Install Annotate PRO for Microsoft Word / O365
You install Annotate PRO for Microsoft Word (2016/19/21 or O365 versions) from the Microsoft Office Store which you reach from the Insert tab inside Microsoft Word.
Annotate PRO is forever free. Create as many Libraries, Groups, and Comments as you’d like – then use them in Word, Google Docs, Canvas, Schoology, Blackboard – almost anywhere you type.
When you sign up you’ll get a 14-day free trial of our paid features including Sub-Groups, analytics, student history, and Forms. After the 14 days, you can continue with the free version or choose to license our software and/or content.
The trial comes with access to Annotate PRO College Edition which adds 250+ more pre-written comments suitable for college and high school writing feedback. We also offer Libraries for Presentation Skills, Legal Writing, and more. Most powerfully, organizations can license Annotate PRO and then create their own libraries to be automatically shared across all faculty. Whether you are running a writing across the curriculum initiative, a tutoring team, or a professional editing operation, Annotate PRO can bring cloud comment libraries into your daily work, saving hours of effort while helping create much more detailed feedback.
Annotate PRO for Microsoft Word Gettin’ Started Guide:
First, make sure your Microsoft Word installation is up to date. Microsoft are releasing updates that directly affect add-ins like AP on a monthly basis. AP may work on older versions of Windows and Office, but we only officially support Windows 10 and newer running Office 16 (2016/19/21 and O365). If you’re stuck running an older version and it works, great! If not you’ll have to update.
Steps to install the free Annotate PRO Microsoft Word App:
Note: if your computer or Office account is provided by your school or organization your ability to install Microsoft add-ins like AP may be limited. It is quite easy for your organization’s IT department to allow individuals or groups to install add-ins or even specific add-ins. See our short guide detailing what to ask of your IT partners. Chances are they’ll be happy to help you explore new technology!
Okay – on with the steps:
1. Open Microsoft Word (you may know it as “Office 365”)
2. Click the Insert tab
3. Look for the Get Add-ins button.
4. This will open the Microsoft Add-in store. Search the Office Store for “Annotate PRO”. Click the ADD button on the right-hand side of the frame.
5. This will open the Microsoft Add-in store. Search the Office Store for “Annotate PRO”. Click the ADD button on the right-hand side of the frame.
- You will be prompted to agree to the license terms and privacy policy. Click Continue.
6. Congrats! You’ve installed Annotate PRO for Word.
- Create an account – use your school email to ensure you can use the forever free version of AP available to educators and that you connect to your organization’s AP institutional license.
- Signing up with email requires verification that you own the email account; you’ll receive a confirmation email within a minute or two and must click on a link in that email to verify your email.
- Once you’re ‘in,’ you can use the Add a Library button on the Annotate PRO home page to review available Libraries, like the College Edition or Legal Writing Edition, and choose to install them.
Quick Overview Video – Installing Annotate PRO for Microsoft Word
FAQ – Annotate PRO for Microsoft Word
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What version of Microsoft Word do I need to happily use Annotate PRO?
Microsoft has become a lot cooler and competent over the last few years…but their naming conventions for Office still leave a lot to be desired.
- Office 365 is the name for a subscription version of Office. It is the same thing as saying “Office 2019” or “Word 2021,” at least for now.
- Office 2019 or Office 2021 is the latest Office product from Microsoft.
- If your installation of Office is managed by a central IT group your ability to update might be limited.
Please check out our post on updating Word to make sure you’ve got the latest version possible.
To see what version you’ve got:
- Windows 7 / 8 / 10 / 11:
- Open Word
- Click File > Account or Help from the list on the left
- You should see your
- macOS
- Open Word 2016/2019/O365
- Click Word > About Word in the app menu
- Your version should be displayed.
For help see this Microsoft support page.
In general, you should be in good shape if your version of Microsoft Word is at least:
- Windows 7 / 8 / 10 / 11:
- Version 16.0.6741 or later
- macOS:
- 15.20 or later
- Office Online:
- January 2017
How do I update Microsoft Word?
Sometimes the technology folks at an organization control the updating of Word – you can’t just do it yourself.
So update Word if you can! Here’s how.
How to add or create a Comment Libraries?
Visit our Create and Edit Annotate PRO content to learn how to create new Libraries, Groups, sub-Groups, and Comments. Learn how to move Comments between Groups and share content (if you are an institutional user) with your colleagues.