Skip to main content

Distribute Exopen for Excel across the whole organisation

Intended for: IT administrators (Microsoft 365 administrators) who want to deploy the add-in centrally to users and groups.

Overview​

As a Microsoft 365 administrator you can deploy Exopen for Excel centrally to the whole organisation, or to selected users and groups, via the Microsoft 365 admin center. The add-in then appears automatically in the Excel menu for the users you have chosen, without them having to install it from the Add-in store themselves.

Exopen for Excel is published in Microsoft Marketplace (formerly AppSource). You therefore deploy it directly from there, not by uploading a manifest file. Updates and improvements are distributed to users automatically.

ItemValue
Name in MarketplaceExopen
AppSource IDWA200006483
Permission the add-in requestsRead and write the document (ReadWriteDocument)
HostExcel (desktop and Excel Online)

Before you begin​

  • You need to be a Global Administrator or Exchange Administrator in Microsoft 365.
  • Your organisation needs to support centralised deployment of Office add-ins (Centralized Deployment). This works for most Microsoft 365 organisations, but not all. For example, support is missing in some on-premises Exchange environments.
  • The add-in gives access to the tool itself. Users also need to be invited to the Exopen portal and assigned the right groups, see Onboard users.

Microsoft describes what centralised deployment is and which requirements apply here: Centralized deployment of add-ins.

If you are unsure whether your organisation meets the requirements, you can run Microsoft's Centralized Deployment Compatibility Checker, which checks licences and mailboxes per user. It is described in the same article: Centralized Deployment Compatibility Checker.

The full official guide to deploying Office add-ins is here: Deploy and manage Office Add-ins in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

We recommend a phased rollout:

  1. Roll out to a small test group, for example IT and a few key users. Verify that the add-in appears and works.
  2. Roll out to a wider group and evaluate again.
  3. Do a full rollout to all affected users.

Deploy the add-in​

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (admin.microsoft.com) as an administrator.
  2. In the left menu, choose Show all, then Settings and Integrated apps.
  3. Click the Add-ins link at the top of the Integrated apps page.
  4. Click Deploy Add-in and then Next.
  5. Choose the option to get it from Microsoft Marketplace (Office Store).
  6. Search for Exopen, select the add-in and accept the terms.
  7. Choose who the add-in should be deployed to: Everyone, Specific users/groups or Just me. We recommend assigning via groups.
  8. Click Deploy.
  9. A green tick is shown when the add-in has been deployed. Click Next to finish.
note

Users may need to restart Excel to see the Exopen icon in the ribbon. It can take 24 to 72 hours before the add-in is visible to all users.

Choose who the add-in is deployed to​

Everyone: Assigns the add-in to all users in the organisation. Use sparingly, only for add-ins that really should be available to everyone.

Groups: Users added to the group automatically get the add-in, and lose it when they are removed from the group. This is the easiest to manage over time and what we recommend.

Specific users: Must be added one by one. New users must be added manually.

Just me: Assigns the add-in only to your own account, good for testing before a wider rollout.

Updates​

Because the add-in is deployed from Microsoft Marketplace, updates are handled automatically. When a new version is published, the add-in is updated the next time the user starts Excel. You as administrator do not need to do anything.

Remove or change the assignment​

In Integrated apps, open Exopen for Excel to change which users and groups have access, or to remove the add-in. Changes can take 24 to 72 hours to take effect for users.

After deployment​

Inform users that the add-in is available and link to the guide Getting started. Remember that central deployment only gives access to the tool. Users still need to be invited to the Exopen portal and assigned the right groups to see their reports, see Onboard users.