder.

3. Restart Word, open a document, select Home → Add-ins and choose Blockbrain.

Testing in Word for Windows

The Word desktop app for Windows has no simple file upload for test add-ins. For a quick test, use Word on the web with the same account. For a test in the desktop app, ask your IT team to deploy the add-in to you or a small pilot group.

Test the Outlook add-in

1

Open the add-in window

In your browser, go to aka.ms/olksideload. Outlook on the web opens with the Add-Ins for Outlook window.

2

Add the manifest

Select My add-ins. Under Custom Addins, select Add a custom add-in → Add from file, choose the Outlook manifest file you downloaded, and select Install.

3

Open Blockbrain and sign in

Open an email and start Blockbrain from the Apps button or the More actions menu. Sign in with your work email. The Outlook Add-in – Quick Tour shows what to try first.

Outlook no longer offers Add from URL for custom add-ins, so always download the manifest file first. The add-in is added to your mailbox, so it also shows up in Outlook desktop when you are signed in with the same account.

Remove the add-in after testing

Remove the test add-in when you are done, and before your IT team deploys Blockbrain centrally, so you do not end up with two copies.

Where you tested	How to remove it
Word on the web	Clear your browser cache. The sideloaded add-in is removed with it.
Word for Mac	Delete the manifest file from the wef folder and restart Word.
Outlook	Go to More apps → Add apps → Manage your apps, find Blockbrain, and select More options → Remove.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
No Upload My Add-in or Custom Addins option	Your organization has switched off personal add-ins. Ask your IT team, who can deploy Blockbrain to a small pilot group instead.
Blockbrain says it is not switched on for your organization	Blockbrain has not activated the add-in for your organization yet. Contact your Key Account Manager.
The Word add-in is gone after a while	The browser cache was cleared, or you are in another browser. Upload the manifest again.