Modify and track MS Office Desktop docs with Showpad Edit

Showpad’s Microsoft Office Desktop integration allows you to edit MS Office files (Powerpoint, Word, and Excel) that your marketing team provides in Showpad. You can edit this marketing-approved content to better satisfy your customer’s needs using Showpad's Web app and Office Desktop installed on a Windows device.

Together with our collections feature, personalizing presentations, documents, and spreadsheets to form a dynamic duo. Here's a great use case: You can use non-editable, larger PowerPoint files that your marketing team provides and separate, editable files where you can add and edit prospect names, agenda items, and any other ideas that personalize the presentation. You can mix and match the slides from both presentations in a collection, without having the larger PowerPoint file to be processed again.

Company logos change, and the color palette of your brand may adjust. Using this integration helps you always to use the latest branding and messaging format created by the marketing team. At the same time, it offers the flexibility to improve the buyer experience by adding information specifically for a customer and a prospect.

We don't edit the original file that was provided in Showpad. We create a copy of that original file instead. After adding your custom, personalized information, the file is uploaded and processed so you can enjoy using an optimized version on My Files.

To make this work, we install a middleware tool called Showpad Edit. This tool creates a copy of the original MS Office file and syncs it to My Files.

Note: Showpad optimizes files to make sure you and your prospects have a speedy and active buying experience. This means that existing animations, videos, and macros won't be available in the optimized document.

Key features

• Have the flexibility to tailor content to your prospect's needs
• Mix and match non-editable and editable PowerPoint files into a collection
• Always use the latest, marketing-approved content and style
• The Showpad Edit middleware tool automates the syncing of modified documents
• Your personalized document is uploaded to your personal My Files tab
• Enjoy using and sharing an optimized version of your edited ppt, doc, or xls file

You need this to succeed

• A Showpad Plus or Ultimate plan
• A device with Microsoft Windows 7, 8.1, 10 installed
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2010, 2013 or 2016 installed natively
• The Showpad Web app opened in your compatible browser
• Permissions on your device to install Showpad Edit
• Contact your IT administrator for installation permissions
• Make sure date and time on your device are correct to prevent syncing issues
• Office files need to be already associated with the correct Microsoft Office app. For example, .PPTX files should already be opened by Powerpoint by default.

The quick way to awesomeness

1. Edit an MS Office file from My Files for the first time
2. Install the Showpad Edit middleware
3. Click the Edit button when opening the document in My Files
4. Give your personalized copy a name
5. Edit the document in your native MS Office app
6. Save the file, and Showpad Edit automatically uploads the copy to My Files
7. You can also edit previously edited copies
8. Your personalized document will be optimized for usage in Showpad

Do this step by step

Install the Showpad Edit tool to sync and upload modified Microsoft Office files

1. Open the Experience with the MS Office document your marketing team provided. In this example, a PowerPoint file will be edited with this tool.
2. Open the file and click the three-dot button on top of the asset viewer. Select Open in Microsoft and an installation prompt will appear.
3. Click Install Showpad Edit. Our middleware tool will be downloaded. This tool creates a copy of the original document and syncs it to My Files.
   

   Note: You can download and install the installation file manually. We provide an EXE and an MSI file. Please consult your device administrator for installation permissions.

4. Run the installer.
5. Select Install.
   
6. When the installation was successful, you can close the dialog window.
   
   

   Note: Updates for Showpad Edit install automatically unless the initial installation was done with an MSI file. In that case, Showpad Edit will display a message that you need to install the updated MSI file.

Personalize your Microsoft Office document 

1. Edit the MS Office file in your Showpad Experience by clicking Open in Microsoft. It will automatically select the program for you. 
   
   

   Note: If you don't see an Edit button, you don't have permission to personalize this file or you don't have the necessary system requirements to edit.

2. Give your personalized document a name so you can find it easily in your My Files tab. You can create a New Folder to have a new location for your edited copy of the file. Click Create a Copy and Edit File to close the dialog box and start editing.
3. The file opens in your native MS Office application.
   
4. Start editing and personalizing the document.
   
5. Save the document, and you'll notice that Showpad Edit starts uploading the file to Showpad in the background.
6. Inside Showpad's Web app, you will also receive a notification that a file has been uploaded. You can click Show to view the document in My Files.
   
7. The personalized document appears in My Files.
   
8. When opening the document, you see the changes you made. Just like any other file in Showpad, you can now share this document with customers and prospects.
   

Personalize your previously edited document

1. To personalize a previously edited document, click the Edit button when opening the MS Office file. Give it a new name and select Start Editing.
2. Make the changes in the document.
   
3. The file will be uploaded to Showpad, with a different name than your previously edited document.