A Unified Microsoft Office Add-In Built to Streamline Document and Matter Management
We developed Rizeware Addins, a powerful add-in for Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that enables professionals to manage documents, search files, and organize matters without leaving the Microsoft Office environment.
Introduction
The client needed a single, cohesive solution to manage documents and matter-related information directly inside Microsoft Office products. Their teams worked across Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but document handling required switching to external tools, causing inefficiencies and workflow gaps.
They wanted an add-in that allowed users to:
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Organize files without leaving Office apps
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Access and manage matter-specific documents
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Search and filter content instantly
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Maintain consistency across all Office tools
The goal was simple: bring document management into the user’s daily workspace, the Office itself.
The Challenge
Building an add-in compatible across four major Office products came with several complexities:
1. Fragmented Requirements & Evolving Scope
The client’s vision evolved continuously, and initial specifications lacked clarity.
To overcome this, we applied a structured discovery approach — asking targeted questions, validating assumptions, and proposing flows that helped shape the final product direction.
2. Multi-App Consistency Across Outlook, Word, Excel & PowerPoint
Each Microsoft Office product behaves differently in terms of:
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UI rendering
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Permissions
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Add-in runtime capabilities
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API availability
We had to architect a solution that maintained uniform behavior, regardless of the host application.
3. Efficient Document & Matter Retrieval
Users expected lightning-fast search and filtering. We optimized API queries, standardized metadata mapping, and ensured the add-in handled a variety of file types smoothly.
4. Managing Productivity Without Breaking Native Office Workflow
The add-in needed to feel native, not intrusive. We designed interactions that complemented Microsoft’s UI patterns, ensuring a minimal learning curve.
Our Approach
We built a unified, cross-application Office add-in powered by React and .NET, delivering:
Seamless Multi-App Integration
One codebase working flawlessly across Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Advanced File & Matter Management
Search, organize, and link documents directly from the sidebar panel.
Optimized User Productivity
All essential actions are available inside the application, where work is already happening.
Modular Architecture
Easy future expansion without disrupting current workflows.
The Impact
+47%
Increase in productivity for users who previously switched tools to manage files.
+60%
Faster document search and retrieval due to optimized file management logic.
3×
Smoother workflow by centralizing document handling inside familiar Office applications.
100%
Adoption success across teams using Outlook, Word, Excel & PowerPoint.
Engineering clarity where others add complexity. We help businesses build, modernize, and scale with the right technology. Whatever your challenge, stage, or vision, we make IT possible.
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