PreVeil Office Add-in

Owned by Chris Veneto
Last updated: Sept 17, 2024
4 min read

Product

PreVeil for Windows desktop

Functionality

This Add-in allows users to automatically lock Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) for editing, when those files are opened in the local PreVeil directory in Windows File Explorer. The Add-in will provide a visual banner in opened files that will indicate the file has been locked for editing.

Installing the Add-in

Sept. 6, 2024

The 1.2.0.1 Office add-in may be downloaded below.

The installer package for the Office add-in can be found on our downloads page. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you’ll find a link to the installer package.

The unified installer package will run three separate installers, one for Add-ins for each application: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Note: Installing the Add-ins requires admin level privileges on your computer. If you do not have admin level privileges, you will need to work with your IT administrator to install the Add-ins.

  • Double click on the PreVeil Office Addins.msi file to initiate the installation.

  • Click Next.

  • Click Next.

  • Click Install.

  • The installation will begin, and a second installation window will appear. The first will be for Microsoft Excel. Click Next to continue.

  • Click Next.

  • Click Install.

  • When the installation for the Excel Add-in completes, click Finish.

  • After a few seconds, another installer window will appear. This one will be for Microsoft Word. The steps for installing the Word Add-in are the same as the Excel Add-in.

  • Once the Word Add-in installation completes a third installer window will appear for the Microsoft PowerPoint Add-in. Again, the steps will be the same.

  • Having the separate installers for each of the Add-ins allows you to pick and choose which you want to install. If you don’t want the Add-in for PowerPoint for example, when that installer starts you can click Cancel instead of going through the installations steps for it.

  • Once you’ve gone through and installed the Add-ins you want, click Finish in the primary installer box.

Using the Add-ins

With the Add-ins installed, when you open an Excel, Word, or PowerPoint file from the local PreVeil directory in Windows File Explorer, it will automatically lock that file for editing.

  • Open an Excel, Word, or PowerPoint file from your local Drive directory in File Explorer, and you will see the a banner at the top that indicates that your account has locked the file for editing.

  • If someone with access to that same file in their Drive now opens it, they will see a similar banner that indicates that the file has been locked for editing by the original user.

Note: The second user will not see the edits the first user is making until the first user saves the file and closes out of it.

  • When the first user closes out of the file, this will release the lock and then other users with access to the file will then be able to edit that file.