Follow this general procedure when building an Editor Add-on:
- Create an Apps Script project.
- Write code to define the add-on's appearance and behavior, using the built-in Apps Script HTML service.
- Test the add-on.
- Publish the add-on.
Create a script project
An Editor Add-on is a standalone Apps Script
project. The standalone script guide provides
instructions to create new projects.
You can also just
open a new script.
If you do this, the project file (initially named Untitled project) is
placed in your root Drive folder.
Collaboration
When you collaborate with others in developing an add-on, a single user account owns the add-on project. When you publish an add-on, a single user account acts as the publisher. The publishing account must have edit access to the add-on script project, but it doesn't need to be project owner.
It's very important to avoid situations where you lose access to an add-on's code or settings because the owner of the project left your organization.
To prevent losing access to add-on code, we encourage you to use shared drives when you collaborate on an add-on. Placing your add-on script file in a shared drive ensures that no single account is the sole owner of the project.
It is also recommended that you add collaborators to the script project's Cloud Platform (GCP) project. This helps ensure someone on your team always can access the add-on's Cloud settings.
Code the add-on
Once you have created a script project, you can begin writing code to define the add-on appearance and behavior. You use the Apps Script HtmlService to construct the add-on user interface—dialogs and sidebars— using conventional HTML and CSS. Editor Add-ons can define custom menu items as well.
As you code, refer to the Editor Add-on style guide for guidelines on how to design your add-on user experience. Also, be sure you understand and program for the different authorization lifecycle states your add-on can encounter.
Test the add-on
You can test Editor Add-ons before they are published to ensure they behave as expected. Testing requires you to create a test configuration and use a testing document, spreadsheet, form, or presentation.
See Test an Editor Add-on for details.
Publish the add-on
Publishing your add-on makes it available to others, either publicly or just users in your domain. Before you start the publishing process, be sure to review the publication overview.
Editor Add-ons are published to the Google Workspace Marketplace. Publicly available add-ons must complete add-on review before they are published.
See Publishing an Editor Add-on for more details.