Introduction to MS Office Integration Plug-In

MS Office integration is an easy-to-use and easy-to-work with documents and messages from MS Office applications to VariPDM, or search and edit from VariPDM database.

Search, create or edit MS office files with ID, attributes and properties, revisions, versions, locking and link documents to existing items or other objects.

Supported applications are Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Installation is done to any PC with VariPDM MS Office plug-in installation. Integration uses VariPDM WebAPI.

Installation

• Run installer and click next until completed.
• On older Windows versions, installer will install .Net framework first which will take a while.
• Add-ins should appear in Office applications after installation..
• To uninstall, use the installer .msi, or remove with Windows uninstall tools.

Login

• You must log in before you can do anything else.
• Log in screen can be accessed from the highlighted button.
• Alternatively, trying to use any other controls while logged out will prompt you to log in first.

• Login screen has text fields for server URL, username and password.
• URL format is same as in VariWeb, supports HTTP and HTTPS protocols.
• Checking ‘Remember login’ saves server URL and username, but not password, in a settings file.

• Saved logins can be found in the dropdown menu in Server URL box.
• Multiple usernames per server URL are not stored, only the latest one.
• Passwords are not stored for security reasons.

• Once you successfully log in, login button will be replaced by a label showing current server name, and a log out button.

Quick Search

• Allows you to run a simple query to find files from server.
• Uses parameters entered in File ID and Full Text boxes.
• Wildcard symbols are automatically added at end of parameters.
• Adds current app’s supported extensions to search conditions, e.g., “*.doc || *.docx” for Word.

Search result view

• Displays results for a finished query.
• Shows one object per row, with attributes determined by query.
• Each row has buttons to open file or browse an object’s structure.
• Buttons will appear depending on object’s kind and facet.
• ‘Open’ button appears when query returns document objects with facet file, otherwise it’s hidden.
• ‘Open’ will open selected file for editing in current application
• ‘Browse Structure’ is always visible.
• ‘Browse Structure’ opens object in structure browser.