Adding a custom "template group" in Word 2013

Question

Is it possible to add a custom template "tab" (for lack of a better term) to the start screen in Word 2013? In other words, is it possible to add another section in addition to "Featured" and "Personal?" in the interface below?

I'm interested in the feasibility of adding a, say, "Legal" tab, to surface templates developed specifically for an organization's legal department. I'm aware that a custom template directory can be pushed down via domain policy (read: registry edit) such that custom templates appear under the "Personal" tab, but that's not really ideal given the administrative overhead. Not to mention that the templates aren't "personal" at all.

Ideally, I'd like to accomplish this via an Office app. Looking at the JavaScript API for Office documentation, however, it doesn't seem immediately possible.

This post (via this SO question) describes the registry change and seems to suggest that customizing the "backstage" isn't possible.

Is such a customization possible? If so, via what means of customization? Using an Office add-in (managed), an Office app, some other registry modification...?

(And yes, I'm aware that "add-in" is the new term; for the sake of clarity I use the term "add-in" in the question to refer to the managed add-in project template available in Visual Studio 2013 as opposed to the Office app or Cloud app for Office templates)

Answer 1

You won't be able to add a custom group to the available template using the JavaScript-based Office Add-ins (This technology is rather limited in functionality - it's main advantage is that it can run cross-platform).

The approach to add custom templates is to create a Spotlight provider. It is described in detail here:

Deploy custom templates in Office 2010

The article talks about Office 2010, but it works also in Office 2013. You only would need to change the version number in the Registry Keys from 14.0 to 15.0.