Overview

Microsoft Office applications are a big part of most manufacturing companies’ product development process. For example, Microsoft Word is used to create product specifications, Microsoft Excel for product-related financial spreadsheets, and Microsoft PowerPoint for product briefings.

The Aras Office Productivity Connector provides a convenient way to manage Microsoft Office documents in Aras directly from the user interface of the Office applications. The connector helps standardize company documentation procedures by providing easy access to template documents, controlling file numbering and naming, and automating the creation of viewable files like PDF.

The Aras Office Productivity Connector administration is straightforward and contained completely within the Administration section of the Aras Innovator web client. The Connector is designed to be simple to use, and one aspect of this is that the administrator controls all options on a site-wide basis. This helps control corporate processes and simplify the user’s operation.

This Administration Guide assumes a basic knowledge of Aras configuration, including ItemTypes, Lists, and Methods. For more information on these topics, please see the Just Ask Innovator documentation, which can be accessed from within Aras Innovator by clicking the User icon in the upper-right corner, selecting Help, and selecting Just Ask Innovator.

It is recommended that all Aras Office Productivity Connector administrators read the Aras Office Productivity Connector 27 - User Guide. This guide explains how the administrator settings affect the user interface and provides in-depth instructions on topics like template management and Office file property mapping, which are both user- and administrative-related.