This page lists all the Q&A topics we’ve faced so far. Got another? Let us know by contacting us.

Q: What version of Windows and PowerPoint is BrandIn compatible with?

A: BrandIn works on 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows from 10 onwards and 32 and 64-bit versions of PowerPoint from 2016 and onwards (including 2019 & 2021) and Microsoft 365.

Q: Is there a Mac version of BrandIn?

A: Yes. The same add-in has been packaged for macOS deployment and runs natively on the most recent three versions of macOS as supported by Microsoft Office. For users who prefer to take advantage of the additional features that PowerPoint for Windows offers, BrandIn also works on a Mac running a Virtual Machine such as Parallels, with Windows and a supported version of PowerPoint as above.

Q: Can we enable/disable individual BrandIn features?

A: Yes. The product is highly configurable and we will work with you to define a custom configuration with you. This can include a mix of the following:

1. Product naming.
2. Ribbon text labels.
3. Which features are enabled/disabled.
4. URL links to help resources which may be published on any system of your choice.
5. Brand Check configuration.
6. Smart Paste template(s) configuration.

Q: How is BrandIn deployed to users?

A: We create a client-customised MSI package for Windows and a PKG package for macOS that your IT team can deploy silently via GPO or other centralised software management tools such as InTune and Jamf. The packages includes the following:

1. BrandIn application and customised configuration
2. A mirror copy of your asset library (optional)
3. Customised help files e.g. PDF user guide (optional)

Q: How can I get more deployment details on the solution?

A: We can provide a full set of highly detailed documentation to solution administrators on demand.

Q: Where do you keep our data?

A: We don’t provide content delivery services as part of the BrandIn solution so the data deployed to users remains completely within your control. This includes the application, your customised configuration of the application, tutorial content and assets such as slides, images and icons.

Q: Can we use SharePoint/Dropbox/Box/AWS etc?

A: The current version is designed to use simple file storage already available on a file server within your IT infrastructure. BrandIn can be configured to consume resources for all major cloud based file sync clients.

Q: Can we just use BrandIn for our design team?

A: BrandIn has a minimum user base requirement as outlined in the pricing information so it depends on the size of your design team but yes, you can choose which employees the solution is deployed to.

Q: How long does set-up take?

A: We work with you to define your customised configuration of the various BrandIn features. If you already have an approved PowerPoint template, a brand guide and a library of assets (slides + images + icons) then this process usually takes a couple of weeks. If you don’t have everything on hand then our design team can help create these elements for you and we can quote time and costs based on the scale of what you need.

Q: What training is provided?

A: We provide online training to a core group of product advocates within your organisation who can then in turn train the reset of your employees. We can also optionally develop custom documentation and tutorial videos to be hosted within your IT systems. These additional resources can be configured to be accessible from the BrandIn tab in PowerPoint so that they are always at the finger tips of your users.

Q: Can you integrate with our Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform?

A: The short answer is that you probably don’t want to do this. Why not? One of the benefits of BrandIn is that it works with a library of curated content, designed for use solely by PowerPoint, a digital projection app. It’s quite likely that your DAM contains all kinds of files from huge high-res images for print-ready artwork to tiny PNG images for web use. You won’t want these to be used in a presentation as the maximum size for a photo will likely be HD1080P and icons are best served as scalable SVG files. For this reason, it is often more efficient to create a custom library for PowerPoint use which optimises file storage and PowerPoint file sizes. But depending on the provider and which APIs they use then we may be able to integrate it with BrandIn as a custom development add-on. It may also be possible to simply replicate the asset library for BrandIn use.

Q: Is BrandIn secure?

A: We digitally sign BrandIn with the latest EV (Extended Validation) code-signing certificate. This is issued to us by Sectigo, a global certificate authority. This guarantees that the product we publish reaches you unaltered. In addition, we scan the installer using BitDefender before we publish it to ensure it’s malware, virus and trojan free. Occasionally, some AV (Anti Virus) products falsely detect BrandIn and we work with those companies to correct the situation quickly. If this happens, please contact us as soon an you can.

Q: What if my staff don’t have time to learn another piece of software?

A: If your staff already know how to use PowerPoint then they won’t need to learn anything new because we’ve integrated BrandIn directly into the PowerPoint ribbon and designed the user experience to mirror that of Microsoft so that the whole solution feels like an intuitive extension of existing PowerPoint functionality.

Q: Will BrandIn slow down PowerPoint?

A: Not for your general users. Some publication tasks for the content curator take additional time to execute but this responsibility typically lies with one or two people within your organisation.

Q: Can we turn Brand Check off? Can staff turn it off when we don’t want them to?

A: The Brand Check feature can be turned on and off via your customised configuration profile before and/or post-deployment of the solution. When enabled, users choose when to run Brand Check and they are not forced to do so unless you decide to enable the Auto Check feature which checks the entire presentation each time it is saved.

Q: What about when our staff are working with partner’s brands?

A: BrandIn is configured to recognise presentations being worked on that are based on your template so that it doesn’t affect the workflow when working on presentations based on different templates.

Q: What happens to BrandIn if we update our brand?

A: Updating a brand usually implies changes to your PowerPoint template and any assets. BrandIn can be configured centrally to deploy a new template should your IT team not be doing that already. Assets can be updated centrally via the publisher features available in BrandIn. If your template changes significantly, for example new master(s) and layout(s) are created and/or deleted then we can work with you to defined a migration mapping for the Smart Paste feature which helps minimise the effort for users to migrate content from presentations based on your old template.

Q: We already use other PowerPoint add-ins – will BrandIn still work?

A: There should be no reason why BrandIn will not work with other existing add-ins. If you know which ones you use then we can confirm this for you by setting up a test environment prior to deployment.

Q: Can BrandIn work with multiple brands and sub-brands?

A: Yes. BrandIn has an optional feature where by the user can switch brands and see different assets within the library of slides, images and icons. Additionally, the rules behind the Brand Check feature can be configured on a template-by-template basis.

Q: How do I request new features for BrandIn?

A: We’d love you to share your ideas publicly on Twitter and you can also drop us a line privately by contacting us here.

Q: How is support provided for BrandIn?

A: We want you to have the right support model for your organisation which is why we’ve adopted a flexible approach to support. We can provide a range of options for you to choose from as follows:

1. A signed-off version of BrandIn without support.
2. An annual helpdesk service which covers level 2 Q&A support plus bug fixes, tweaks to features, new features and Microsoft 365 compatibility updates.
3. Project-by-project based quotations, which are suitable for your new feature requests.

Q: What is the file storage consumption for BrandIn?

A: The add-in itself is very light and just a few megabytes in size. You then need to add the asset library to this which is deployed to all users. This could be anything from a few MB to several hundred MB depending on what assets you plan to provide to your users. The same file storage capacity is required for maintaining the master library on a file server within your IT network plus a cache version of a similar size, so around two times the size of the library.

Q: Does BrandIn increase my storage/network traffic?

A: You will need to allocate storage space on your chosen network storage solution to accommodate the asset library you intend to deploy. Network traffic is only utilised when assets and added/changed/deleted and the traffic volume is close to that of the file size of any new/modified assets.