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Install the BluePencil add-in for Microsoft Word

The add-in puts a BluePencil Reviewer pane inside Word so you can pull the latest draft into your document and send your tracked changes back with one click — no downloading and re-uploading between rounds.

It is not a program you install: it is a small configuration file (a “manifest”) that tells Word to load BluePencil’s pane from this website. It works in Word for Windows, Word for Mac, and Word in the browser, and it updates automatically.

Step 1 — Download the manifest file

Download BluePencil manifest (.xml)

Save it somewhere you can find it, e.g. your Downloads folder. You only do this once.

Step 2 — Add it to Word (pick your Word)

Word in the browser (easiest — works on any computer)

  1. Open your document at office.com (or from OneDrive) in Word for the web.
  2. On the ribbon choose Add-ins (on the Home or Insert tab) and pick Upload My Add-in (sometimes under “More Add-ins” → “My Add-ins”).
  3. Choose the manifest file you downloaded.
  4. BluePencil Reviewer appears on the ribbon — click it to open the pane.

Word for Mac

  1. In Finder choose Go → Go to Folder… and paste: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Documents/wef
    (If the wef folder doesn’t exist, create it inside …/Data/Documents.)
  2. Move the downloaded manifest file into that folder.
  3. Quit and reopen Word.
  4. On the Insert tab open the Add-ins dropdown — BluePencil Reviewer is listed under Developer Add-ins.

Word for Windows

Individual installs on Windows desktop require a “trusted catalog” network share, which is fiddly. The better route on Windows is the organization-wide install below — or simply use Word in the browser, which works immediately.

For IT: install it for your whole team (recommended)

  1. A Microsoft 365 administrator opens the admin center → Settings → Integrated apps → Upload custom apps.
  2. Provide the manifest by URL: https://bluepencilbooks.com/word-addin/manifest-production.xml
  3. Assign it to the people who review manuscripts.

The add-in then appears automatically on the ribbon in Word for Windows, Mac, and the web for everyone assigned — no manual steps for each person.

Step 3 — Use it

  1. Open a chapter document exported from BluePencil (Review → Export to Word → Download .docx), or any document you want to bind.
  2. Click BluePencil Reviewer on the ribbon and sign in.
  3. The pane binds the document to its chapter. From then on: Pull latest draft brings each new draft round into your document as a redline, and Send Back to BluePencil submits your tracked changes and comments.

If your install is still pending, the Review page has a fallback: download the .docx, edit in Word with tracked changes, and drag the file onto “Return reviewed document”. Use it to avoid being blocked — the add-in is the intended way to work.