Taskpane addins stuck on loading screen, sometimes eventually open. Desktop only.

[chucklay]

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This is a weird one. I'm attempting to switch my Excel add-in back to individual runtimes instead of a shared runtime. (on a related note - is there any timeframe on when we can expect add-ins that use shared runtimes to use edge-based web views instead of IE-based?) I have everything working on excel on the web, but when I try to open the taskpane on desktop Excel, it sticks for about a minute on the loading spinner, then eventually shows the "Add-in error: This add-in could not be started" banner, but as soon as that banner pops up, my add-in loads:

It seems to run fine once it loads, and I don't see any errors or problems in the browser console or any logs that I can find, so I have no idea where the issue is.

Expected Behavior

My add-in should load without displaying an error message.

Current Behavior

My add-in eventually loads, but displays an error message in the proccess

Steps to Reproduce, or Live Example

I assume the issue is probably related to my manifest, so this is what it looks like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<OfficeApp xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/appforoffice/1.1" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:bt="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/officeappbasictypes/1.0" xmlns:ov="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/taskpaneappversionoverrides" xsi:type="TaskPaneApp">
  <Id>16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a</Id>
  <Version>1.0.0.1</Version>
  <ProviderName>Tartan Solutions, Inc</ProviderName>
  <DefaultLocale>en-US</DefaultLocale>
  <DisplayName DefaultValue="PlaidCloud"/>
  <Description DefaultValue="A template to get started."/>
  <IconUrl DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_32x32.png"/>
  <HighResolutionIconUrl DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_80x80.png"/>
  <SupportUrl DefaultValue="https://www.plaidcloud.com/resources"/>
  <AppDomains>
    <AppDomain>plaidcloud.net</AppDomain>
    <AppDomain>plaidcloud.net</AppDomain>
    <AppDomain>plaidcloud.com</AppDomain>
    <AppDomain>plaidcloud.io</AppDomain>
  </AppDomains>
  <Hosts>
    <Host Name="Workbook"/>
  </Hosts>
  <Requirements>
    <Sets DefaultMinVersion="1.1">
      <Set Name="CustomFunctionsRuntime" MinVersion="1.1"/>
      <Set Name="ExcelApi" MinVersion="1.9"/>
    </Sets>
  </Requirements>
  <DefaultSettings>
    <SourceLocation DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/taskpane.html?plaid_url=plaidcloud.net"/>
  </DefaultSettings>
  <Permissions>ReadWriteDocument</Permissions>
  <VersionOverrides xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/taskpaneappversionoverrides" xsi:type="VersionOverridesV1_0">
    <Hosts>
      <Host xsi:type="Workbook">
        <AllFormFactors>
          <ExtensionPoint xsi:type="CustomFunctions">
            <Script>
              <SourceLocation resid="Functions.Script.Url"/>
            </Script>
            <Page>
              <SourceLocation resid="Functions.Page.Url"/>
            </Page>
            <Metadata>
              <SourceLocation resid="Functions.Metadata.Url"/>
            </Metadata>
            <Namespace resid="Functions.Namespace"/>
          </ExtensionPoint>
        </AllFormFactors>
        <DesktopFormFactor>
          <GetStarted>
            <Title resid="GetStarted.Title"/>
            <Description resid="GetStarted.Description"/>
            <LearnMoreUrl resid="GetStarted.LearnMoreUrl"/>
          </GetStarted>
          <FunctionFile resid="Commands.Url"/>
          <ExtensionPoint xsi:type="PrimaryCommandSurface">
            <CustomTab id="PlaidCloud.AddinTab">
              <Group id="CommandsGroup">
                <Label resid="CommandsGroup.Label"/>
                <Icon>
                  <bt:Image size="16" resid="Icon.16x16"/>
                  <bt:Image size="32" resid="Icon.32x32"/>
                  <bt:Image size="80" resid="Icon.80x80"/>
                </Icon>
                <Control xsi:type="Button" id="TaskpaneButton">
                  <Label resid="TaskpaneButton.Label"/>
                  <Supertip>
                    <Title resid="TaskpaneButton.Label"/>
                    <Description resid="TaskpaneButton.Tooltip"/>
                  </Supertip>
                  <Icon>
                    <bt:Image size="16" resid="Icon.16x16"/>
                    <bt:Image size="32" resid="Icon.32x32"/>
                    <bt:Image size="80" resid="Icon.80x80"/>
                  </Icon>
                  <Action xsi:type="ShowTaskpane">
                    <TaskpaneId>ButtonId1</TaskpaneId>
                    <SourceLocation resid="Taskpane.Url"/>
                  </Action>
                </Control>
                <Control xsi:type="Button" id="PullAllButton">
                  <Label resid="PullAllButton.Label"/>
                  <Supertip>
                    <Title resid="PullAllButton.Label"/>
                    <Description resid="PullAllButton.Tooltip"/>
                  </Supertip>
                  <Icon>
                    <bt:Image size="16" resid="Icon.16x16"/>
                    <bt:Image size="32" resid="Icon.32x32"/>
                    <bt:Image size="80" resid="Icon.80x80"/>
                  </Icon>
                  <Action xsi:type="ExecuteFunction">
                    <FunctionName>syncAll</FunctionName>
                  </Action>
                </Control>
                <Control xsi:type="Button" id="PullOneButton">
                  <Label resid="PullOneButton.Label"/>
                  <Supertip>
                    <Title resid="PullOneButton.Label"/>
                    <Description resid="PullOneButton.Tooltip"/>
                  </Supertip>
                  <Icon>
                    <bt:Image size="16" resid="Icon.16x16"/>
                    <bt:Image size="32" resid="Icon.32x32"/>
                    <bt:Image size="80" resid="Icon.80x80"/>
                  </Icon>
                  <Action xsi:type="ExecuteFunction">
                    <FunctionName>syncOne</FunctionName>
                  </Action>
                </Control>
              </Group>
              <Label resid="PlaidTab.Label"/>
            </CustomTab>
          </ExtensionPoint>
        </DesktopFormFactor>
      </Host>
    </Hosts>
    <Resources>
      <bt:Images>
        <bt:Image id="Icon.16x16" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_16x16.png"/>
        <bt:Image id="Icon.32x32" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_32x32.png"/>
        <bt:Image id="Icon.80x80" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_80x80.png"/>
      </bt:Images>
      <bt:Urls>
        <bt:Url id="Functions.Script.Url" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/functions.js?plaid_url=plaidcloud.net"/>
        <bt:Url id="Functions.Metadata.Url" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/dist/functions.json"/>
        <bt:Url id="Functions.Page.Url" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/functions.html?plaid_url=plaidcloud.net"/>
        <bt:Url id="GetStarted.LearnMoreUrl" DefaultValue="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=276812"/>
        <bt:Url id="Taskpane.Url" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/taskpane.html?plaid_url=plaidcloud.net"/>
        <bt:Url id="Commands.Url" DefaultValue="https://localhost:3000/commands.html?plaid_url=plaidcloud.net"/>
      </bt:Urls>
      <bt:ShortStrings>
        <bt:String id="Functions.Namespace" DefaultValue="PLAID"/>
        <bt:String id="GetStarted.Title" DefaultValue="Get started with PlaidCloud!"/>
        <bt:String id="CommandsGroup.Label" DefaultValue="PlaidCloud Operations"/>
        <bt:String id="TaskpaneButton.Label" DefaultValue="PlaidCloud Connect"/>
        <bt:String id="PullAllButton.Label" DefaultValue="Pull All"/>
        <bt:String id="PullOneButton.Label" DefaultValue="Pull Current Worksheet"/>
        <bt:String id="PlaidTab.Label" DefaultValue="PlaidCloud"/>
      </bt:ShortStrings>
      <bt:LongStrings>
        <bt:String id="GetStarted.Description" DefaultValue="The PlaidCloud add-in loaded succesfully. Go to the PlaidCloud tab and click the 'PlaidCloud Connect' button to get started."/>
        <bt:String id="TaskpaneButton.Tooltip" DefaultValue="Click to Show the PlaidCloud Taskpane"/>
        <bt:String id="PullAllButton.Tooltip" DefaultValue="Pull all tables connnected to PlaidCloud"/>
        <bt:String id="PullOneButton.Tooltip" DefaultValue="Pull active worksheet from PlaidCloud"/>
      </bt:LongStrings>
    </Resources>
  </VersionOverrides>
</OfficeApp>

• Additional details:
  1. One interesting thing of note: npm run validate claims that my IconUrl and HighResolutionIconUrl are unreachable, even though they are. I'll post the full output in the logs section

Context

This is preventing me from switching back to individual runtimes.

Your Environment

• Platform [PC desktop, Mac, iOS, Office on the web]: PC Desktop - this notably doesn't impact excel online
• Host [Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.]: Excel
• Office version number: 16.0.13530.20132 / Excel 2012 (version 13530.20316 click-to-run)
• Operating System: Windows 10 version 1909 build 18363.1256
• Browser (if using Office on the web): N/A

Useful logs

npm run validate

> office-addin-taskpane-react@0.0.1 validate C:\Users\Charlie\src\PlaidXL
> office-addin-manifest validate manifest.xml

The manifest is not valid.


Error # 1: 
High Resolution Icon URL Unreachable: Unable to retrieve an image from the high resolution icon URL.
  - Details: The HighResolutionIconURL supplied in the app manifest is not reachable, HighResolutionIconURL : https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_80x80.png.

Error # 2: 
Icon URL Unreachable: Unable to retrieve an image from the icon URL.
  - Details: The IconURL supplied in the app manifest is not reachable, IconURL : https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_32x32.png.

Additional information: 
Package Type Identified: Package of your add-in was parsed successfully.

Correct Package: Your package matches the submission type.

Valid Manifest Schema: Your manifest does adhere to the current set of XML schema definitions for Add-in manifests.

Manifest Version Correct Structure: The manifest version number has the correct structure for the platform that it supports.

Manifest Version Correct Value: The manifest version number is greater or equal to 1.0.

Manifest ID Valid Prefix: The product ID in the manifest has a valid prefix
  - Details: 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a

Manifest ID Correct Structure: The structure of the product ID is correct.
  - Details: 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a

Desktop Source Location Present: A desktop or default source location URL is found.

Secure Desktop Source Location: The manifest desktop source location URLs use HTTPS.

Supported Office Identified: Supported Office products were successfully determined.

Support URL Present: The manifest support URL is present.
  - Details: https://www.plaidcloud.com/resources

Valid Support URL: The manifest support URL is valid.

High Resolution Icon Present: A high resolution icon element was expected and is present.
  - Details: https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_80x80.png

Supported High Resolution Icon URL File Extension: The manifest high resolution icon URL has a valid image file extension.
  - Details: png

Secure High Resolution Icon URL: The manifest high resolution icon URL uses HTTPS.
  - Details: https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_80x80.png

Icon Present: A icon element was expected and is present.
  - Details: https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_32x32.png

Supported Icon URL File Extension: The manifest icon URL has a valid image file extension.
  - Details: png

The manifest icon URL uses HTTPS.: Secure Icon URL
  - Details: https://localhost:3000/assets/Cloud-Icon_32x32.png

Acceptance Test Completed: Acceptance test service has finished checking provided add-in.

OfficeAddins.log.txt:

1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	Web Add-In Runtime Logging Session Started			
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin]		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.TAB		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success]		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Functions] [Begin] Solution=16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [Begin] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [Begin] Function=PLAID.TAB, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.TAB, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Functions] [End] [Success] Solution=16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin]		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success]		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Functions] [Begin] Solution=wa104380862, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Functions] [End] [Success] Solution=wa104380862, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Monitorable	Manifest	Skipped unrecognized XML element for add-in ID : 316f38d0-7875-46b4-ba68-2ef518523f59, Location : Element Namespace "http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/taskpaneappversionoverrides" : Element Name "Runtimes", Line=36, CharPosition=10		
1/7/2021 11:15:35	Monitorable	Manifest	Skipped unrecognized XML element for add-in ID : 316f38d0-7875-46b4-ba68-2ef518523f59, Location : Element Namespace "http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/taskpaneappversionoverrides" : Element Name "Runtimes", Line=36, CharPosition=10		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin]		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.TAB		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success]		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Addin] [Begin] Solution=16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a, Version=1.0.0.1		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Addin] [End] [Success] Solution=16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a, Version=1.0.0.1		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Functions] [Begin] Solution=16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [Begin] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [Begin] Function=PLAID.TAB, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Registration] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.TAB, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Installation] [Functions] [End] [Success] Solution=16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a, Workbook=Excel add-in 16d0e6ab-4073-48e9-932c-e6c73ae6b37a.xlsx		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin]		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.TAB		
1/7/2021 11:15:37	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success]		
1/7/2021 11:16:38	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin]		
1/7/2021 11:16:38	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:16:38	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.DISTINCT		
1/7/2021 11:16:38	Verbose	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [Begin] Function		
1/7/2021 11:16:38	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success] Function=PLAID.TAB		
1/7/2021 11:16:38	Medium	CustomFunctions	[Metadata] [Parsing] [End] [Success]		

Interesting to note that I don't have a Runtimes section anymore, so I'm not sure why that's showing up. The only other add-in I have installed is ScriptLab.

[KelBowen]

@jeremy-msft can you provide insight about the change from IE to Edge as the default browser for shared runtime?
@lumine2008 can you provide further assistance on reverting to individual run times?
@chucklay is the browser issue why you want to revert to the individual run times? Or is there another issue blocking you from using the shared runtime?

[chucklay]

@KelBowen Yes, we've found that debugging in edge-based web views is a much smoother experience. Plus, one of the things our add-in does is pull data from our database and stick it in spreadsheets. Some of these tables are pretty large, so when we send out a request to pull the data, the response ends up being pretty hefty. On modern browsers this isn't an issue as we're able to stream the responses and manage them in reasonably-sized chunks. However, there's no way to do this in IE, so it ends up trying to load the whole response at once, which is more than it can handle.

The add-in still works in IE11, with the caveat that Edge or another modern browser might be required if someone wants to load a large table, which is a compromise we're more than willing to accept, since none of our clients use IE11 (and being totally honest, if it were an option we would drop support for IE11 completely - ensuring compatibility has been way more trouble than it's worth)

[chucklay]

One thing I've noticed just now: the add-in sometimes loads with the error message after ~a minute, but sometimes the loading screen just hangs indefinitely. When it hangs indefinitely, the "We're starting the add-ins runtime, please wait a moment..." message is also stuck on the bottom of the screen.

[chucklay]

I've also noticed (and this is essentially speculation at this point) some behavior that almost seems like it's trying to open the add-in twice. Clicking the taskpane toggle again after waiting for my add-in to load (with the error message) it opens a second taskpane tab instead of hiding the existing taskpane. In addition, another dev who tried to load my changes had the "Using multiple taskpanes?" notice pop up. I'd suspect some kind of circular reference but I don't see anything in the logs or my code that would suggest that.