Office Link

As Microsoft 365 moves Office work to the cloud, traditional desktop integrations are no longer enough

Day-to-day collaboration with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook is increasingly shifting to Microsoft 365. However, when Office documents are managed separately from the leading system, users face media breaks, duplicate files, and unclear version statuses. At the same time, modern features such as co-authoring are difficult to combine with controlled change and approval processes. Companies therefore need a solution that seamlessly connects familiar Office tools with the digital thread and makes documents available within the right product, project, and process context.

Your benefits

Create and edit Office documents directly from Microsoft 365 in CONTACT Elements
Keep files, metadata, status, and versions consistently synchronized
Store documents in OneDrive or SharePoint while managing them centrally in Elements
Collaborate on documents and transparently track coordination
Link emails and attachments directly to products, projects, and processes

Create new documents in just two clicks

Whether it’s Word, Excel, or PowerPoint: Office Link enables users to create new documents in CONTACT Elements directly from the Office application. The Office file remains in OneDrive or SharePoint and is automatically linked to the new document in Elements. Any changes saved in Office are synchronized directly with CONTACT Elements – eliminating media breaks, manual uploads, or duplicates. Existing Office files can also be easily added to an Elements document.

Create new documents in just two clicks

Save in Office, manage in Elements

Office Link permanently links the Office file to the document in CONTACT Elements. This allows you to monitor status, versions, and permissions in Elements while the file remains stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. In the Office application, an add-in displays contextual information – such as linked objects, status, and lock status – and allows you to switch to Elements directly. Metadata is synchronized automatically and made available consistently throughout the entire digital thread.

Save in Office, manage in Elements

Open and edit documents in Office

Office documents can be opened directly from CONTACT Elements in Office Web or Desktop. The file is automatically locked in Elements, and changes are directly synchronized back to the system. This allows Elements to combine the flexibility of Microsoft 365 with the process reliability required in an enterprise environment.

Open and edit documents in Office

Collaborate on documents

By storing documents in OneDrive or SharePoint, multiple users can work on a document simultaneously. Microsoft 365 features such as co-authoring and comments are combined with the status information and Activity Stream in CONTACT Elements, enabling transparent and traceable coordination processes.

Collaborate on documents

Transfer emails and attachments directly from Outlook to Elements

Business-related emails and attachments are stored directly in Elements and linked to projects, products, or processes. This ensures that decisions and communication remain permanently traceable and are available to all stakeholders in the appropriate business context.