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Excel addin which uses Excel API 1.2. Add-in loads fine in Excel 2016 for Windows and Excel online. Save the file from Excel online and open in Excel 2013, addin fails to load in Excel 2013 with following errors:

When loading the Addin published in Store:

APP ERROR We can't load this app because we could not connect to catalog

When sideloading the addin from trusted catalog:

This app could not be started. Close this dialog to ignore the problem or click restart to try again

I know that Excel 2013 does not support Excel API 1.2. Could you please confirm the recommended way to make sure the add-in loads in Excel 2013?

• Should we use runtime checks using isSetSupported method?

• In such cases, how to debug which line of code is failing in Excel 2013 client?

• Is there any logging that can be enabled to troubleshoot such issues in Excel client?

I tried debugging a default add-in created by VS 2015 which uses Excel 1.2 API in Excel 2013. I added the following requirements set to the Manifest:

<Requirements>
    <Sets DefaultMinVersion="1.2">
      <Set Name="ExcelApi" />
    </Sets>
</Requirements>

The addin also fails to load in Excel (15.0.4849.1003) when debugging using VS 2015. It works fine in Excel 2016 client.

DForck42
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Pradip Fopse
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1 Answers1

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I think there are two separate issues here (though there's a good chance that they're related, and the platform is simply giving the wrong error string. If so, let's confirm, and then I can file a bug to have us fix this).

Excel 2013 does not support the "ExcelApi" requirement set, which is a 2016 addition of the host-specific APIs (same goes for "WordApi"). If you specify ExcelApi in the requirements section of the manifest, as you have above, this will always fail to load in Excel 2013 -- by design. Essentially, you're requesting an API set and marking it as "required" for something that Excel 2013 does not support -- so it has no choice but to refuse to run it.

This is where the runtime check (isSetSupported) comes in. Please see my answer at Neat ways to get environment (i.e. Office version) for more details.

I am not sure what you mean by "how to debug which line of code is failing" or troubleshooting techinques. Essentially, any call to an Office 2016 API (anything in the ExcelApi set) from 2013 will result in a runtime failure...

Hope this helps!

Community
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Michael Zlatkovsky - Microsoft
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