Microsoft Excel for Docusign IAM

1. Quick Start

1. Prepare the workbook

• Keep the workbook as an .xlsx file in your own OneDrive for work or school.
• Format the data as a Table (in Excel: Home → Format as Table). The app works with tables, not loose ranges.
• Give each table a column whose value is different in every row, such as an invoice number, an employee ID or an email address. The app uses it to find rows.

2. Install the App

• Open the Docusign App Center and search for Microsoft Excel.
• Open the Microsoft Excel app card by Fluidlabs, click Install App, then Install and Authorize.

3. Create a Connection

• On the installed app page, click Connect Account, choose Private or Shared, name the connection and click Log In.
• Sign in with your Microsoft 365 work or school account, then choose the workbooks and, for each table, the column that identifies a row.

4. Create a Workflow

• In Docusign, open Workflows and create a workflow.
• Add a Microsoft Excel step: Read from Microsoft Excel, Writeback to Microsoft Excel, or File Upload to OneDrive and Excel.

5. Available Actions

• Read from Microsoft Excel: read a row to pre-fill an agreement.
• Writeback to Microsoft Excel: add a row, or update one.
• File Upload to OneDrive and Excel: store the signed document in a OneDrive folder, or beside the workbook with a link in the row it belongs to.

6. Key Things to Know

• Every connected table is one object in Docusign, named after the table and its workbook, for example Invoices (Finance 2026).
• A row's Record ID is the value of the column you chose when connecting, for example INV-1042. Sorting, filtering or inserting rows never changes it.
• To add a workbook or a table, reconnect. After you rename a column, run Reload Objects on the connection.
• A Read step that finds no row does not stop the workflow. Its variables are empty.

2. Implementation Guide & Known Behaviors

What the app works with

Accounts	Microsoft 365 work or school accounts. Personal Microsoft accounts cannot connect.
Files	.xlsx workbooks in your own OneDrive. SharePoint sites, Teams files and files shared with you are not available. .xls, .xlsm, .xlsb and .csv files are listed but cannot be chosen.
Data	Excel tables (Format as Table). A sheet with data but no table shows "No tables found".
Limits per connection	Up to 10 workbooks and 50 tables. A table can have up to 10,000 rows and 200 columns.
Language	The app is only available in English.

In some organisations a Microsoft 365 administrator must approve the app before anyone can connect. A connection that is not used for 90 days must be reconnected.

Objects and Fields

• Each connected table is one object, labelled Table name (Workbook name). In a few places, such as the field browser's Source column, Docusign shows the object's internal name instead: the table name followed by four characters, for example InvoicesK3x9. The four characters come from the table itself and stay the same when you reconnect.
• Each column is one field, labelled with the column's header.
• Every object also has:
  • Record ID, labelled with the column it comes from, for example Record ID (Invoice #). Read-only.
  • Row Number: the row's current row number on the sheet. It changes when the table is sorted; use it to find the row in Excel, never to identify it.
• A column's type comes from its values: date when every value in its first 200 rows is a date, number when every value is a number, TRUE / FALSE when every value is TRUE or FALSE. Anything mixed, and every empty column, is text.
• A column of formulas can be read but not written.

The Record ID

• The Record ID of a row is the value of its Record ID column. You can map a form value or a variable straight into Record ID, without a Read step.
• It is compared the way Excel compares text: case and surrounding spaces are ignored. Nothing else is: INV 1042 is not INV-1042, and 00123 is not 123.
• In a numeric Record ID column, send digits: 1042. 1,042 and 1042.0 also find the number 1042. A value that is not a number, such as 1e3, is refused with a message.
• Changing the Record ID cell itself changes the row's Record ID; the old one then finds nothing.
• If two rows share a value, or a row's value is empty, those rows are still returned by a search, with a Record ID that starts with no-id:. Updating such a row is refused with what to fix in Excel.
• A table connected without a Record ID column can be read and added to, but its rows cannot be updated.

Searching for a Row

• Operator: the rule editor offers Equal to.
• AND and OR can both be used. The rule editor lists conditions without parentheses; keep a rule to one connector, or check it with preview this step.
• Text comparisons ignore case and surrounding spaces: acme ltd finds Acme Ltd.
• Dates are compared by calendar day.
• When a rule contains Record ID with AND, the other conditions are not applied: a Record ID identifies one row.
• A rule that matches nothing returns no rows; the workflow continues with empty variables.
• Rules on Record ID, or on the Record ID column, are the fastest. Every other rule reads the whole table.

Reading Row Data

Column type	Reads as
Text	The text as stored, without Excel's display formatting
Number	The number, for example 1234.5
Date	Midnight UTC on that day: 2026-11-30T00:00:00.000Z
TRUE / FALSE	true or false
A link written by the File Upload step	The document's address

• Empty cells are left out of the result.
• Rows are returned in table order, top to bottom. A single record takes the first match.

Writeback Behaviors

Topic	Behavior
Mapped fields	Written. Fields you do not map are left as they are.
Record ID column	Required on Create. A value that already exists is refused and nothing is added, unless that row is exactly what the step would add (the values sent, every other column empty): then its Record ID is returned and nothing is written. Stored as text exactly as sent.
Text	Stored as text, exactly as sent: 00123 keeps its zeros, and a value starting with = is not treated as a formula.
Numbers	Plain numbers: 1234.56 or $1,234.56. 77,50 is refused.
TRUE / FALSE	true, yes, 1 or false, no, 0.
Dates	The calendar day stated in the value; a time of day is dropped.
Blank value on Update	Clears the cell. The Record ID cell is never cleared.
Formula columns	Not listed: they cannot be written.

• Every write is checked against what Excel stored. If Excel stored something different, the step fails and names the field.
• If the workbook is open in a desktop Excel that locks it, writes fail with "locked for editing". Excel for the web and desktop Excel with AutoSave on do not lock it.
• The app never deletes rows.

When the Workbook Changes

You…	Effect	What to do
Sort, filter, insert or delete rows; edit cells	None	Nothing
Add a column	Not visible yet	Reload Objects on the connection
Rename a column or the table	Steps using it fail until reloaded	Reload Objects, then re-map the field
Delete the Record ID column	The table can only be read and added to	Reconnect and choose another column
Add a table, or want another workbook	Not visible	Reconnect
Rename or move the workbook within OneDrive	None	Nothing
Delete the workbook	Steps fail naming it	Reconnect

3. Installation and Configuration

Prerequisites

• A Microsoft 365 work or school account with OneDrive, and the workbooks saved in that OneDrive.
• A Docusign account with admin rights to install and manage apps in the App Center.

How to Install the App

• Open the Docusign App Center and search for Microsoft Excel.
• Click the Microsoft Excel app card by Fluidlabs, then Install App.
• Review the access the app requests and click Install and Authorize.

The app now appears with an Installed status.

Connecting Your Account

• On the installed app page, click Connect Account.

• Connection Visibility: Private (only you) or Shared (multiple users or the whole team).

• Name Connection: enter a name; it appears in workflow steps. Click Log In.

• Pick your Microsoft work or school account. The first time, Microsoft shows a consent screen for Excel for Docusign by Fluidlabs with three lines: Maintain access to data you have given it access to, Sign you in and read your profile, and Have full access to your files. Click Accept. In some organisations an administrator has to approve the app first.

  

• Choose workbooks: tick up to ten workbooks. Search by file name if the one you need is not listed. A workbook created in the last few minutes may take a few minutes to appear.

  

• Row keys: for each table, keep Use this table in Docusign ticked and choose the column whose values identify a row. The app suggests one and shows whether its values are unique. A table without such a column can be connected with No Record ID column: workflows can then read and add its rows, but not update them.

  

• Done: review the tables and their Record ID columns, then click Finish.

  

The connection is ready to use in workflow steps. Nothing is added to your workbooks.

Managing Connections

On the Microsoft Excel app page, open Manage → Manage Connections. The three-dot (⋮) menu next to a connection offers:

• Edit connection name.
• Reconnect: opens the same steps again, with your last choices selected. Use it to add a workbook or a table, or to choose another Record ID column. If you leave out something that was connected, the last step lists it under No longer connected, and steps that use it stop working.
• Reload Objects: refreshes the fields after you add, rename or remove a column.
• Delete Connection: ⚠️ breaks the workflows that use it.

Revoking Access

To withdraw the app's access to your files, remove Excel for Docusign by Fluidlabs from the apps of your Microsoft account (myapps.microsoft.com), or ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to. Every connection that uses that account then stops working until it is reconnected.

4. How to Use the App

Available Actions

Click + Add Step in a workflow and look under your installed apps:

• Read from Microsoft Excel: find a row and expose its values as workflow variables.
• Writeback to Microsoft Excel: add a row, or update the row a rule finds.
• File Upload to OneDrive and Excel: store a document from the workflow.

A typical flow:

1. Read from Microsoft Excel: find the invoice, employee or contract row.
2. Send Documents for Signature: pre-fill the agreement with the row's values.
3. File Upload to OneDrive and Excel: store the signed agreement beside the workbook, linked from the row.
4. Writeback to Microsoft Excel: update the row's status.

5. Read from Microsoft Excel

1. Add Read from Microsoft Excel.
2. Connection: select your connection. Microsoft Excel object: choose the table. Click Next.
3. Click Add or Remove Fields and tick the columns the workflow needs. Select all ticks every column. Click Next.
4. Create the rule that finds the row, for example:
   • Microsoft Excel field: Invoice #
   • Operator: Equal to
   • Workflow field: a variable, such as a web form's invoice number, or a typed value
5. Under How many records should this step return?, choose A single record (the first match) or Multiple records (up to five).
6. Use preview this step to check the rule against your table, then click Apply.

The preview shows each selected field as the workflow will receive it: numbers as numbers, dates as 2026-11-30T00:00:00.000Z, TRUE / FALSE as true / false, and empty cells as empty.

6. Writeback to Microsoft Excel

1. Add Writeback to Microsoft Excel.
2. Select the connection and the table, then a Write setting:
   • Update or Create: updates the row the rule finds, or adds one if it finds none.
   • Update: updates an existing row only.
   • Create: always adds a row.
3. Click Add or Remove Fields and tick the columns to write. The Record ID column is required for Create and Update or Create. Formula columns, Record ID and Row Number are not listed.
4. Map each field to a variable, or type a value.
5. Create the rule that finds the row to update, usually Record ID equal to the Record ID of an earlier Read step, then click Apply.

⚠️ Map from the right source. The variable picker also lists the output of your Read step. Mapping from there writes the original values back unchanged.

With Update or Create, a rule that finds no row adds one; running the workflow again with the same Record ID updates that row.

7. File Upload to OneDrive and Excel

The step stores a document produced earlier in the workflow, such as the Combined Envelope File of Send Documents for Signature. It offers two kinds of drive.

Store in a OneDrive folder

• Select drive: OneDrive.
• Select folder: pick a folder of your OneDrive, or add a subfolder built from text and variables. A folder that does not exist yet is created.
• File name: build it from text and variables, and end it with .pdf. Characters OneDrive does not allow in names (" * : < > ? / \ |) are replaced with _.
• A file is never replaced: if the name is taken, the new file gets a number, for example Signed NDA 1.pdf. The same document delivered twice is stored once.

Store beside the workbook, with a link in the row

Each table with a Record ID column has its own drive, named Link in a row of followed by the table and workbook.

• Select drive: the table's Link in a row of … drive.
• Select folder: the text column that should hold the link. Only text columns are listed; the Record ID column and formula columns are not.
• Add a subfolder and map it to the Record ID of the row, for example the Record ID of an earlier Read step.
• File name: as above.

The document is stored in a folder named Workbook name - signed documents beside the workbook, and a link to it is written into the row:

• Usually the cell shows the file name as a link. While fewer than three other cells of that column hold anything, the cell holds the document's address as text instead: Excel copies a formula written into an otherwise empty table column into every row, so the first three links are written without one. From the fourth row on, links show the file name.
• Reading the field in a workflow returns the document's address in both cases.
• A cell that already holds something else, including a formula that shows nothing, is left alone and the step fails. A link the app wrote earlier is replaced; the earlier document stays in the folder.
• The link opens for people who already have access to that folder. The app does not change sharing.
• If the document was stored but the link could not be written, for example because the workbook was locked, the step fails and says so. Running it again reuses the stored document and writes the link once.

8. FAQ & Troubleshooting

My workbook is not in the list.

The list shows .xlsx files in your own OneDrive. A file created or uploaded in the last few minutes may take a few minutes to appear: search for it by name. Files on SharePoint or shared with you are not available.

"No tables found" for my workbook.

Select the data in Excel and choose Home → Format as Table, then reconnect.

A table says "Too large".

A table can have up to 10,000 rows. Split it, or archive old rows to another table.

Why does a table say "Still has Excel's default name"?

Tables named Table1, Table2 and so on are hard to tell apart in Docusign. Rename the table in Excel (Table Design → Table Name) and reconnect.

A step says it cannot find a row.

The Record ID must match the value in the Record ID column, ignoring case and surrounding spaces. Check that the row exists and that its Record ID cell was not changed.

A step says two rows have the same Record ID.

Make the Record ID column unique in Excel. Until then those rows can be read by a search on another column, but not updated.

A step says the workbook is locked for editing.

The workbook is open in desktop Excel without AutoSave. Close it there, or turn AutoSave on, and run the step again.

A field I expect is missing from the step.

Run Reload Objects on the connection, then reopen the step and select the field again. For a new table or workbook, reconnect.

A step that worked before fails after I renamed a column.

Run Reload Objects, then re-map the field in the step.

A step says "Microsoft did not answer" or "Microsoft is busy".

The Excel service was slow or temporarily unavailable. Run the step again; nothing is written twice.

A step says "Excel did not confirm whether the row was added".

Microsoft did not confirm the new row. Run the step again after a minute: the app then looks for the row and adds it only if it is not there.

The link in the row is an address, not the file name.

The first three links of a column are written as addresses, so Excel does not copy them into every row. Later links show the file name. Both open the document.

Someone gets "access denied" when opening the link.

The link opens for people who can open the signed-documents folder. Share that folder in OneDrive with them.

I only see "Equal to" in the Operator list.

Equal to is the operator the step offers. Combine conditions with AND to narrow a search.

Can I use a personal Microsoft account?

No. Excel's online service serves workbooks only from OneDrive for work or school.