Consult this page for information about how to install the Agiloft Contract Assistant for Word, after configuring the app in your KB.

You may need to sign out of your Microsoft O365 account and then sign back in for the app to appear after installation.

Choosing an Installation Method

This section contains information about the two preferred installation methods. Both of these methods involve accessing the app from the Office Add-in store. If you don't see the Store tab in the Add-in manager, you may need to turn on connected experiences.

The two methods in this section are only available in Release 23 and beyond. If your KB is running a version of  prior to Release 23, or cannot access the Office Add-in store, visit Alternative Installation Methods.

Office Add-in Store

The best way for an individual user to install the Agiloft app for Word is to download it from the Office Add-in store. 

To install the add-in:

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Click Get Add-ins.
  3. Click the Store tab.
  4. Search for Agiloft and select it when it appears.
  5. Click Add.

O365

The best way to install the app for many users at once is through an O365 access group. You can also use this method for individual installation by creating an O365 group and including one user. This method is generally performed by an Office admin who can download the app from the Office Add-in store.

To install:

  1. Log in to O365 as an admin and follow Microsoft's how-to documentation on deploying add-ins in the admin center. 
  2. Once you get to step 3 in the Microsoft documentation, click Choose from Store.
  3. Search for Agiloft and click the app.
  4. Click Add.
  5. Click Continue.
  6. Proceed to step 5 of the Microsoft documentation.
    1. Under Assign Users, if this is the initial installation, choose either "Just me" or "Specific users/groups" instead of "Everyone" in order to test the app before full deployment. Testing with a small group of users usually consists of a small set of business stakeholders or users from your IT department.
    2. Under Deployment Method, choose if the app will appear by default, or if designated users need to install it.
  7. Complete the remaining steps of the Microsoft documentation.

If you chose the "Available" option in step 6b, your users need to complete the additional three steps below. If you chose a different option, it can take up to 24 hours for the app to appear on user ribbons.

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Click Admin-managed.
  3. Click the Agiloft app and click Add.

Alternative Installation Methods

This section contains information about the two alternative installation methods. Both of these methods involve installing the app with a manifest file. If you don't already have a manifest file, you can find that information in the Download Manifest section of Configuring the Agiloft Contract Assistant.

This note is visible to internal users only. You can find detailed information about obtaining a manifest file in the Working with Manifest Files section that becomes visible at the bottom of this page when you are logged in.

The two methods in this section are only used if your KB is running a version of prior to Release 23, or you cannot access the Office Add-in store. 

O365 with Manifest File

The best alternative way to deploy the app to multiple users, or a single user, is by adding a manifest file to an O365 access group and adding the users to that group.

  1. Open the Microsoft documentation and complete steps 1 and 2 of "Deploy an Office Add-in using the admin center".
  2. To complete step 3, follow these substeps:
    1. Click Upload custom apps.
    2. Select the "I have the manifest file (.xml) on this device" option.
    3. Select the manifest file.
    4. Click Upload.
  3. When you reach step 5 of the Microsoft documentation:
    1. Under Assign Users, if this is the initial installation, choose either "Just me" or "Specific users/groups" instead of "Everyone" in order to test the app before full deployment. Testing with a small group of users usually consists of a small set of business stakeholders or users from your IT department.
    2. Under Deployment Method, choose if the app will appear by default, or if designated users need to install it.
  4. Complete the remaining steps of the Microsoft documentation.

If you chose the "Available" option in step 3b, your users need to complete the additional three steps below. If you chose a different option, it can take up to 24 hours for the app to appear on user ribbons.

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Click Admin-managed.
  3. Click the Agiloft app and click Add.
To use either O365 installation method, ensure that the relevant user groups are selected in the REST groups multi-choice field at Setup > System > Manage Web Services.

Local Installation with Manifest File

Another alternative way for an individual user to install the app uses a zip file and a manifest file. This method should only be used if no other methods are possible, and is generally for an individual user who can't access the Office Add-in store or doesn't have access to an O365 access group or admin. This method is not compatible with Mac computers.

To install the app:

  1. Check the Local Disk section of your File Explorer to see if you have a folder called C:\AgiloftWordAddIn. If you do, skip to step 6 below. Otherwise, you must have admin permissions or an admin available to assist you for steps 2 and 3. Log into Windows as the user who requires access to the app.
  2. Run the ShareFolder_byAdmin.bat script by right-clicking the script file and clicking "Run as Administrator" from the drop-down list.
  3. If a warning appears, click More Info. Click the Run Anyway button at the bottom right of the window.
  4. Run the ConfigureWordAddin_byUser.bat script.
  5. If a warning appears, click More Info. Click the Run Anyway button at the bottom right of the window.
  6. Add the manifest file to the C:\AgiloftWordAddIn Shared Folder.
  7. Restart Microsoft Word. 
  8. Once Microsoft Word re-opens, click the Insert tab.
  9. Click Add-ins, and then click My Add-ins.
  10. Click Shared Folder. If the Shared Folder tab is missing from the add-in manager, there may be an issue with the Trust Center Settings for the shared folder's network path. For more information, visit the Microsoft Word Trust Center Settings section of Troubleshooting the Agiloft Contract Assistant.
  11. Select the Agiloft icon. Press the Add button in the lower right corner of the window, and then click Close.
  12. Check the Home tab of the ribbon in Microsoft Word to ensure that the app was added successfully.

Working with Manifest Files

This section and Editing Manifest Files are only visible to internal users.


If you are creating a zip file for a client, first be sure they truly require it: users should only require a manifest file if they are on a version previous to Release 23 or their organization cannot access the Office add-in store. 

To generate the zip file:

  1. Download this zip file. It contains only the default instructions and scripts.
  2. To download a manifest file, visit the Download Manifest tab of the Word Add-in configuration wizard of a KB that has already been configured with the app.
  3. Select the appsource option.
  4. Click Download Manifest file.
  5. Add the manifest file to the zip file. If you need to edit the manifest.xml file, do so before adding it to the zip file. Visit Configuring the Agiloft Contract Assistant for Word for instructions.

The zip file contains the following files:

  • ConfigureWordAddin_ByUser.bat: a script that executes the ConfigureWordAddin.vbs source code file.
  • ConfigureWordAddin.vbs: a Visual Basic script file that installs the manifest.xml file when called by the ConfigureWordAddin_ByUser.bat script.

  • manifest.xml: an XML file that contains the manifest file that is generated by the Download Manifest button in the configuration wizard. The installation of this file is what gives users access to the app. For information about how to generate a manifest file, visit Configuring the Agiloft Contract Assistant for Word. Manifest files can also be edited in a way that makes them compatible for installation with KBs other than the one it was originally generated from. For information about how to edit a manifest file, see Configuring the Agiloft Contract Assistant for Word. 

  • README.docx: a Word document that contains instructions on how to install the manifest file, similar to the instructions in the Individual Installation section.
  • ShareFolder_ByAdmin.bat: a script that executes the ShareFolder.vbs source code file.
  • ShareFolder.vbs: a Visual Basic script file that creates a shared folder, which is where the manifest file needs to be added. This is critical in the installation process, as the manifest file must be in a shared folder for it to be recognized as an add-in by Microsoft Word.

Editing Manifest Files

You can edit a manifest file so that it can be used by a KB other than the one it was generated from. If you make changes to a manifest file, clear your Office cache before you add the new version of the file. In Word, you can clear your cache via File > Options > Save > Cache Settings.

You can also add new manifest files to the shared folder (e.g. C:\AgiloftWordAddin). You don't need to clear your cache, and these new add-in instances show up automatically in the Word ribbon. The only other time you should clear your office cache is if you need to remove add-ins from Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, at this time there is no way to remove individual instances of the add-in without removing others while clearing your cache, but you can right-click and remove the app in some cases.

To modify the manifest file:

  1. Open the manifest.xml file using an application that supports code or text editing.
  2. Use the Ctrl+F feature to find the XML elements you need to modify, and then change their text.

There are several elements implementers may need to change, depending on the circumstances of the manifest file. ID, Version, Taskpane.Url, CommandsGroup.Label, DisplayName, or ProviderName are some of the most prominent. 

  • ID: should be changed if you suspect you are dealing with duplicate manifest files. This element is used to hold a unique GUID. GUIDs are automatically generated by Agiloft when the user creates a new manifest file using the Download Manifest button. If you need to generate your own GUID to edit a duplicate manifest file, visit this GUID Generator website.
  • Version: should be changed anytime the manifest file is going to be used for a new O365 access group. To change this, simply increment it slightly.
  • Taskpane.Url: should be changed anytime you need the manifest file to point to a different KB. However, this is unlikely to be necessary, as in this case a user should just download a new manifest file from the KB they'd like to use.
  • DisplayName: should be changed anytime you want the display name for the app to be customized for a customer.
  • ProviderName: should be changed anytime you want the provider name for the app to be customized for a customer.

If you use the O365 with Manifest File provisioning method, you can modify the manifest file to also contain the server and KB Name, to make it easier for users to connect to  and log in. To do so, edit the manifest file and find all references to the KB version selected in step 3 under Working with Manifest Files above (e.g. r25-stable) and replace them all with appsource. Note that this might require replacing any existing O365 deployment with a new deployment in order to allow the admin to upload the modified manifest file to O365 and push it out to users.

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