Installer Guide – empower® Suite <= 9.5

Available from Version: <= 9.5

Operating System: Windows

Required Permissions: User, IT Admin

Introduction

This article describes the installation process of the empower® Client Software on a Windows system as well as important prerequisites.

Note

If there are any questions reading this document, contact empower® Support.

Integrated Products and Components

If you install the empower® Product Suite, the following products are included in the installation:

  • empower® Slides

  • empower® Charts

  • empower® Docs

  • empower® Mails

  • empower® Sheets

  • empower® Sync

If you install the empower® Solution Suite, the following solutions are included in the installation by default:

  • empower® Brand Control

  • empower® Content Enablement

  • empower® Chart Creation

Hardware Requirements

  • 2GHz or faster processor

  • 4GB of RAM

  • The required hard disk space for the application is dependent on the content included in your empower® Version.

    A default version needs approximately 1.1GB of available hard disk space for the application.

    This amount highly depends on the size of the content in your empower® Version.

  • Possible HTTPS connection to the empower® Backend Services (Application Server)

    • usually via the default HTTPS port 443

  • Possible HTTP connection to the empower® Activation Server

Software Requirements

  • Operating System: Windows 11

  • 32-bit and 64-bit supported

  • Office 2021*, 2024

  • Office 365 ProPlus and Enterprise E3 and E5

  • .Net Framework Version 4.7 or higher

Important

*End of life as of October 2026.

As of October 2026, empower does no longer support this Office version. Please ensure that you switch to a supported version in time.

For further information from Microsoft, see End of support for Office 2021.

Note

ARM-based systems are not supported.

Installation Files

The installation package consists of two components:

  • .msi file (either per Machine or per User)

    • per User: Installs empower® only for the current user

    • per Machine: Needs elevated permissions and installs empower® on the local machine for all users

  • Payload folder

Both components must be stored right next to each other.

Installation_Installation_Files.png

Important

Before you start the installation, make sure that all Office applications are closed.

Note

We provide you with the installation files tailored to your plan. These include the .msi file and the Payload folder. The installation files are not available for download elsewhere.

If you have not selected a plan, contact empower® Support.

Note

Depending on your empower® Version, the content of the folder Payload might vary from the given examples below.

The .msi file is the execution file, whereas the folder Payload contains the following files:

18541217593756-image.png

If the empower® Solutions are being installed, the payload contains another folder called suite.

The following table provides an overview of available payload files:

File Name

Description

File Content

NoStartScreen.dat

If this file is available in the payload directory, empower® for PowerPoint will prevent the display of the notification empower® is preparing in the background.

Empty

DisableExternalProcessStarts.flag

Disables the start of external programs i.e. the empower® Sync.

If this file is used, it must be placed in the payload directory on every update.

Empty

Licensekey.txt

Contains a product license key or the solution license keys used to activate the product.

Product or solution license key

RemoteServiceConfig.xml

Defines the connection to the backend.

Server configuration in .xml format

Holidays.xml

Contains the usual public holidays which can be used for empower® Chart Creation or Charts.

/

Customizing

Contains the customizing settings for charts created with empower® Chart Creation or Charts.

/

aip_labelSettings.xml

Contains the standard settings regarding Microsoft Purview Information Protection labels and empower® Chart Creation or Charts.

/

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

We provided you with the installation package to install empower® Suite.

To install empower®, follow the following steps:

  1. Make sure all Office applications are closed.

  2. Execute the installer.

    The file is either called empowerSuite-perUser.msi or empowerSuite-perMachine.msi depending on your setup type.
Installation_Installation_Files.png

  1. Continue the installation by clicking on the button Next.
Installation_Welcome.png

  1. Accept the license agreement and continue by clicking on the button Next again.
Installation_License_Agreement.png

  1. Open the menu for each component that you want to install and choose the option Entire feature will be installed on local hard drive.

  2. Click on the button Next to proceed with the installation.
Installation_Products_Components.png

  1. Then, click on the button Install to start the installation.

    If you are using a per Machine installer, a dialog box opens.
Installation_Install.png

  1. Click on the button Yes to allow empower to make changed to the device and finish the installation.

    If you are using a per User installer, this step is skipped.

    The installation starts.
Installation_Allow_Installation.png

  1. Finish the installation by clicking on the button Finish.
Installation_Finish.png

Important

Only select the empower® Components you have purchased.

Otherwise you will receive an error message.

Note

If there are open Office applications, a dialog box opens.

Installation_Dialog_Open_Applications_Version_9_5.png

Click on the button OK and close all Office applications. You then restart the installation.

The empower® Sync does not have to be installed separately since it is part of any product which depends on the empower® Sync.

The empower® Suite Installer also supports the uninstallation of branding customizings. At uninstallation time, all files in the directory except the file Userpreferences.db are deleted.

What happens with the Branding customizing files is determined by the following rules:

  • If the empower® Sync is installed, the customizing is installed.

  • If the empower® Sync is installed again or updated, the logic checks if a new customizing is provided. If this is the case, the old customizing is removed and the new customizing is installed.

    This is done to remove all the old binary data.

  • If the empower® Sync is removed, the customizing is also removed.

  • If a product which uses the empower® Sync is already installed (i.e. empower® Slides) and another product is installed which depends on the empower® Sync (i.e. empower® Docs), then the same logic as in the reinstall/update path is applied.

empower® Slides – After Installation

  1. After you have finished the installation, start PowerPoint.

  2. If necessary, log in to the empower® Sync with a given username and password.

    empower® prepares PowerPoint and loads all relevant data. This can take some time.

  3. After a successful setup, restart PowerPoint.

    You will receive a notification and the empower® Ribbon becomes visible.

    11308955997852-mceclip6.png

empower® Charts – After Installation

  1. After you have finished the installation, start PowerPoint.

  2. If necessary, log in to the empower® Sync with a given username and password.

    empower® prepares PowerPoint and loads all relevant data. This can take some time.

  3. After a successful setup, restart PowerPoint.

    The group empower charts becomes available in the tab Insert.

    15641884028572-mceclip7.png

Note

If you have installed empower® Slides and Charts, a button to insert charts becomes available in the empower® Ribbon in PowerPoint.

empower® Docs – After Installation

  1. Open Word.

  2. If necessary, log in with a given log in username and password.

    empower® prepares Word and loads all relevant data. This can take some time.

  3. After a successful setup, restart Word.

    The empower® Ribbon becomes visible.

    11308961781788-mceclip8.png

empower® Mails – After Installation

  1. Open Outlook.

  2. If necessary, log in with a given log in username and password.

    empower® prepares Outlook and loads all relevant data. This can take some time.

  3. After a successful setup, restart Outlook.

    The group empower Mails becomes visible.

    Outlook_Group_empower_Mails.png

empower® Sheets – After Installation

  1. Open Excel.

  2. If necessary, log in with a given log in username and password.

    empower® prepares Excel and loads all relevant data. This can take some time.

  3. After a successful setup, restart Excel.

    The empower® Ribbon becomes visible.

    19707469988636-image.png

License Activation

In order to activate the license, the client needs to be able to connect to the internet.

The licensing server is available under the address activate.empowersuite.com via Port 443.

This connection needs to be allowed in proxy or firewall settings.

Note

If this online activation is not possible, empower® can provide an alternative license file (license.key).

This file needs to be distributed to all machines where no internet activation is possible.

Installation Paths

Once empower® has been installed, the license keys are saved as .txt files on the file system.

They can be accessed via the following paths:

Product/Solution

per User

per Machine

Charts

%localappdata%\empower\charts\licensekey.txt

%programdata%\empower\charts\licenskey.txt

Docs

%localappdata%\empower\docs\licensekey.txt

%programdata%\empower\docs\licensekey.txt

Mails

%localappdata%\empower\mails\licensekey.txt

%programdata%\empower\mails\licensekey.txt

Sheets

%localappdata%\empower\sheets\licensekey.txt

%programdata%\empower\sheets\licensekey.txt

Slides

%localappdata%\empower\slides\licensekey.txt

%programdata%\empower\slides\licensekey.txt

Solutions

%localappdata%\empower\licensekey.txt

%programdata%\empower\licensekey.txt

Install and Manage Components via Command-Line

If you want to install components per command line, you need to use the property ADDLOCAL by MSI.

If you want to remove/uninstall parts of the components you need to use the property REMOVE by MSI.

Note

For further information regarding the property ADDLOCAL, see ADDLOCAL property.

For further information regarding the property REMOVE, see REMOVE property.

Allowed properties are the following:

  • slides

  • charts

  • docs

  • mails

  • sheets

  • autoupdater (obligatory for per User installations)

If the setup does not define a standard set of products to install, the definition of ADDLOCAL is mandatory on the first installation.

To execute a silent installation (Silent Mode), /q is used.

The following command can be used to start a silent installation:

msiexec /i empowerSuite-perMachine.msi /q /l*v installer.log ADDLOCAL=slides,docs,charts

Note

For silent installations, the parameter /q is supported. The parameters /qn and /qb are not supported.

Setup Parameter

If empower® is not installed via the user interface of the installer, the following setup parameters can be used:

Parameter

Allowed Values

Default Value

Definition

ENABLE_PAYLOAD_CHECK

0, 1

1

Defines whether the payload folder should be checked. This parameter only affects the check by the Suite uninstaller.

Checks that are explicitly carried out by the components (e.g. Chart Creation) are not affected by this.

EXECUTINGDIRECTORY

Path

Empty

This parameter can be used to specify the path where the .msi file is located.

This may be necessary to define the storage location when executing the command from another folder.

Example command:

msiexec /i empowerSuite-perMachine.msi /q /l*v installer.log ADDLOCAL=charts EXECUTINGDIRECTORY="C:\Temp"

SYNC_START_IMMEDIATELY

0, 1

0

This parameter enforces starting the empower® Sync after setup if the setup runs in silent mode. By default, in this mode the empower® Sync will not be started automatically. Setting this parameter to 1 enforces the automatic start.

If the setup is executed in non-silent mode, the empower® Sync will be started automatically, regardless of this parameter.

Example command:

msiexec /q /i empower.msi SYNC_START_IMMEDIATELY=1

SLIDES_EMPOWERRIBBONINSERTAFTERIDMSO

IdMso of ribbon tabs as string

Empty

Defines whether the ribbon for empower® in PowerPoint should be displayed behind another ribbon tab.

Example command:

msiexec /i empower.msi SLIDES_EMPOWERRIBBONINSERTAFTERIDMSO=HomeTab

ENABLE_WEBVIEW_CHECK

0, 1

0

Defines if the webview should be checked and installed if missing. If disabled, the webview will not be installed.

Example command:

msiexec /i empower.msi ENABLE_WEBVIEW_CHECK=0

Install empower® Using Intune

Before you start the installation, make sure that all Office applications are closed.

  1. Make sure the user has a local copy of the installation package with the .msi file and payload folder in it.

  2. Create an Intunewin (Prepare a Win32 app to be uploaded to Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn).

  3. Open PowerShell as an administrator and change the working directory to the location of the installation package.

  4. Execute the command to start the installation. The following command provides an example:

    msiexec /i empowerSuite-perMachine.msi /q /l*v installer.log ADDLOCAL=slides,docs,charts

Important

For consistency across users, only use the per Machine installer when using Intune.

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