Note: This repo is archived and no longer actively maintained. Security vulnerabilities may exist in the project, or its dependencies. If you plan to reuse or run any code from this repo, be sure to perform appropriate security checks on the code or dependencies first. Do not use this project as the starting point of a production Office Add-in. Always start your production code by using the Office/SharePoint development workload in Visual Studio, or the Yeoman generator for Office Add-ins, and follow security best practices as you develop the add-in.

Applies to: Excel 2016

This simple task pane add-in shows how to do common operations such as formatting and highlighting using the Range API in Excel 2016. It comes in two flavors: text editor and Visual Studio.

The simplest way to deploy and test your add-in is to copy the files to a network share.

1. Host the files in the Text Editor folder by using a server of your choice.

2. Edit the <SourceLocation> and <Url> elements of the manifest file (RangeHighlighterManifest.xml) so that it points to the hosted location from step 1. (for example, https://localhost/RangeHighlighter/Home.html)

3. Copy the manifest (RangeHighlighterManifest.xml) to a network share (for example, \\MyShare\MyManifests).

4. Add the share location that contains the manifest as a trusted app catalog in Excel.

   a. Launch Excel and open a blank spreadsheet.

   b. Choose the File tab, and then choose Options.

   c. Choose Trust Center, and then choose the Trust Center Settings button.

   d. Choose Trusted App Catalogs.

   e. In the Catalog Url box, enter the path to the network share you created in step 1, and then choose Add Catalog.

f. Select the Show in Menu check box, and then choose OK. A message appears to inform you that your settings will be applied the next time you start Office.

5. Test and run the add-in.

   a. In the Insert tab in Excel 2016, choose My Add-ins.

   b. In the Office Add-ins dialog box, choose Shared Folder.

   c. Choose Range Highlighter Sample>Insert. The add-in opens in a task pane to the right of the current worksheet, as shown in the following figure.

d.  The add-in populates a range with some sample data in the active sheet. Select a column of cells such as B3:B8 and click Go!. You should see the result in the active sheet. Try the other combinations of choices in the drop-down lists. Figure 2 shows duplicate values highlighted in the selected range.

1. Copy the project to a local folder and open the Excel-Add-in-JS-QuarterlySalesReport.sln in Visual Studio.
2. Press F5 to build and deploy the sample add-in. Excel launches and the add-in opens in a task pane to the right of a blank worksheet, as shown in the following figure.

3. The add-in populates a range with some sample data in the active sheet. Select a column of cells such as B3:B8 and click Go!. You should see the result in the active sheet. Try the other combinations of choices in the drop-down lists. Figure 2 shows duplicate values highlighted in the selected range.

The Excel JavaScript APIs have much more to offer you as you develop add-ins. The following are just a few of the available resources.

1. Excel Add-ins programming overview
2. Snippet Explorer for Excel
3. Excel Add-ins code samples
4. Excel Add-ins JavaScript API Reference
5. Build your first Excel Add-in