Publishing the Outlook Add-In Through Microsoft 365 Admin Center (Centralized Deployment)

To begin using the Outlook add-in in your environment, you need to publish the add-in through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Requirements

Publishing the Outlook Add-In

To publish the Outlook Add-In:

  1. Navigate to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

  2. Go to Settings >Integrated Apps. For newer environments, you may also need to click Add-ins near the top of the Integrated Apps page.

  3. Click Deploy Add-in.

  4. Select Next on the Deploy a new add-in wizard.

  5. Select Upload Custom Apps.

  6. Select one of the following options to upload the manifest we provided to you:

    • Select Choose File, browse to the add-in's manifest and select it (if you've downloaded the manifest file).

    • Select the option to provide a URL for the manifest and fill in the URL. In Enter the URL of the add-in's manifest file, paste the following URL: https://shared.clientspace.net/Content/Manifest/OfficeManifest2.xml

  7. Select Upload.

  8. When prompted on the Configure add-in page to specify who the add-in is deployed to, select Specific users /groups.

  9. Search for and add the specific users you want to have the add-in.

  10. Continue following the wizard to deploy and test the deployment of the add-in.

FAQ on Removing an Older Add-In

According to Microsoft, you do not typically need to remove an older add-in if you are replacing it with an updated version. Here's why:

  • Manifest ID is the key: Outlook add-ins are identified by their ID in the manifest file. If your new manifest uses the same ID as the old one, deploying it will overwrite the existing add-in for the assigned users.

  • Automatic update: Centralized Deployment will push the new version to users automatically. They may need to restart Outlook for changes to appear.

If, however, the new add-in has a different manifest ID (e.g., a completely separate product or fork), then you must remove the old one manually to avoid conflicts or duplication.

Note: 

  • If you need to remove an older add-in, Microsoft has an article with an example of how to run the Remove-OrganizationAddIn cmdlet with the ProductId parameter to cleanly remove the add-in. Refer to Use the Centralized Deployment PowerShell cmdlets to manage add-ins article for details.

  • Add-in removal from users' Outlook clients can take up to 24 hours to be fully reflected across the tenant. Refer to the following Microsoft article for details: Centralized deployment FAQ.

Additional Information: Manually Installing the Add-In

Refer to the Installing from outlook.live.com for steps to manually install the add-in.

Note: A user's ability to install the add-in manually depends on your security policies. For instance, if you do not permit users to browse to URLs, an administrator with appropriate privileges can browse to the manifest file at https://shared.clientspace.net/Content/Manifest/OfficeManifest2.xml, download the file and provide it to users.

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