Manage integrations in MarginDiff Settings

MarginDiff Settings manages shared integration preferences. Use it when Office opens the wrong application, a MarginDiff menu is missing, or you need to check registration. Settings has three main tabs: **Integration**, **License**, and **About**. **Integration** contains **File Explorer** and **Office Integrations** tabs. The **Apply** and **Discard changes** buttons appear only within Integration and handle pending changes from both of its tabs. Use **About** to check the version, visit Polywick Studio, send feedback, or choose a light or dark theme. Standard window controls let you minimize, maximize, resize, and close Settings. Both Settings apps remember their last normal window position when closed and restore it on reopening. If a monitor is disconnected, the window is kept on an available screen. MarginDiff Scrub Settings uses the same three-tab layout. Its File Explorer tab has a grouped file types, such as Word and PowerPoint. A mixed checkmark means only some extensions in that group are enabled; clicking applies one choice to the whole group. There is no separate Explorer enable switch. Register installs the integration, individual file-type choices control its commands, and Unregister removes it. While registered, all file-type controls remain editable, including when every group is unchecked. Office includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Register the integration to edit its preferences, then use **Apply** or **Discard changes**. Scrub's License tab manages its own license and trial; it has no MarginDiff Documents OCR section. PDF metadata cleaning in Scrub does not require OCR. Scrub Settings automatically loads its appearance and window position from `%APPDATA%\PolywickStudio\DiffyScrub\diffyscrubsettings.ini`. Appearance saves when changed; the window position saves when Settings closes. Previous UI settings are carried forward automatically when this file does not yet exist. ## Check application locations For interface preferences inside Sheets and Slides, see [Customize comparison applications](#customize-comparison-applications). Open **Office Integration > Details…** to inspect registration and configured application locations. The report is selectable so you can copy it for support. Reopen Details to read the current settings. If the selected executable is missing or belongs to an old installation, ask your administrator to correct the configured path. The report shows what the launcher will use; it does not itself change the path. ## Register or unregister The **Office Integration** and **File Explorer Integration** pages provide **Register**, **Unregister**, and a **Details…** button. On **Office Integration**, the checkboxes control Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook integration. The add-in's ribbon tab and group are also named **MarginDiff**. 1. Choose the integration you want to manage. Settings checks its registration. 2. If it is not registered, the checkboxes are disabled. Click **Register** and approve the Windows administrator prompt if requested. 3. Once registered, edit the checkboxes and click **Apply** to save your choices. If the settings file is protected, approve the Windows administrator prompt. Apply saves pending changes from both integration pages. 4. To remove the integration, apply or discard pending changes, then click **Unregister**. After it is unregistered, the checkboxes become disabled. The explanation below the controls shows the registration state and what to do next. Settings checks again after Register or Unregister, when you return to the window, and when you open Details. Saved checkbox choices are kept when you unregister. Keep Settings open until registration finishes. If a helper takes more than two minutes, Settings shows a delay notice and continues monitoring it. Further registration changes and closing Settings remain blocked until it exits; the final result confirms whether the change succeeded. Canceling the administrator prompt leaves the action unsuccessful. If the helper reports an error, retain its message and contact your administrator. After Apply succeeds, checkboxes represent saved preferences; they are not by themselves proof that an integration is registered. Unregistering an integration does not necessarily clear those preferences. While the integration is registered, the checkboxes stay editable even when the settings file requires administrator access. **Apply** requests permission only when needed; Settings stays open. If you cancel the prompt or saving fails, your selections remain available for retry. **Discard changes** restores the saved preferences on both integration tabs. Apply or discard pending changes before registering integrations. Closing Settings with unsaved choices asks whether to discard them or keep editing. PDF preferences also require OCR availability. The PDF checkbox is editable when File Explorer integration is registered and either `margindiffdocumentsocr.exe` is found or the OCR license manager confirms a current license. Settings checks the registered installation, `C:\Program Files\PolywickStudio\DiffyDocumentsOCR`, and the folder beside Settings. If OCR is unavailable, the checkbox explains why and retains your saved preference. Use **License > MarginDiff Documents OCR > Refresh** after changing the OCR license. Cached license information does not enable PDF. ## Refresh the host application Restart Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook after an Office registration change. Reopen Explorer windows after a context-menu change. Applications already running can retain the previous add-in or menu state. Continue with [Compare from Word](/docs/integrations/word) or [Compare from Explorer](/docs/integrations/explorer). ## Request a trial Open **MarginDiff Settings > License** and choose **Request trial...** when no active shared license is installed. Enter your email address and select **Send verification email** (or press **Enter** in the email field). Open the link in the email, or enter its eight-digit code and select **Verify code** (or press **Enter** in the code field). Keep MarginDiff Settings running while you verify your email. It checks automatically, including after a temporary connection error, and checks again when you return to Settings. **Check verification status** lets you retry immediately. Select a status or error message and press **Ctrl+C** to copy it. Closing the dialog keeps the request active, but exiting Settings ends that session. If sending another email fails, Settings retains the previous request and resumes checking it until it expires. If an input error appears, correct the email address or verification code; an existing request continues checking automatically. The requested trial covers MarginDiff Documents, Presentations, and Sheets on this computer. The licensing service determines eligibility and the expiration date for the 31-day trial. After activation, the License tab shows the trial's expiration time in UTC. Requesting another email does not restart an existing trial. OCR licensing is separate. If license validation or saving fails, the error stays visible when you return to Settings. Select the message and press **Ctrl+C** to copy the details, resolve the reported problem, then choose **Check verification status** to retry. Internet access is required. Verification requests expire; request a new email if the dialog reports expiration. If saving the shared license is denied, ask an administrator to run MarginDiff Settings and complete activation. ## Activate or deactivate a license Open **License** to check shared and OCR licenses. Use **Activate…** to paste a key or choose **Load key file…**. Use **Deactivate…** to remove the shared license from this computer, or **Refresh** to check its status again. OCR activation requires running Settings as administrator. License status checks, activation and deactivation run in the background. Keep Settings open until the result appears. A status refresh waits if another license or trial operation is busy; the previous status stays visible until the refresh completes. Wait for an active license or trial operation to finish before starting another. Trial polling pauses during these changes. A failed operation keeps a pending trial request; a successful change clears it. In Sheets and Presentations, **Help > About** shows **Licensed to** with the customer name recorded in the active license. Trial licenses are identified, and a missing or inactive license is reported instead of a customer name. ## Activate from a license key file For unattended activation, save your activation key in a UTF-8 text file and run: ```powershell $process = Start-Process -FilePath '.\margindiffsettings.exe' -ArgumentList '--activate-license-file "C:\Deployment\license-key.txt"' -Wait -PassThru $process.ExitCode ``` Run this from the folder containing MarginDiff Settings, or supply its full executable path. The command activates the shared Documents, Presentations and Sheets license without opening a window. Internet access is required. If the shared license location requires administrator access, run the command from an elevated PowerShell or deployment process; it does not display an elevation prompt. The file must contain the activation key, not a saved binary license. UTF-8 files with or without a BOM are accepted, and surrounding whitespace is ignored. The maximum file size is 64 KiB. The file is left unchanged, and the key is not printed in command output. Keep the file accessible only to authorized users. | Exit code | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `0` | Activation succeeded and the saved license was verified. | | `1` | Activation or saving failed; check the key, connection and write permission. | | `2` | Invalid command arguments. | | `3` | The key file is unreadable, empty, too large or not valid UTF-8 text. | This command does not activate OCR licenses. Do not combine it with `--licenses`, which opens the licensing page for manual activation. ## Deactivate from the command line To deactivate the saved shared Documents, Presentations and Sheets license: ```powershell $process = Start-Process -FilePath '.\margindiffsettings.exe' -ArgumentList '--deactivate-license' -Wait -PassThru $process.ExitCode ``` No key file is needed. The command runs without opening a window and requires internet access. Run from an elevated PowerShell or deployment process if needed to update the shared license. Exit code `0` means success, `1` means deactivation failed (including when no valid saved license exists), and `2` means invalid arguments. Do not combine this option with other options. This affects the shared license on this computer; OCR licensing is separate. ## Check license status from the command line From the folder containing MarginDiff Settings, run this in PowerShell: ```powershell .\margindiffsettings.exe --status ``` The command prints one number, such as `2` for not licensed, and returns that same number as the process exit code. In Command Prompt, use `margindiffsettings.exe --status` without the PowerShell `.\` prefix. When run from Command Prompt or PowerShell, the number is printed directly in that console. Output can also be redirected to a file or captured by a script. | Output and exit code | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `1` | Licensed | | `2` | Not licensed | | `3` | Trial license | | `4` | Permanent offline license | For automation, wait for completion and capture both the output and exit code: ```powershell $process = Start-Process -FilePath '.\margindiffsettings.exe' -ArgumentList '--status' -Wait -PassThru -RedirectStandardOutput '.\license-status.txt' Get-Content '.\license-status.txt' $process.ExitCode ``` The command checks the saved shared Documents, Presentations and Sheets license without opening a window or contacting the server. Missing, unreadable, invalid or expired licenses return `2`. A valid, unexpired trial returns `3`. Code `4` means the license grants permanent offline use; simply disconnecting from the internet does not change a regular license from `1` to `4`. This local check does not discover a server-side revocation that has not yet reached the computer. It does not activate or deactivate a license, and OCR licensing is separate. Do not combine `--status` with other options. Invalid arguments print usage to the error stream and return `5`. All four status results intentionally use nonzero exit codes. Deployment scripts should interpret the table rather than treating every nonzero result as a command failure. ## OCR license status OCR status checks and activation run in the background. Wait for the current operation to finish before starting another OCR activation. If Settings cannot verify the current status, it labels any saved information as cached; cached information does not confirm that the license is currently valid. ## Customize comparison applications The Tools menus in Sheets and Slides follow Documents: **Styles (Ctrl+L)**, **Admin Options**, icon and theme customization, then menu and toolbar controls. In MarginDiff Sheets and MarginDiff Presentations, use **Tools > Customize Menu** to change command order and keyboard shortcuts. **Tools > Customize Toolbar** adds, removes and reorders toolbar commands. Choose a toolbar, edit its command list, and select **OK** to apply the changes. **Cancel** leaves that toolbar unchanged. Sheets and Slides provide **Main** and **Navigation** toolbars. Main groups New Diff, Stop, Switch, Save, Print and Email; Navigation groups the revision commands, Find and Goto. Buttons share the corresponding menu command's state, so unavailable commands remain disabled. Drag the toolbar handles to reposition them or use Customize Toolbar to change their contents. **Tools > Toolbar** contains icon sizes and **Save Layout**, **Load Layout** and **Reset Layout**. Accepted customizations are saved for the next launch. **Tools > Customize Icon Design** selects an icon style; **Tools > Customize Theme** selects the same theme choices as Documents: Light and Dark, followed by Light Grey, Dark and Black from the Photoshop-style group. The **Window** menu arranges documents and can close all except the active one. **Help** provides context help, contents and keyboard shortcuts. Each application keeps its own About dialog. These menus are inside the comparison applications, not the separate MarginDiff Settings integration manager. ## Shared configuration files MarginDiff Scrub Office and File Explorer settings are stored in `C:\ProgramData\PolywickStudio\DiffyScrub\DiffyScrub.ini`. Saving in MarginDiff Scrub Settings preserves existing preferences when moving them to this file. Machine-wide settings are stored in `C:\ProgramData\PolywickStudio\Diffy`. This folder contains `Diffy.ini`, the legacy `DiffyAdmin.ini`, `DiffyOffice.ini` and `DiffyShell.ini` files, `install.stamp`, and the shared `license.plic`. Shared Documents styles are stored separately in `C:\ProgramData\PolywickStudio\DiffyDocuments\styles`. Per-user administrator settings use `%APPDATA%\PolywickStudio\DiffyShared\diffyshared.ini`. Preferences migrate from `Diffy\diffyadmin.ini` or `DiffyAdmin\diffyadmin.ini` under `%APPDATA%\PolywickStudio` when the new file does not already exist. Documents application preferences use `%APPDATA%\PolywickStudio\DiffyDocs\DiffyDocuments.ini`. Existing preferences are copied to the new locations on first use, without overwriting a destination file. The original files remain as recovery copies. Use **View > Full Screen (F11)** to enter or leave full screen. Sheets and Presentations also have an icon-only Full Screen button on the right of the status bar; hover over it to see the tooltip. **View > Transparency** offers alpha values 100, 200 and 255 (fully opaque), plus a slider dialog with live preview; Cancel restores the previous opacity. **View > Zoom** changes worksheet magnification in Sheets and source/overlay image magnification in Slides. Slides also offers **Fit to Window** and scrollbars for enlarged images. ## Manage comparison styles In Sheets or Slides, open **Tools > Styles > Manage Styles**. Use **Save Current** to create a named preset from the settings currently shown in Styles. Select a preset and choose **Apply**, then select **OK** in Styles to use it in comparisons. Cancel in Styles leaves the active comparison settings unchanged. Manage Styles also provides **Rename**, **Delete**, **Import** and **Export**. Saved presets use `.ddstyle` files and are specific to their application; Sheets presets also include the cell formatting comparison options. Saving, renaming, deleting or importing a preset takes effect immediately. Manage Styles lists both **Documents** and **Company** presets. Choose the **Save / import location** before saving or importing. Sheets uses `C:\ProgramData\PolywickStudio\DiffySheets` and `Documents\PolywickStudio\DiffySheets`; Slides uses `C:\ProgramData\PolywickStudio\DiffyPresentations` and `Documents\PolywickStudio\DiffyPresentations`. The Documents path follows your Windows Documents folder, including redirected locations. Company uses the Windows ProgramData folder. Shared folder changes require write permission. The **Print** dialog opens with keyboard focus on **Print** in Documents, Sheets and Slides. ## Configure Open folders In Documents, Sheets and Slides, open **Tools > Admin Options > Open** to manage an ordered list of folders, using the same controls as Save. **Add...** adds a folder; **Replace...** changes the selected folder. Edit its **Label** to give it a friendly name. **Delete**, **Move Up**, and **Move Down** manage the list. Select **OK** to save your changes. Existing single-folder settings are retained as a list entry. The first folder is the initial default Open location. After you choose **Open** or **Cancel**, MarginDiff remembers the folder currently displayed in the dialog. If it is not already in the list, MarginDiff adds it. The next Open dialog starts at that saved list entry, including after restarting the application. Cancel still opens no files; it only remembers the folder. In the native Windows Open dialog, use **Open folder** to choose any configured folder by its label. You can still browse to other folders and select files normally. The selector is also available when choosing Original or Modified files for a new comparison. Removing every folder clears the configured default; normal file browsing remains available. When selecting comparison files, the file-type list starts with Word Documents, then Rich Text (RTF) in Documents, or the Excel/PowerPoint formats in Sheets and Slides. PDF appears before Document Package when OCR is enabled. The comparison package filter is immediately before **All Files** in all three applications. ## New Diff keyboard navigation In Documents, Sheets and Slides, focus starts in the **Original** file field. Press **Tab** to move through Original **Select** and **...**, the **Modified** file field, Modified **Select** and **...**, **Style**, the style edit button, then **Override**. When Override is checked, its visible options follow. The bottom buttons follow in order: **Cancel**, **Clear**, **Switch**, **Start**. Disabled controls are skipped. **Shift+Tab** moves backwards; **Enter** starts the comparison. ## Override one comparison Sheets and Slides use the **New Diff** dialog for **File > New Diff**. Check **Override** to reveal comparison-specific controls. Sheets offers cell-formatting comparison and individual checks for number formats, fonts, fills, alignment and borders. Slides offers character-level text changes and inclusion of formatting and position changes. With Override off, normal style settings or defaults apply. Starting a comparison with overrides does not overwrite saved style sets. In **File > New Diff**, use **Style** to choose a saved set from Personal or Company before selecting Start. The last selected style is remembered. **Styles...** opens the style editor and manager. Choosing a set loads its colors and supported comparison options for the new comparison; **Override** lets you adjust that comparison's options. Saved style files are unchanged by selecting them. If a selected file is missing or invalid, choose another style before starting. ## Sheets and Slides style controls At the top of **Tools > Styles**, choose a saved style from the **Styles** combobox to load it. **Manage Styles** beside it provides rename, delete, import and export. If a saved style disappears or becomes unreadable during export, the existing destination is left unchanged. If a style file is missing, unreadable, or malformed, loading it shows a warning and retains your current settings, including unsaved edits. The bottom row contains **Reset**, **Save**, **Tools**, and **Close**. Reset asks **Do you want to reset changes?** Choose **Yes** to restore the default settings in the dialog; **No** or dismissing the prompt leaves your edits unchanged. Save writes the current settings to the selected style file and applies them without closing. Changing styles, closing, or pressing Escape prompts to save unsaved edits. Choosing No restores the saved settings. The **Tools** menu matches Documents: **Create Defaults...**, **Import Setting...**, and **Export Setting...**. Create Defaults uses the same selection dialog as Documents. Select Color and Black and White presets for your personal styles folder. The dialog shows which selected presets already exist, and Create is disabled until at least one preset is selected. Replacing an existing preset requires confirmation. Import Setting loads a compatible style file into the selected named style. If saving the import fails, the imported values remain unsaved in the dialog and a warning explains the failure. Export Setting writes the current settings to a style file. Select or add a style before importing or exporting. Styles from another product cannot be imported. When no compatible styles exist, Color and Black and White are created in the personal styles folder using that product�s own defaults. Sheets profiles include cell and formula comparison settings; Presentations profiles include slide and font-difference settings. Existing styles are not replaced automatically. If a selected style moves between Personal and Company folders, MarginDiff tries to find a compatible style with the same filename. When both folders contain a match and the old path is unavailable, Personal takes priority. Use **Manage Styles > Save Current** to create a named style in Personal or Company. Both storage locations appear in the combobox. Explicitly saved files are retained when you dismiss the dialog. Styles selectors in Sheets and Presentations show a color-block preview beside each saved style name. Sheets previews insertion, move-to, move-from and deletion colors; Presentations previews insertion and deletion colors. The built-in **Color** preset shares Documents revision colors across the three products: blue insertions (`#0000ff`), red deletions (`#ff0000`), and, where move revisions are supported, dark-green move-from (`#008000`) and bright-green move-to (`#00ff00`). Revision backgrounds have no fill. **Black and White** uses black revision text and no fill, with text decorations distinguishing revisions. Custom saved styles keep their colors; use Create Defaults and select a preset to adopt the shared palette. In Sheets and Presentations, **Tools > Admin Options** includes the **Save** tab for save-folder preferences and the **Save PDF** tab for **Adobe PDF Printer** and **Inkwell PDF Printer** preferences. Missing printers are reported on the tab. ### Send an Excel workbook to MarginDiff Sheets Save the workbook in Excel before sending it to MarginDiff Sheets. If the workbook is new or has unsaved changes, the add-in asks you to save it first and does not send it. Save in Excel, then select the workbook from **MarginDiff > MarginDiff Sheets** again. ### Choose an open workbook or presentation In Excel, open **MarginDiff > MarginDiff Sheets**; in PowerPoint, open **MarginDiff > MarginDiff Presentations**. Each drop-down lists files open in that Office instance and refreshes when opened. The current file is marked, and online files show their host. Select a file to send a copy to the comparison dialog: it fills **Original**, or **Modified** if Original is already filled. The comparison does not start automatically. Restart Office after updating the add-in to load the new menus. ### Compare Outlook attachments In Outlook, select one email or open it, then choose **MarginDiff > Compare attachments...**. You can also right-click an attachment and open **Compare attachments...**. Select a supported attachment to send a copy to MarginDiff Documents, MarginDiff Sheets or MarginDiff Presentations by file type. Send the first attachment to fill **Original**, then select another attachment from the same or another email to fill **Modified** in the matching comparison dialog. Review the two files and start the comparison. The email and its original attachments stay unchanged. Embedded Outlook items and unsupported attachment types are not listed. Download cloud-only attachments before using this command. ### Clean Outlook attachment metadata with MarginDiff Scrub With MarginDiff Scrub's Outlook integration enabled, right-click file attachments and choose **Clean metadata...**. This cleans the selected attachments and saves the email without sending it. A progress dialog lets you cancel before replacement. If an attachment changes during cleaning, the operation stops without replacing it. The existing **Detect Metadata** command opens copies for review. When you send an email with attachments, **MarginDiff Send** lists the files and offers three choices: - **Clean** removes attachment metadata, then sends the email if cleaning succeeds. - **Do Not Clean** sends the attachments unchanged. - **Cancel Send** keeps the email unsent and leaves attachments unchanged. Closing MarginDiff Send or pressing Escape also cancels sending. Cleaned attachments receive a `-cleaned` suffix before the extension, such as `report-cleaned.docx`. Cleaning an already suffixed file keeps that name. This also applies to **Clean metadata...** on selected attachments. When attachment cleaning runs during Send, its progress dialog lets you cancel before replacement. Cancellation keeps the original attachment data and leaves the message unsent. If verification after saving fails, sending is blocked. If recovery also fails, the error gives the location of the retained original files. Attachment error reports use selectable text: select the message and press **Ctrl+C** to copy it, including the recovery location. Keep the email unsent until its attachments have been checked. If PowerPoint cannot report whether a presentation contains macros, the add-in stops the copy export and shows an error. It does not assume a macro-free format. ### Office hand-off files Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook store their working copies under `%APPDATA%\PolywickStudio\DiffyOffice`, with a separate folder for each operation. Copies handed to another application remain available for it to read. Failed operations normally remove their working copies; Outlook keeps recovery copies when attachment restoration fails. Original documents stay in their existing locations. MarginDiff Settings manages the MarginDiff Office add-in for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Select the hosts on **Office Integration**, then click **Register** and restart those Office applications. MarginDiff Scrub integration controls are not shown in MarginDiff Settings; manage MarginDiff Scrub in MarginDiff Scrub Settings.