Automatically launched software add-ins for proactively analyzing content of documents and soliciting user input

Abstract

The following disclosure describes software components, such as add-ins, that are launched automatically, without being manually activated by a user. In some embodiments, the add-in may run silently, e.g. the add-in runs in the background, without displaying content in an ancillary pane. The add-in may be given access to document content, enabling pre-processing as well as decorating document content with metadata for future use. The add-in may determine that the document has met a criteria, and in response, display a visual cue directing the user to activate the add-in. When a user does manually activate the add-in by clicking on an icon or pressing a keyboard shortcut, the add-in may be pre-loaded, initialized, and have already accessed and processed document content. In this way, the add-in may display useful content in an ancillary pane in much less time, solving the technological problem of delay between manual activation and initialization of an add-in.