# Set up the Office add-in

Capture documents into Content Central straight from Word, Excel, Outlook, and more — install the right edition of the add-in, connect it to your server, and learn the three ribbon buttons that do the work.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.x · Audience: user · Time: 15 minutes · Last verified: 2026-09-05

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/integrations/set-up-the-office-add-in

**At the end of this guide, a Content Central tab lives in your Office apps — capture a document or an email without leaving Word or Outlook, update documents you've captured before, and check files out for editing.**

The add-in comes in two editions; use the one that matches how your organization runs Office:

| Edition | For | How you get it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Desktop** | Office installed on your PC (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, Project) | Download from Content Central (below) |
| **Microsoft 365 web add-in** | Office on the web / organizations that deploy add-ins centrally | Your Microsoft 365 administrator deploys it; it appears in your apps on its own |

Both connect the same way once installed. This guide walks the desktop edition; for the 365 edition, skip to step 3 when the buttons appear.

## Step 1: Download the installer

1. In Content Central, open the user menu (your name, top right) and choose **Downloads**.

2. Under **Office Integration**, download the **x64** installer ("Recommended for most users") — or **x86** only if your Office itself is 32-bit.

*[Screenshot: Desktop tools live here: Content Director, the DirectScan Agent, and the Office Integration installers.]*

## Step 2: Install

Close your Office applications, run the downloaded setup, and follow the wizard. Reopen Word (or any Office app): a **ContentCentral** ribbon tab appears.

## Step 3: Connect it to your server

1. On the new ribbon tab, click **Settings**.

2. Under **Content Central Server Settings**, choose **Content Central URL** and enter your site's address (the same one from your browser). Click **Confirm** and wait for the status check.

3. Under **Log in**, pick your **Domain** (or `<None>` for a local account), enter your **User Name** and **Password**, and click **Test Log In**.

4. Click **Save Settings**.

**What you should see:** the confirm step verifies it can reach your server, and Test Log In proves your credentials — green lights on both means you're connected.

## What the buttons do

On the **ContentCentral** tab (group **Management**):

- **Capture New** — sends the open document into Content Central. A **Content Central Check In** dialog asks where: **Destination** (**Catalog** to file directly, or a **Personal**/**Shared Coding Queue** to index later), then **Catalog** and **Document Type**, then **Upload**. If the document type has field lookups, **Perform field lookup(s)** fills values for you.
- **Update Document** — pushes your changes back to a document that came from Content Central.
- **Check Out** — takes the editing lock, same as [checking out in the browser](/content-central/documents/check-out-and-check-in).

**Outlook** gets its own version: in the message list, the **Content Central** tab offers **Capture New** for selected emails, and an open message adds **Update Document** and **Check Out**. The capture dialog gains one Outlook-only option: **Send to Deleted Items after upload**.

## When the tab is missing

- **Desktop:** Office sometimes disables COM add-ins after a crash or slow start — re-enabling it is its own quick fix (guide coming to this site; until then, your administrator or support can walk it in two minutes).
- **365 edition:** the add-in is deployed by your Microsoft administrator; if colleagues have it and you don't, that's a deployment-group question, not an installation one.

## What's next

- [How documents get into Content Central](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/capture/how-documents-get-into-content-central)
- [Check a document out and back in](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/documents/check-out-and-check-in)