You can access and start installed and authorized add-ons
directly from the
application the add-on extends.
Starting a Google Workspace Add-on
Google Workspace Add-ons that you have installed
automatically appear in the
host application
interface as a column of icons (under icons for Google products like Calendar,
Keep, and Tasks). The host application represents each add-on by a
small icon; this icon is specified in the add-on's
manifest
.
Clicking an add-on icon opens the add-on interface, and clicking the icon
again hides the interface. The location of the icon depends on the client
(desktop or mobile).
On desktop
An icon for each Google Workspace Add-on a user has
installed appears in the right-nav of the
Google Workspace
host application
.
An icon is only presented if that Google Workspace Add-on has been enabled for use with that host in its
manifest
.
![Google Workspace Add-on sidebar](/static/workspace/add-ons/images/workspace-addons-using.png)
When a user clicks a Google Workspace Add-on icon, a
corresponding trigger fires to build the initial
homepage
for the add-on. Once the
homepage card is constructed, the add-on returns it to the host application
for display. If the add-on doesn't define a homepage, a default
card is presented instead.
If you open an add-on that isn't fully authorized, it prompts you to
authorize
it. After you review
and authorize the requested permissions, the add-on homepage appears, and
you can then begin interacting with it.
You can close the add-on UI at any time by clicking the add-on icon again
(or clicking the icon of a different add-on), or by clicking the
close
icon in the add-on header.
Gmail compose
![Compose UI add-on location](/static/workspace/add-ons/images/compose-addon-location.png)
Google Workspace Add-ons can
extend the Gmail compose UI
,
which provide add-on functionality from Gmail's "compose message" window.
For these add-ons, the add-on icon appears in the horizontal row at the bottom
of the compose window. The add-on icons are placed to the right of the standard
icons for message formatting, attaching files, and so forth.
Calendar conference solutions
Google Workspace Add-ons can add one or more
conference solutions
to the Google Calendar event interface. These solutions don't appear as a card
interface; rather, they appear as conferencing options in Google Calendar's
native
Edit event
interface.
Calendar represents each add-on conferencing solution by a name and a
small icon, each specified by the
calendar.conferenceSolution[]
fields in the add-on's
manifest
.
When you select an add-on's conference solution, Calendar asks you to
authorize
the add-on (if you
haven't already), and may ask you to further authorize the third-party
conferencing system the add-on connects to. After authorizing, you can freely
select any of the add-on conference solutions for your events.
On mobile (Gmail only)
![Mobile add-on location](/static/workspace/add-ons/images/mobile-addon-location.png)
On mobile, the Google Workspace Add-ons that extend
Gmail have icons that appear as a horizontal row at the bottom of the currently
open message or draft. Clicking an icon opens that interface at the bottom of
the message.
For Google Workspace Add-ons that
extend the Gmail with compose actions
,
the add-on icons appear in the compose view's top-right menu.
Starting an Editor Add-on
Most Editor Add-ons create one or more menu items in the
add-ons
menu
of the editor. It's a best practice to create at least one menu item for
an Editor Add-on to serve as the initial launch point that explains the
add-on's purpose and usage. Selecting one of the add-on menu items causes
some functionality of that add-on to start; often add-ons use menu items to open
the main sidebar or dialog that represents the primary add-on interface.
Google Forms doesn't use the same menu bar as the other editors. Instead, you
can find Forms add-on menu items by clicking the
extension
icon in the upper left of the
Forms editor interface. Forms add-ons only extend the form editor, not the
forms that are sent out to for replies.