Deploy the Office add-in#

Report authors cannot use Reportworq's Excel and PowerPoint authoring until the companion add-in is installed. This page is for the administrator who deploys it to users who cannot or should not install it themselves, by Microsoft 365 Centralized Deployment or by a shared-folder sideload. For the add-in itself and what it does, see The Excel add-in.

When to use each method. Users with normal permissions can self-install from the Office Store (Home ▸ Add-ins, search "Reportworq"), and then admin deployment is not needed. Admin deployment is required, not just convenient, for:

• Excel 2016 users, who cannot self-install from the Store.
• Microsoft 365 users without internet access, who cannot reach the Store.
• Microsoft 365 users without add-in-install permission, whose policy blocks self-install.

Choose Centralized Deployment for those users when the Store path is available to you, and the shared-folder sideload as the on-prem alternative when the Store or central path is not usable.

Before you begin#

• SSL on the Reportworq server is a hard prerequisite. Without HTTPS the add-in does not function, whatever the delivery method.
• A licensed Reportworq account is required on every use, not just at install.
• The add-in reaches the server at port 8600 by default; a user can edit the server URL and port at sign-in.
• For Centralized Deployment, you have Microsoft 365 tenant-admin access to the admin center.
• For sideload, you have the manifest from Reportworq Customer Support (it is not shipped in the product) and a network share.

Deploy with Microsoft 365 Centralized Deployment#

This is Microsoft-hosted and largely independent of the users' Office version.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings ▸ Integrated apps.
2. Choose Add-ins ▸ Deploy Add-In ▸ Next ▸ Choose from the Store.
3. Search for Reportworq and choose Add.
4. Accept the license and privacy terms.
5. Assign the recipient users or groups and choose Deploy.
6. Optionally validate the deployment, then choose Next, review Microsoft's announcement guidance, and Close.

Staged rollout. Deploy to a single test user first, validate against the Reportworq server, then return to the same procedure to add more users.

Sideload with a shared-folder Trusted Add-in Catalog#

Use this when the Store or central path is not available, for example an air-gapped or Store-blocked estate. It configures each user's Excel Trust Center to load the add-in from a network share.

1. Obtain the manifest (manifest-1.zip) from Reportworq Customer Support. Sideload requires Reportworq v5.0.0.82 or newer; confirm the current minimum build with Support.
2. Place the manifest in a shared network folder (for example via Properties ▸ Sharing ▸ Advanced Sharing) and record the UNC path, for example \\machinename\Add-in. All Reportworq users need read access to the share.
3. In Excel, go to File ▸ Options ▸ Trust Center ▸ Trust Center Settings ▸ Trusted Add-in Catalogs.
4. Paste the UNC path in Catalog URL, choose Add catalog, tick Show in Menu, and confirm with OK (twice).
5. Close and reopen Excel.
6. Go to Home ▸ Add-ins ▸ More Add-ins ▸ Shared Folder and Add the Reportworq add-in.

The add-in installs into both Excel and PowerPoint.

Upgrade a sideloaded manifest#

Replacing the manifest on the share is not enough on its own, the old one stays loaded until you clear the cache:

1. On the Trusted Add-in Catalogs screen, clear the add-ins cache.
2. Close Excel.
3. Replace the manifest file in the share with the newer version.
4. Restart Excel, and reinstall the add-in if prompted.

Notes and limits#

• SSL is mandatory. The add-in will not function against a non-SSL server, regardless of delivery method.
• A licensed account is needed on every use, not only at install.
• Sideload is per-machine. Each user's Trust Center must be configured, and every user needs read access to the share.
• Skipping the cache-clear leaves the stale manifest active after a manifest upgrade.
• Centralized Deployment requires tenant-admin rights.

Going deeper. For the add-in's companion pane, list-report builder, published-view import, and chart/map tools, see The Excel add-in. For the Microsoft 365 registration behind the Microsoft-hosted flows and Entra sign-in, see Microsoft 365 OAuth setup.