Adding a custom "template group" in Word 2013

Question

Is it possible to add a custom template "tab" (for lack of a better term) to the start screen in Word 2013? In other words, is it possible to add another section in addition to "Featured" and "Personal?" in the interface below?

I'm interested in the feasibility of adding a, say, "Legal" tab, to surface templates developed specifically for an organization's legal department. I'm aware that a custom template directory can be pushed down via domain policy (read: registry edit) such that custom templates appear under the "Personal" tab, but that's not really ideal given the administrative overhead. Not to mention that the templates aren't "personal" at all.

Ideally, I'd like to accomplish this via an Office app. Looking at the JavaScript API for Office documentation, however, it doesn't seem immediately possible.

This post (via this SO question) describes the registry change and seems to suggest that customizing the "backstage" isn't possible.

Is such a customization possible? If so, via what means of customization? Using an Office add-in (managed), an Office app, some other registry modification...?

(And yes, I'm aware that "add-in" is the new term; for the sake of clarity I use the term "add-in" in the question to refer to the managed add-in project template available in Visual Studio 2013 as opposed to the Office app or Cloud app for Office templates)

Answer 1

You won't be able to add a custom group to the available template using the JavaScript-based Office Add-ins (This technology is rather limited in functionality - it's main advantage is that it can run cross-platform).

The approach to add custom templates is to create a Spotlight provider. It is described in detail here:

Deploy custom templates in Office 2010

The article talks about Office 2010, but it works also in Office 2013. You only would need to change the version number in the Registry Keys from 14.0 to 15.0.

Answer 2

Yes, I believe implementing a Backstage tab is possible by creating a Word 2013 VSTO add-in using Visual Studio 2013. (This is also possible by embedding Ribbon XML into a VBA add-in template that loads on start up as well.)

I will preface the course of action I outline below by saying that I think it would be easier and possibly provide a better UI experience to create a custom Legal ribbon tab with a gallery control populated by images of the templates. (A Custom Task Pane might also provide a good solution, depending on the use cases.)

Preparing Word

The screen capture you provided is the initial Backstage view that appears when Word 2013 is launched. (This view only appears at launch and future access to templates using this Word instance will need to be via the Backstage New tab.) As this Backstage "splash screen" cannot, to my knowledge, be modified, the first step is to disable it by going to File|Options|General|Startup Options and uncheck Show the Start screen when this application starts. This will cause Word to launch to a blank document and remove this splash screen permanently. And this setting can be pushed down to users PCs via group policy. (If you disabled this setting and then went the custom Ribbon tab route, you could have your templates displayed visually in the ribbon upon launch.)

The Approach

With the Backstage "splash screen" disabled, I suggest hiding the built-in Backstage New tab and then replacing it with a custom New tab that features your legal templates.

The Word Backstage view is altered via Ribbon XML code. This code is either embedded in a VBA template add-in or delivered via a VSTO add-in built in Visual Studio with C#, F#, or VB.NET. To hide the built-in New tab, the XML would contain this code:

<tab idMso="TabOfficeStart" visible="false"/>

You can find all the control identifiers here:

Office 2013 Fluent User Interface Control Identifiers

The Steps

1. Create the add-in project in Visual Studio (or the template in VBA)
2. Write the Ribbon XML which will remove the New tab and insert your custom tab with legal templates

Customizing the Office 2010 Backstage View for Developers (Applies to Office 2013 As Well)

Create Custom Tabs in the Office 2010 Backstage View (Applies to Office 2013 As Well)

3. Deploy the add-in

This should get you started, but you may need to seek out other articles on add-in creation and Backstage customizations.