Word to App · Your App Cloud
Build an app from your Word document
Upload the procedure, template or register you keep in Word. Plan how its numbered steps become a checklist for each case, its blanks become fields, and who signs in to do each step.
From a document that describes the work to an app where it gets done.
Say what kind of document you have, write down what its readers carry in their heads, then run one case through both.
01
Say what the document is for
Attach the Word file with the upload button above. In the prompt, say whether it is a procedure people follow, a template they copy for each job, or a register with one section per site. Point out the parts that are only background.
02
Write down what the text assumes
A procedure is written for someone who already knows the job. Add who does each step, when it is due, which steps some cases skip and what should happen when one runs late.
03
Run one made-up case end to end
Start a case in the preview, such as a new hire beginning next Monday, and check off every step in the order the document gives. Compare the app with the document line by line, then say who signs in before you publish.
Where each part of the procedure goes.
Read across each row: what you see in the Word file, what it can become in the app, and how to confirm it. Northwind, its two offices in San Diego and Irvine, and every quoted line are made up for illustration.
| In your Word document | In your app | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A numbered procedure, such as Northwind's new-hire steps: '1. Send the offer letter. 2. Order the laptop. 3. Create the email account.' | A checklist that starts fresh for every case, here each new hire, with a done state on each step | Count the numbered items in Word and the steps in the app. Sub-steps such as 3.1 and 3.2 belong under step 3, and a list that restarts at 1 after a heading may be a second checklist. |
| A person or team named inside a step: 'IT sets up the laptop' or 'The manager books the welcome lunch' | An owner on the step, and a list for each person of the steps waiting on them. People sign in to the published app | Steps written like 'The badge is ordered' name nobody. Give each of them an owner in the prompt, then sign in with a test account for IT and read that list. |
| Timing written into the text: 'at least 5 business days before the start date' or 'during the first week' | A due date worked out from a date on the case, and a view of the steps that are late | Say whether 'days' means business days or calendar days, and which day 'the first week' ends on. Enter a start date that falls on a Monday, work out two due dates by hand and compare them with the app. |
| A step for some cases only: 'If the new hire works remotely, ship the laptop to their home address' | A step that appears only when a field on the case calls for it, such as Works remotely: yes | Create one remote and one office-based test hire. The shipping step should show on the first and stay off the second. |
| A line that makes one step wait for another: 'Do not order the laptop until the signed offer is back' | A step that stays closed until the one it waits for is done, or one that shows a warning instead | Say in the prompt which of the two you want. Then, as a test user, try to check off the laptop step first and confirm the app responds the way you described. |
| Blanks in a letter or template, such as [First name], [Start date] and [Office], or mail merge fields such as «FirstName» | Fields on each case, typed in once, and an email the app can send from them | Search the file for '[' and '«' and list every blank you find in the prompt. One blank used three times is still one field. Send the first email to your own address from a record with a field left empty, and read it. |
| The folder of filled-in copies beside the template, with names such as 'Onboarding_Brooks_Irvine_FINAL' | Fields and a status on each record, and one list you sort and filter instead of a folder of files | Each part of a file name carries information: here the person, the office and whether the copy is finished. Name each part in the prompt as a field or a status, then open a test record and look for all three. |
| A section repeated for each office, San Diego and then Irvine, with the same sub-headings every time: Address, Parking, Door code, Who hands over keys | A collection with one record per office, a field for each sub-heading, and each new hire linked to an office | Compare the number of offices in the app with the sections in the document. A door code should not sit in a list every new hire can open, so say who may see that field and check from a second test account. |
| The sign-off at the bottom: 'Checklist completed by ________ Date ________' | A Completed status on the case, with the name of the person who closed it and the date | Close a test case while signed in and confirm the saved name is your account's, not a name anyone could type into a box. |
What a procedure leaves to the reader.
A Word procedure assumes a reader who already knows the job. It says what to do, but rarely who is waiting on a step, what counts as done, or which copy is current. Settle those on a copy of the file and in the prompt.
Upload the version people follow
A shared folder often holds 'Onboarding v3', 'v3 FINAL' and 'v4 draft'. Upload the one in use today, and mention any step people now do differently from what the text says.
Pull steps out of paragraphs
Some steps hide in prose, such as 'Once the laptop arrives, IT can enroll it.' Turn those into numbered items on the copy you upload, or name them in the prompt, so they become steps rather than notes.
Name what done means
'Check that the badge works' can end in a check mark, a date, a note or a photo of the badge. Say which for each step. A photo or a copy of a signed page needs File storage.
Keep real people out of the sample
Upload the procedure as it reads before anyone fills it in. If a completed example would help, replace the new hire's name, home address and phone number with made-up ones first.
An illustrative starting point
The work the document describes, in one app.
A checklist for each new case, an owner and a due date on every step, and records where filled-in copies of the file used to pile up.
A checklist for every case
Each new hire, site visit or job gets its own run of the procedure. Two people starting the same week no longer share one printed sheet with two sets of initials on it.
An owner and a date on each step
Every step names who does it and when it is due. Each person opens their own list of what is waiting on them, instead of rereading the document to find their part.
Records instead of copies
Instead of saving a new copy of the template for each visit, people add a record whose fields are the template's blanks. Later, you find a visit report by filtering the list rather than opening files one at a time.
A register from repeated sections
Plan one record for each office, site or project the document writes up in its own section, and count the records against the sections. Say who may see details such as door codes, and check it from a second account.
Together in your app cloud
The pieces behind the possibility.
Choose the models and services that support the experience you want to create.
Database
Keep data and context for apps and agents
Authentication
Give the right people access
Email
Keep conversations moving
File storage
A home for your documents and media
A little more context
Good questions.
Is this about opening a Word file in the Word app?
No. This guide builds your own web app from what a document describes, such as its steps and blanks. To move a document from Word for the web into the desktop app, Microsoft's help points to the Open in Desktop command, or Open in app for a file stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.
Will the app keep my document as a Word file?
No. The upload is a snapshot you plan from, not a Word file the app edits and saves. What you build holds the steps, fields and records you describe, which people open and change in a browser, including on phones. If a record needs a finished Word file attached, such as a signed offer letter, add a file field, which needs File storage.
My document is mostly tables. Which guide fits?
Use the Word Tables to App guide, linked below, when most of the content sits in tables, such as an equipment list with serial numbers. It covers rows, columns and repeated header rows. Stay here when the text describes steps to follow, blanks to fill or sections that repeat.
What happens when the procedure changes?
Editing the Word file changes nothing in the app, because an upload is a snapshot. Make the change in Studio and publish it after review. Decide first whether cases already under way keep their old steps or take the new ones, and check one test case of each kind.
Can the app remind people when a step is due?
Apps can send email and run tasks on a schedule you set. For example, each morning the owner of every step due that day could get a short list. Send the first messages to yourself, and compare the list with the app before anyone relies on it.
Which plan does a procedure app need?
A page that only shows the procedure can be a one-page site, which Free publishes. Check marks that stay saved for the next person, sign-in, attached files and email need a backend, which makes it an app with data, and putting it live needs a paid plan. Model and service usage is metered separately.
Can the person who owns the procedure help maintain the app?
Yes, as an editor in the published app: give the HR lead who has kept the onboarding procedure current a sign-in that can change the steps. Studio itself has one builder per Exepad account. The new hires and managers who sign in get the access you describe and check.
Explore Pricing for plans, included capabilities, and usage details.
Keep exploring.
Build an app for repeatable work ↗
See the outcome and the capabilities behind it.
Build a photo inspection log ↗
For a checklist someone walks on site, with each photo filed under the item it shows and a follow-up for every failed item.
Understand data and context ↗
Give information the right place in your app.
Prepare to publish ↗
Check the experience you will share.
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