DVD Chat

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Addin → Group AI

Command ID: btnDvdChat

License required

This command needs an active DVDAddin account (Standard or PRO). During the Trial period it is fully available.

What it does

Toggles the DVD Chat task pane on the right-hand side of the Excel window so you can message your team without switching to a messaging app or email. You can attach a cell, a range or a whole sheet to a message, which keeps the discussion anchored to the exact figures in dispute. Messages are stored on a Firebase Realtime Database. Handy when the estimating desk, the site engineer and the project manager are all reviewing the same quantity sheet.

How to use

1. Open the workbook you want to discuss.
2. On the DVD Addin tab, AI group, click DVD Chat.
3. The chat pane docks to the right of the Excel window. Type your message and send it to the workspace.
4. To talk about a specific area: select the cell or range on the sheet, then use the attach control in the pane to send that reference along with the message.
5. Click DVD Chat on the ribbon again to hide the pane, and once more to bring it back.

Example

A quantity surveyor spots that the foundation concrete for pile cap M1 on sheet QTY_Found is 12 m³ away from the drawing. He opens DVD Chat, selects B18:H24, attaches that range to a message and writes: "M1 is out by 12 m³ — please re-check the cap height from level -1.80 m." The site engineer opens the attached range and replies right in the pane, with nobody screenshotting the sheet into another app.

Notes

• The pane belongs to each Excel window; open a second Excel window and you have to toggle the pane there separately.
• Pane width is remembered — widen or narrow it now and the next toggle reopens at that size (the default is 380 px).
• An Internet connection is required because every message lives on the Firebase backend, not inside the workbook file.
• Attaching a cell or range sends the reference and its data — think before sharing rate tables or contract information.
• Closing the pane does not delete history; the conversation is still there when you reopen it.

Related

• AI Chat — the pane for asking an AI, as opposed to talking to teammates.
• Send email — push a sheet or notice outside the team through Outlook.
• Screen annotate — capture and mark up a screenshot to illustrate a message.
• Preferences — general add-in settings, including the account section.