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BriefCatch Standalone

FAQs

BriefCatch Standalone Enterprise FAQs

Applies to: Enterprise Admins, BriefCatch Standalone

Last Updated: Dec 21, 2023

Please Note: The questions and answers in this FAQ are all related to the BriefCatch Standalone product. You can also review our BriefCatch 3 Enterprise FAQs.

If your question is not answered here, please feel free to contact us.

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Maintenance

How often is BriefCatch updated?
How are updates to the software handled?
How do I update the software?
Do you offer access to previous versions?

Installation & Deployment

What installation formats do you offer?

All enterprise purchases receive .EXE and .MSI install versions. Two MSI versions are available - per user install or per machine install.

Please note that the MSI installers don't install dependencies for the add-in. These will need to be installed (if they have not already been). These are the .NET runtime 4.8 and VSTO Tools for Office.

Does your installer support silent unattended installation?

Yes. It supports the standard Microsoft command switches including silent installation: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa367988(v=vs.85).aspx

Do you have a sample installation script that you can provide?

You should always deploy as an administrator. This will avoid any potential issues with permissions. Your users do not need administrative rights to use the add-in.

While the script you use will depend on your setup, below is a general example:

msiexec /i "BCMSSetupLM.msi" /qn LICENSESOURCE="C:\path\license.key" DISABLEAUTOUPDATE="C:\path\noAutoUpdate.txt"

The parameters LICENSESOURCE and DISABLEAUTOUPDATE are explained below. You should always use the full file paths when using the parameters.

Please Note: If you're receiving errors with your script, please removing the quotations around the paths. For example:

msiexec /i BCMSSetupLM.msi /qn LICENSESOURCE=C:\path\license.key DISABLEAUTOUPDATE=C:\path\noAutoUpdate.txt

Does your installer support the passing of .MSI properties on the command line?

Yes.

How can I log the installation?

Add the following to the end of your installation script:

/l*v "log.log"

Does BriefCatch work with secure remote access programs such as Citrix?

Yes. Clients use our add-in with Citrix and other remote access solutions.

Is BriefCatch compatible on virtual environments/systems?

Yes. BriefCatch can be installed on virtual environments such as VMware/VDI and more.

Does BriefCatch work when it is executed with the Windows System account (a/k/a Machine Account)?

Installation is currently per user, so the user needs to be logged in. (Use the Local Machine MSI installer to install to the machine account.)

For successful installation, must the user account be a local administrator?

No.

What properties or parameters are needed for proper configuration?

None are required.

What location does BriefCatch install to?

The default installation path is C:\Users\{user_profile}\AppData\Local\BriefCatch

If using the machine installer, the default installation path is C:\Program Files\BriefCatch (or C:\Program Files (x86)\BriefCatch)

Can the BriefCatch software be signed during installation?

Yes. We provide a signed certificate which can be installed with either MSI installer.

This certificate file can be pushed via a group policy update to get around the "Unknown Publisher" message which may display in Word after installation. Here are more details on using the certificate: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/identity/ad-fs/deployment/distribute-certificates-to-client-computers-by-using-group-policy

In order to install the certificate directly from the installation file:

right-click on the msi file, choose Properties
under the Digital Signatures tab, click the signature in the Signatures list, then click Details
in the following screen, click View certificate
in the Certificate window, click Install Certificate...
in the Certificate Import Wizard: choose Place all certificates in the following store, then click Browse
in the Select Certificate Store window, choose Trusted Publishers, then click OK
click Next, then Finish

Can we hide the "Publisher has been verified" message when Word is opened after installation?

After installing BriefCatch, the below message may display when opening Word for the first time.

bcs-verified-publisher

You can instruct your users to click Install to complete the installation. This will add BriefCatch to the list of trusted publishers on the users machine.

You can also manually add BriefCatch to the list of trusted publishers via the Trust Center so this message will not show for your users. This can also be done using a group policy update. See the below articles for more details:

Can we hide the "Welcome to BriefCatch" side panel when opening Word for the first time?

The default behavior when opening Word for the first time after a successful installation is to show a welcome display as a side panel. This explains the different Catch functions. Currently, we don't have a way to disable the side panel when installing the software. However, it can be hidden after installation.

After BriefCatch is installed a file called bcms.settings is created. This file can be found at C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\bcms\bcms.settings

If you open this file with a text editor, you will see this option:

<AlreadyLaunched>false</AlreadyLaunched>

If you change this to:

Then the welcome side panel will not display when Word is opened.

You can replace the bcms.settings file for your users with the AlreadyLaunched option set to true. This can be done with a group policy update.

Can I move the BriefCatch tab in the ribbon?

Yes. The BriefCatch ribbon tab and buttons can be moved into another tab using the built-in Office feature.

Can I disable the update notification for our users?

Yes. In versions 3.0.0 and newer, a flag appears in the ribbon when there is a new version of BriefCatch available.

update-notice-ribbon

This can be disabled in two ways.

First, download the noAutoUpdate.txt file, along with the software and your license. The file can use any extension.

1) While deploying the software, use the DISABLEAUTOUPDATE parameter with the full path location to the noAutoUpdate file. For example:

msiexec /i "BCMSSetupLM.msi" /qn LICENSESOURCE="C:\path\license.key" DISABLEAUTOUPDATE="C:\path\noAutoUpdate.txt"

2) If the software is already installed, add the noAutoUpdate.txt file to the bcms directory. The location of the directory depends on the installer used:

User Installation: C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\bcms\
Machine Installation: C:\ProgramData\bcms\

If the noAutoUpdate file exists in the \bcms\ directory, the update message will never be shown.

Security

Does BriefCatch 2 or BriefCatch Standalone have any access to our documents or data?

No. We have no access to any documents or files you use within Word. While scanning documents, BriefCatch only runs locally. It never connects to the cloud or to any servers, nor does it track or report any usage data to us or to any third parties.

BriefCatch version 2.5.3.0 and newer include a new feature called Subscription Sign-In. This feature adds the option to link BriefCatch 2 to an account on our website to help automate licensing. If active, the software will contact our license server once per month, and on the date your license is set to expire. If there are any changes to licensing, such as a renewal, your license will be updated automatically. See this article for more information.

BriefCatch 2/Standalone still never connects to any servers while processing documents and continues to run locally. We never have access to any content with your document.

Software

Which versions of Word and operating systems are required?

BriefCatch requires Windows XP or newer, and Microsoft Word 2010 or newer.

BriefCatch does not yet work on Macs or in the online versions of Word.

Note: BriefCatch does work with Office365 but only the installed version, not the online or app version of Word.

Does BriefCatch use any shared DLLs?

BriefCatch uses the .NET runtime DLLs (and certain Office DLLs).

Are there any known or reported conflicts with other Word add-ins or software?

No.

Is BriefCatch installed as 32-bit or 64-bit?

BriefCatch installs as 32-bit or 64-bit depending on which version of Word you're using. If you're running a 64-bit version of Word, BriefCatch will install as 64-bit.

Is BriefCatch always running in the background?

BriefCatch doesn't run in the background unless it is engaged. It uses event handlers once it's been run.

Licensing

What are your fees for licensing?

Fees vary based on the size of your firm or entity. Please contact us for more details.

What kinds of licenses are offered?

We offer only renewable annual licenses at this time.

How are licenses managed?

After purchase, you will be given access to your master license file, along with the software. This license file includes the number of seats purchased for your firm. It must be activated on each installation.

Do licenses automatically renew?

We will contact you 4-6 weeks before your license is set to renew. During this period, you can make any changes to your license, such as adding or removing users, or you cancel your license if you decide not to renew.

How do I install licenses?

This can be done in a couple different ways:

1) Manually installing on each machine. As taken from our general documentation: To install your BriefCatch license, click on About under the BriefCatch tab in Word. From there, click on Install License. Navigate to the license file you downloaded above and press Open. You will then receive the message "Your license was successfully imported."

Note: Depending on which version of BriefCatch you're using, you may need to click Sign Out before you can install a new license.

2) Installing the license with the software using the MSI installer. You can install the software with your master license using the LICENSESOURCE parameter, explained below.

Do you have silent install command lines for the deployment to include and automate the license key(s)?

Yes. During the install use the command line parameter LICENSESOURCE="full_path_to_the_file" (ex: LICENSESOURCE="c:\briefcatch\license.key")

Note: You should use the full path to the license key when using the LICENSESOURCE parameter.

How do I update license files for our users?

This can be done in a few different ways:

Note: Depending on which version of BriefCatch you're using, you may need to click Sign Out before you can install a new license.

2) Installing the license with the software using the MSI installer. You can re-install the software with the new license using the LICENSESOURCE parameter, explained above.

3) Directly replacing the license file on the user's machine. You can find the license file for each installation at:

User installation: C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\bcms\BriefCatch_license.key
Machine installation: C:\ProgramData\bcms\BriefCatch_license.key

If you replace this file with the new license file, it will update the BriefCatch license for each user. Note that the filename must match exactly, BriefCatch_license.key and not just license.key.

(This can be done via a Group Policy Update.)

Please Note: If the license will not refresh properly for your users, you may need to grant full access to the directory where the license is stored.

fullaccess

Can I add more users to my license?

Yes! If you'd like to purchase 5 or more seats for your license, please send us an email at help@briefcatch.com and we can prorate the amount to match your current license period. For example, if there are 100 days left in your license period, and you want to purchase 20 more seats, we will invoice you for the cost of the remaining 100 days of your license period.

Maintenance

How often is BriefCatch updated?

We anticipate new releases once or twice per year.

How are updates to the software handled?

Any new releases will be uploaded to the website and available for download. We will notify you when a new major release is available.

How do I update the software?

While logged in to your enterprise account, download the newest version from our online portal. Install the new version for your users, just like you did the first time. There is no need to uninstall the previous version. After that, everyone will be using the newest version of BriefCatch.

Unless you include a new license file, all settings and licenses will remain the same.

Do you offer access to previous versions?

Yes. You can navigate all of our previous releases.