VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help Version 2.3 (January 2011) Copyright 2011 VisibleThread Limited. This document is the copyright of VisibleThread Limited and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of VisibleThread Limited. The document is not intended for production and is furnished "as is" without warranty of any kind. All warranties on this document are hereby disclaimed including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Trademarks 2011 VisibleThread is a registered trademark of VisibleThread Limited. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
2 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) Table of Contents 1 Introduction & general notes 3 1.1 General compatibility 3 1.2 Installing the MS Excel Add-in 3 1.3 Verifying the Add-in is installed. 3 2 The VisibleThread ribbon 4 3 Signing in and signing out 4 3.1 Signing in 4 3.2 Signing in when proxy server authentication is in place 5 3.3 Resetting credentials 6 4 Adding new workbooks to VisibleThread 6 5 Saving a Workbook to VisibleThread 7 5.1 Handling scenarios when the workbook location cannot be found 8 5.1.1 Handling rename of document sets 8 5.1.2 Handling deletion of document or document set 9 6 Navigating Document Sets 9 7 Test Connection 10 8 Troubleshooting 10
3 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) 1 Introduction & general notes The VisibleThread product comprises three core components, the VisibleThread Dashboard, VisibleThread MS Word Add-in and the VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in. This help file is for the VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in. Separate help files exist for the Dashboard and the MS Word Add-in. The MS Excel Add-in is a module that sits directly within the MS Excel environment. It allows workbook editors make changes to workbooks that are tracked by VisibleThread and add new workbooks to the VisibleThread server. 1.1 General compatibility VisibleThread Excel Add-in supports the following file types: Excel 2003 Excel 2007 Excel 2010 1.2 Installing the MS Excel Add-in Please see the document VisibleThread Excel Add-in Installation Instructions for detailed instructions on how to install, and remove the MS Excel Add-in. This document is available to download from the Excel Add-in download page on the VisibleThread dashboard or alternatively at: http://www.visiblethread.com/support/documentation. 1.3 Verifying the Add-in is installed. Once the Add-in has been installed, launch MS Excel as normal. If running in MS Excel 2007 you will a VisibleThread menu option on the ribbon bar. When you click on this menu item you should see the following screen: Figure 1 VisibleThread ribbon MS Excel 2007 A similar screen shows for MS Excel 2003. If you don t see this screen showing contact support at: support@visiblethread.com
4 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) 2 The VisibleThread ribbon Figure 2 - VisibleThread ribbon showing user signed in Users interact with the VisibleThread Add-in via the VisibleThread Ribbon. The ribbon is divided into three sections 1. Workbook provides the ability to add, open and save workbooks to/from the VisibleThread server. 2. User Details provides the details (username and password) of the currently signed in user (if signed-in), and allows the user to reset these details and to sign-in to VisibleThread. 3. VisibleThread allows access to the version, license and help information for the VisibleThread Add-in, it also allows the user to test their network connection to the VIsibleThread server. 3 Signing in and signing out When the VisibleThread Add-in starts it will check if you have previously signed in to the VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in or the VisibleThread MS Word Add-in. If you have not previously signed in to the Excel Add-in, the Excel Addin will attempt to use the credentials used for the MS Word Add-in. If you have not signed in to either Add-in you must sign in manually as described below. 3.1 Signing in Click on the Sign in button in the ribbon to sign in. Figure 3 Signing in to VisibleThread
5 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) In the Sign In dialog that appears enter your VisibleThread server details, and user credentials. This comprises your userid (email address) and password. Click sign in. The system will validate your credentials. Once you are successfully validated, the VisibleThread ribbon will change to signed-in mode. Figure 4 VisibleThread ribbon in signed in mode If you don t successfully connect, continue reading the next section regarding proxy authentication. 3.2 Signing in when proxy server authentication is in place Many corporate environments impose restrictions when connecting to external sites. In these cases further authentication is required, mandating a further user id and password. The rules that govern these connections are reflected in proxy server settings in your browser. If VisibleThread detects that there is a proxy configuration in place and that authentication is required, it presents the following screen: Figure 5 - Proxy Server authentication screen VisibleThread automatically detects the proxy server and port number from your system configuration. Enter your proxy user id and password and click OK to proceed. If you are unaware of your authentication user id and password, contact your network administrator for those details.
6 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) Tip: Verifying if you are working in a proxy configured environment. The easiest way to check whether your environment has these types of settings is to check your browser configuration. In the case of Microsoft Internet Explorer, do this by: 1. clicking Tools, Internet Options 2. clicking the Connections tab and then clicking the LAN Settings button. You will see a screen similar to: In this case, a check box is on in the Proxy Server section indicating a proxy server is in place. Alternatively, it is also possible to configure proxy authentication using a configuration script, in which case the Use automatic configuration script will be checked. This indicates that proxy authentication is in use and is configured in a script run by your network administrators. If unaware of user and password, contact your network administrator. 3.3 Resetting credentials The VisibleThread Excel Add-in remembers your VisibleThread credentials each time you shut down and restart Excel. If you wish to reset the credentials and sign in to the VisibleThread Add-in as a different user, click on the Reset button in the VisibleThread ribbon. Once you have reset the credentials, all VisibleThread menu options other than the sign in option will be disabled. 4 Adding new workbooks to VisibleThread The VisibleThread Excel add-in allows the user to add any workbooks they may be working with in Excel, to their VisibleThread project. Note: The Add Workbook button will only be enabled if you have signed in to VisibleThread, and the current active workbook has not already being added to VisibleThread. Click on the Add Workbook button to add the currently active Workbook to VisibleThread.
7 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) Figure 6 Adding a workbook to VisibleThread You will be presented with a list of document sets on the VisibleThread Server. Choose the document set you wish to add the workbook to, and click on the Add Workbook button. Once the workbook has been added it will be analysed by VisibleThread and the workbook and its analysis will be visible on the VisibleThread dashboard. 5 Saving a workbook to VisibleThread If you have a VisibleThread workbook open in Excel (either via opening the file directly from the dashboard, or by opening it using the Navigate Document Sets option in the Add-in), the VisibleThread Add-in allows you to save any changes you may have made back to the VisibleThread server. Note: The Save Workbook button will only be enabled if you have signed in to VisibleThread and the current active workbook has already been added to VisibleThread. When you click on the Save Workbook option, you will be asked to enter an optional comment to describe the changes you have made. This comment will appear in the activity log in the dashboard.
8 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) Figure 7 Saving a workbook to VisibleThread If you click on the Save Workbook button the workbook will be saved to the location specified and will be analysed by VisibleThread. 5.1 Handling scenarios when the workbook location cannot be found Before saving a workbook to VisibleThread, the Add-in first checks that the workbook exists on the server. There are two possible scenarios when this may not be the case, and they are both handled differently by the Add-in. These scenarios are described in the next two sections. 5.1.1 Handling rename of document sets If the document set in which the workbook belonged (when it was opened) has since been renamed, the Add-in will not know where to save the workbook. In this scenario, the Add-in will warn the user, and will make a guess at finding the correct location to save the workbook to. It does this by searching through all the VisibleThread document sets for a workbook of the same name. A list of document sets will be displayed, and the user may choose a document set, and click on the Save Workbook button to save to that document set.
9 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) Figure 8 Saving a workbook after the Document Set is renamed 5.1.2 Handling deletion of document or document set If the workbook, or the document set that it belongs to, has been deleted since the user opened the workbook in Excel, the VisibleThread Add-in will not be able to save the Workbook to VisibleThread. Figure 9 Saving a workbook that has been deleted If the user wishes to continue working with this Workbook in VisibleThread, they may add the workbook to a document set, using the Add Workbook option. 6 Navigating document sets The Navigate Document Set option on the ribbon allows the user to view all document sets and documents. The user can choose to open any excel workbook from VisibleThread, by selecting the workbook, and clicking on the Open Workbook button.
10 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) 7 Test connection The test connection option can be used to verify your network connection to the VisibleThread server. This is most useful in situations where your networking configuration may have changed, for example, your administrator has changed your network proxy settings, or you have moved your pc/laptop from one location to another (e.g. you have taken your laptop home). The VisibleThread Add-in will attempt to contact the VisibleThread server. This operation has three potential outcomes: The Add-in is successful in contacted the VisibleThread Server. You can continue to use the Add-in as normal The Add-in detects that your network proxy configuration has changed. You will be prompted to enter your network proxy credentials. Please see section 3.2 Signing in when proxy server authentication is in place for more details. The Add-in cannot contact the VisibleThread server. Please contact your administrator for details on how to resolve this issue. 8 Troubleshooting If you have any issues or need help, please check our FAQ at: http://www.visiblethread.com/support/faq
11 VisibleThread MS Excel Add-in Help - Version 2.3 (January 2011) If you don t find the answer you need, please don t hesitate to let us know directly by sending a mail to: support@visiblethread.com Any usage queries or bugs can also be forwarded to the same address.