Microsoft Office task pane

The Office pane packages an xcsh sidebar for supported Excel, Word, and PowerPoint hosts. xcsh office --help describes the installed serve, print, and sideload actions.

Who owns the test surface?

Package tests own pane components, bridge messages, and host-independent state. Office-host integration tests own document application programming interfaces (APIs), sideloading, and task-pane lifecycle. A change that crosses the bridge requires both suites; a passing browser-style component test does not prove Word, Excel, or PowerPoint host behavior.

What must be running?

The pane build and its local bridge server must match the xcsh version used for the session. One active sidebar binds to one server session at a time.

Which host steps vary by platform?

Ribbon placement, the sideload mechanism, and trust prompts differ across Office on Windows, Office on macOS, and Office on the web. Read the sideload action from xcsh office --help, then follow the Microsoft sideloading procedure for the specific host you are targeting.

Goal	Recommended surface	Why
Edit or analyze a standalone document	The document workflow	It can render and verify the saved artifact.
Control the open Office task pane	The Office integration	It operates in the signed-in host application.
Run a repeatable batch job	Headless mode or SDK	It avoids UI-dependent focus and selection.

The Office host, active document, selection, and signed-in account determine scope. Confirm all four before a write. Save to a test copy, reopen it, and inspect the changed region; closing a dialog is not proof that the document persisted.