Install guide

How to install DocTabs

It takes a couple of minutes. DocTabs comes from our website rather than the App Store, so macOS asks you to confirm it once. Just follow the steps below.

5 steps · about 3 minutes · macOS 13 or later

Download for Free

Why not the App Store?

The App Store sandbox

Every App Store app has to run in Apple’s sandbox, which doesn’t let one app control another. But that is exactly DocTabs’ job: asking Word, Excel and PowerPoint for their open files and bringing the one you pick to the front. So, like many Mac utilities, DocTabs is downloaded straight from its website.

Why macOS shows a warning

macOS asks for confirmation the first time you open an app from outside the App Store that Apple hasn’t notarized yet. Notarization needs a paid Apple developer membership, and donations help us get there. What DocTabs reads is spelled out in our Privacy Policy.

1Download DocTabs

Click Download for Free on this page. The DocTabs.dmg file lands in your Downloads folder.

2Drag it to Applications

Double-click DocTabs.dmg to open it. In the window that appears, drag the DocTabs icon onto the Applications folder on the right.

You can then eject the DocTabs disk from the Finder sidebar.

3Open it the first time

Open DocTabs from your Applications folder. If macOS shows a warning, follow the steps for your version. You only do this once.

macOS 15 Sequoia and later

  1. In the “DocTabs” Not Opened alert, click Done.
  2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down.
  3. Next to “DocTabs” was blocked to protect your Mac, click Open Anyway.
  4. Enter your password or use Touch ID, then click Open Anyway again.

macOS 13 Ventura and 14 Sonoma

  1. In Applications, Control-click (or right-click) DocTabs and choose Open.
  2. In the “macOS cannot verify the developer” alert, click Open.

4Let DocTabs work with Office

The first time DocTabs meets Word, Excel or PowerPoint, macOS asks whether it may control that app. Click Allow. You’ll see this once for each of the three apps.

DocTabs uses this only to read the names and locations of your open files and to bring the window you pick to the front.

5You’re all set

The DocTabs icon appears in the menu bar, and the bar shows up whenever Word, Excel or PowerPoint is in front.

To have DocTabs open by itself when you start your Mac, click its menu bar icon and turn on Settings → Launch at Login.

Updates install from inside DocTabs after it asks you, so you won’t need to repeat these steps.

If something goes wrong

macOS says DocTabs “is damaged and can’t be opened”

The download may have been interrupted. Download DocTabs.dmg again and repeat steps 2 and 3. If the message stays, open Terminal, run this command, then open DocTabs again:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/DocTabs.app
I missed the permission prompt, or clicked Don’t Allow

Click Open Settings in the DocTabs bar, or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation and turn on Word, Excel and PowerPoint under DocTabs.

How do I uninstall DocTabs?

Click the DocTabs icon in the menu bar and choose Quit DocTabs. Then drag DocTabs from your Applications folder to the Trash.

Which Macs does DocTabs run on?

Any Mac with Apple Silicon or Intel running macOS 13 Ventura or later.

Still stuck?

Write to us and we’ll help you through it. A screenshot of what you see makes it even quicker.

support@doctabs.app