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Enterprise / Corporate Deployment How-To for IT Administrators

Overview

This guide helps IT administrators evaluate and deploy the Office Timeline Add-in for PowerPoint in environments that use Account-Based Licensing (ABL). It covers installation at scale (Intune, SCCM, GPO), required components, optional configuration flags, network access, and upgrade considerations.

A) System Requirements

B) Deploying the Office Timeline Add-in within a corporate environment

C) Upgrading an Existing Office Timeline Deployment

D) Microsoft Sign-In and Required Permissions

Click here for more information on Account-Based Licensing (ABL). 

Licensing is account-based: after installation, users activate by signing in with their Office Timeline account. No product keys are required.

A) System Requirements

Component Requirement
Operating System

Windows 10 (64-bit version; LTSB, CBB and CB), Windows 11
Microsoft Office Office 2019, 2021, Office 365, or Microsoft 365
.NET Framework Version 4.8
VSTO Runtime Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Office 2010 Runtime (v10.0.60910) or newer
Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Latest supported version
Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime Version 100.0.1185.50 or newer
.NET Programmability Support for PowerPoint Must be enabled in Microsoft Office (this is enabled by default in most installations)

Deploying the Office Timeline Add-in within a corporate environment

To deploy Office Timeline across your organization, follow the instructions below. These steps apply whether you distribute via Intune, SCCM, or other enterprise deployment systems.

Step 1: Obtain the installer

Download the latest OfficeTimeline.zip and extract it on a preparation system.

This package includes the OfficeTimeline.msi file used for automated deployments.

Step 2: Prepare target systems

Ensure that all target systems meet the System requirements and have the following software installed:

  • Microsoft Office 2019, Office 2021, or Microsoft 365
  • .NET Framework 4.8
  • VSTO 2010 Runtime (v10.0.60910 or newer)
  • Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime (v100.0.1185.50 or newer)

You can download the runtime components directly from Microsoft using the links in the System Requirements section.

Step 3: Configure your deployment system

Use your software distribution tool to deploy OfficeTimeline.msi.

Example command line for a silent install:

msiexec /i OfficeTimeline.msi /qn

This installs the add-in for all users on the machine. No license key or activation parameter is required. Users will activate by signing in after installation.

Important: The installation should execute in a user context (with a user logged in) to ensure a smooth first-run experience.

Step 4: Activation (Account-Based Licensing)

Once installed, users simply:

  1. Open PowerPoint.
  2. Launch the Office Timeline Add-in from the PowerPoint ribbon.
  3. Sign in with their Office Timeline account.

The add-in automatically detects the user’s assigned license from the Subscriptions page and activates the appropriate plan (Lite, Plus, or Expert).

If the user has no license assigned, the add-in will default to the Free plan until one is assigned.

Tip for IT administrators: You can pre-stage accounts and license assignments in the account Subscriptions page before deployment. Users will automatically receive their assigned plan upon sign-in.

Optional Installation Parameters

You can customize deployment behavior using optional MSI parameters:

Parameter Description
DISABLETELEMETRY=1 Prevents the add-in from sending usage data to Office Timeline.
DISABLECHECKFORUPDATES=1 Disables both automatic and manual update checks.
/qn Runs the installer silently (no user interface).

Example command:

msiexec /i OfficeTimeline.msi /qn DISABLETELEMETRY=1 DISABLECHECKFORUPDATES=1

Corporate Firewalls

If your organization restricts outbound traffic, make sure users can access the following endpoints to enable sign-in and licensing:

https://www.officetimeline.com

These are used for authentication, seat validation, and update checks. If access is blocked, users will not be able to sign in or activate premium features.

Upgrading an Existing Office Timeline Deployment

If your organization already has the Office Timeline Add-in deployed from a previous release, you can update to the latest Account-Based Licensing (ABL) version using the same enterprise deployment process. No uninstall or manual activation steps are required.

Upgrading from a key-based version (legacy installations)

Earlier releases of Office Timeline used product keys or local license files for activation.

Starting with builds (v13.01.00.00 and newer), activation is now handled entirely through user sign-in.

When upgrading from a legacy deployment:

  1. Deploy the latest MSI package (version 13.01.00.00 or newer) using your existing software distribution tool.
  2. The installer will automatically uninstall previous versions before installing the new one.
  3. When users open PowerPoint after the upgrade, they’ll be prompted to sign in with their Office Timeline account to activate.

Tip: For a seamless transition, ensure that all users have active Office Timeline accounts before the deployment. Assigned licenses in the Subscriptions page will automatically be recognized upon sign-in.

Upgrading from recent ABL versions

If you’re upgrading from an ABL-enabled release (v10.0 or newer), deployment is even simpler:

  • You can deploy the new MSI directly. The installer automatically replaces the existing version.
  • Users remain signed in (unless explicitly signed out).
  • License and plan detection are automatic; no reactivation or reassignment is required.

Users who were on the Free plan before the update will remain Free until a seat is assigned to them in the Account Portal.

Mixed Environments

If some users in your organization are still running older, key-based builds, Office Timeline recommends upgrading all users to an ABL build to standardize authentication and licensing. The two systems can technically coexist, but license management will only apply to users on ABL.

Recommended upgrade checklist

  • ✅ Confirm all users have access to https://www.officetimeline.com
  • ✅ Ensure your software distribution system replaces previous installations.
  • ✅ Verify user accounts exist in the Subscriptions page.
  • ✅ Remove old license-key scripts or GPO assignments; they are no longer used.

Microsoft Sign-In and Required Permissions

Office Timeline supports signing in with Microsoft work accounts using OpenID Connect (OIDC). This allows users to authenticate with their existing Microsoft Entra ID credentials instead of creating separate Office Timeline passwords.

To enable this, IT administrators may need to review or approve a small set of identity permissions. These permissions allow Office Timeline to verify a user's identity and link their Microsoft account to their Office Timeline seat.

Permissions Required

Office Timeline requests the standard OpenID Connect scopes shown below:

Permission OIDC Scope Purpose
Sign in users openid Confirms the user’s identity and enables Microsoft-based sign-in
Read basic profile profile Provides basic profile details such as name, username, and profile picture
Read email address email Supplies the user’s primary work email address so Office Timeline can match accounts and assign licenses

These permissions are read-only and allow access only to basic identity information. Office Timeline does not receive access to emails, files, Teams messages, calendars, or any other Microsoft 365 resources.

Why these permissions are needed

When users sign in with “Continue with Microsoft,” Office Timeline must be able to:

  • Verify the user’s identity

  • Read their name and display information

  • Identify the email address associated with their Office Timeline seat

These are the minimum permissions required to authenticate Microsoft work accounts under the Microsoft identity platform.

Security Considerations

These permissions are considered low-risk because:

  • They provide only basic identity details

  • They are read-only

  • They cannot be used to modify or access Microsoft 365 data

  • They are standard for business applications that use Microsoft authentication

This is the same model used by thousands of applications in Microsoft Entra ID.

IT Administrator Actions

Depending on your organization’s security policies, you may need to complete the following steps:

  1. Register Office Timeline in Microsoft Entra ID
    Add Office Timeline as an enterprise application in your tenant if required by your internal application governance process.

  2. Configure API permissions
    Ensure the openid, profile, and email scopes are available for the application.

  3. Grant admin consent
    Approve the OpenID Connect scopes at the tenant level so users can sign in without seeing a consent prompt.

Granting admin consent tells Microsoft Entra ID:

“This application is approved to read basic identity information for users in our organization.”

IT administrators normally only need to do this once.

Microsoft Reference Documentation

For further detail, IT teams can consult: