About Group
The About group sits at the far right of the DVD Addin tab. It handles everything outside the add-in's actual engineering work: switching the interface language, checking which build you are running, buying, activating and renewing a license, checking for updates, downloading the installer, and opening the Preferences window.
For someone setting up a new machine it is the first group they touch; for a long-time user it is where they come back to renew a license, move it to another computer, or gather the details support asks for.
Commands in this group
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| Find Cmd | Type a few words to find and run any command (Ctrl+Shift+Q); with the search box empty your recently used commands come first |
| Lang: EN | Switches the add-in interface between Vietnamese and English; the button label states the language currently in use |
| About | Information window: name and version, a License block (edition + expiry) and a Contact block |
| License | One button for everything license-related: expiry, buying, renewing / upgrading to Pro, signing in, moving machines. The label follows the state — Trial: N days left, Buy License once the trial has ended, Renew: N days left when the plan is about to end, Sign in again when the session ended; once activated it simply reads License |
| Check Update | Asks the server whether a newer build than yours exists |
| Download Tool | Opens the browser on the DVDAddin.rar package in the Releases page of the dangdvd/DVDAddin repository |
| Preferences | Opens the add-in's default-settings window |
| Restore data | Restores a sheet from the automatic backup taken before a command ran |
| Export support log | Creates a .zip file to send to support |
| Quick start guide | Feature-overview window — the map newcomers need to find where commands live |
| User guide | Opens the PDF user guide installed with the add-in (readable offline) — English or Vietnamese to match the interface language |
On the ribbon: three large buttons — Language, Help (menu: Find Cmd, Preferences, Quick start guide, User guide, Restore data, Check Update, Download Tool, Export support log, About) and License. They all work with no workbook open.
No separate "Buy License" button any more
Earlier builds had a Buy License item in the About menu (now Help) and a large Buy License button shown only while not activated. Both are merged into the License button: click it and the License box opens with the 🛒 Buy License button right next to the sign-in form. In the last 7 trial days and after expiry, the License button also appears on the DVD Cons tab → Quick group.
Install → buy → activate
- Get the installer — click Download Tool. Your default browser opens and downloads
DVDAddin.rar. Extract it with WinRAR or 7-Zip, close every Excel window, then run the installer. - Open Excel — the DVD Addin tab appears and the License button counts down Trial: N days left (a 30-day trial with every feature, Pro included). The last three days gain a ⚠; once the trial has ended the label changes to Buy License.
- Place the order — click the License button → 🛒 Buy License. The purchase window runs through 3 steps:
- Step 1/3 — Pick plan: choose the Standard or Pro card and set Duration and Seats; the price panel updates instantly with a per-month equivalent.
- Step 2/3 — Your details: enter Email (where the password is sent, and your future sign-in email), Full name and Company.
- Step 3/3 — Payment: the screen shows the bank, account number, Account holder, Amount and Transfer memo, plus a QR code and a countdown. Scan the QR with your banking app.
- Done: a green tick once the payment has been received.
- Activate the machine — close the purchase window and you are back in the License box: a green line tells you to check your email (including Spam) for the password, and the Email field is already filled in. Enter the Password and click Sign in; a green panel confirms activation, a red panel reports wrong credentials or a connection problem. The ribbon button goes back to License.
- Get oriented — open Quick start guide to see which feature groups exist and where to find them.
- Set your defaults — open Preferences and configure this machine once.
- Periodically — run Check Update; when a newer build exists a Download button appears at the bottom right. When a time-limited plan has 14 days left, the License button changes to Renew: N days left — click it → Renew / Upgrade to Pro.
Example
A three-person planning team at a contractor is still on trial and needs the PRO commands — EVM, Lookahead, Baseline — for a package about to start on site.
| Step | Who | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team lead | Sees ⚠ Trial: 3 days left → clicks it → 🛒 Buy License → Pro card, 12 months, 3 seats | Price panel shows the total and the per-month equivalent |
| 2 | Team lead | Enters the engineering department email, name and company | Order details match what accounting needs for the invoice |
| 3 | Team lead | Scans the QR, leaves the transfer memo untouched | A few minutes later the screen switches to the green tick; the License box says to check the email for the password |
| 4 | Team lead | Signs in, then uses Team members… to create accounts for two colleagues | Status card switches to PRO with an expiry date; the ribbon button goes back to License |
| 5 | The two other engineers | License → their own email and password → Sign in | One account each, nobody pushes anyone else's session out |
| 6 | Site engineer | About → screenshots the window when reporting a bug | Support reads the version straight away and spots the outdated build |
At year end one of them moves to a site laptop: reopen the License dialog on the old PC, click Sign out, then sign in on the laptop with the same account.
Tips and caveats
- An account holds one sign-in session at a time. Signing in on a new machine ends the session on the old one (which then shows Sign in again); the tidy way is to Sign out on the old one first.
- Leave the transfer memo exactly as generated — it is the reconciliation code for your order; editing it or retyping it wrongly means the system cannot match the payment and it has to be handled manually. The QR code expires, so start a new order if the countdown runs out.
- Buying is not activating — you still sign in once through the License dialog. The email you give at step 2 becomes your sign-in address; when renewing, keep your account email (the box fills it in).
- The Machine ID printed in monospace on the status card is what support needs for a manual unlock or machine transfer.
- The License button label and the 🔒 marks on gated commands refresh by themselves when the License box closes, every hour and just after midnight. If a few commands still claim a license is required right after activating, close Excel completely and reopen it.
- Check Update and Download Tool only check and open links; they do not install anything. Close every Excel window before installing over an existing build, otherwise the loaded XLL file is locked and the installer errors out. Some site networks block GitHub — use mobile data or ask IT to open it.
- The language button label describes the current state, not the action it will perform; read the screentip to be sure of the direction. It changes the add-in interface only — not Excel's own language, and it does not translate your spreadsheet content.
- The About window is read-only. Always note the version shown there when you report a bug — it is the first thing support asks for.
See also
- License — the full table of labels by state and what the License box contains.
- License activation — the full guide to buying, activating and moving a license.
- Update and uninstall — the detailed version-update procedure.
- Preferences — the add-in's eight sections of default settings.
- Quick start guide — overview map of the feature groups.
- User guide — the complete PDF user guide, readable offline.