This guide is for Microsoft 365 admins who want Deltaline available to a team or the whole organization without every user installing it themselves. It uses Microsoft’s standard centralized deployment; there is nothing to install on the devices.
Microsoft changes the admin center from time to time. If a label below looks different in your tenant, Microsoft’s own guide Deploy Office Add-ins in the Microsoft 365 admin center has the current wording.
Before you start #
- You need an admin role that can manage integrated apps in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Users need Excel from Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac, or Excel on the web, signed in with their work account.
- Deltaline is distributed through Microsoft Marketplace, so you deploy it straight from the store; there is no manifest file to upload.
Deploy from Integrated apps #
- Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Go to Settings > Integrated apps (select Show all in the left navigation if you do not see Settings).
- Select Get apps to open Microsoft Marketplace, or open the Add-ins link at the top of the page and select Deploy Add-in, then choose the store option.
- Search for Deltaline, select it, and accept the terms.
- Choose who gets it: Everyone, Specific users/groups, or Just me for a first test. Microsoft recommends groups, because people who join the group get the add-in automatically.
- Select Deploy and wait for the confirmation.
It can take up to 24 hours, sometimes longer, until the add-in appears for every user. Users may need to close and reopen Excel. A sensible rollout starts with Just me or a small pilot group, then widens.
What users see afterwards #
Deltaline appears among the admin-managed add-ins in Excel. Users insert a chart from the Add-ins menu on the Home tab: a chart frame appears on the sheet with Pick a chart type, they select one cell in their data and click a chart picture. There is no ribbon button, because each chart is its own object in the workbook.
Updates need nothing from you. Deltaline’s code is served from addins.pythonandvba.com, so every user gets the current version the next time a chart loads.
Colleagues who only view reports #
Viewers never need a license, but they do need the free Deltaline add-in. Anyone who opens a workbook with Deltaline charts sees them render and update once the add-in is available to them; until then, Excel shows an add-in message in the chart’s place instead of the chart. In practice:
- Include readers in the deployment group too. The add-in is then available to them, and they never need a license key.
- Readers outside your organization receive the workbook like any other file. They add the free add-in from Microsoft Marketplace, or their own admin deploys it. Where neither is possible, send them an exported PNG or HTML file instead.
Locked-down tenants #
If your organization blocks users from getting add-ins from the store themselves, only centrally deployed add-ins run. Deploying Deltaline as above is then the way to make the charts work for your users, including the ones who only read reports. To stop Deltaline later, turn it off or remove it on the same Integrated apps page.
Mac and the web #
- Excel on the web: centrally deployed add-ins appear in the browser for users signed in with their work account. No installation on the device.
- Excel on Mac: users need Excel from Microsoft 365, signed in with their work account. The add-in then appears like on Windows.
Licensing for teams #
Deployment makes the add-in available; a license unlocks the Pro chart types for the people who build and edit charts. The Team license covers up to 15 users, as a one-time purchase. Each author pastes the key once, under License in the chart menu. There is no sign-in, no account and no per-reader seat. See the plans on the Deltaline page.
Security questions #
Deltaline draws charts inside Excel and never sends workbook data anywhere. Each chart loads its code from addins.pythonandvba.com and Microsoft’s office.js; only authors make a license check, once per author action. The architecture, network and storage details are on the Deltaline security and architecture page, and the formal document is the privacy policy. For anything else, contact support.