thinkcell license keys are how thinkcell licences are delivered and enforced. The SLA makes the right to use the software “subject to the delivery of a license key”. The Licensee may not modify or try to circumvent the Key, and must keep it secure.[9] In practice the key is shared by every user of an order. The delivery e-mail contains the download link and the license key, and the buyer is asked to forward it to all end users.[8] This article describes the key mechanics, the administrator controls and the identifiers that a licence manager can use to reconcile installations against the User count.
Editions
Every package (Essentials, Suite, AI Suite and AI Suite Plus) installs the same add-in and is activated by a license key. The vendor’s deployment guide is common to all packages and to both platforms, Windows and macOS.[3] On Windows thinkcell needs Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 or 2024, or the Microsoft 365 desktop apps, with at least PowerPoint and Excel installed. On Mac it needs Office 2019, 2021 or 2024 and macOS 11 or later.[3] thinkcell features cannot run in Office Mobile, because Office Mobile lacks the COM add-in interface. Users there can still view and edit thinkcell elements with native tools.[11]
Metrics
The key carries no user count that the software enforces. The User count is set by the Order and checked through GUIDs and audits, as described below.[9] The relevant catalog row is User.
Counting / floors
Key check and expiry
thinkcell “checks the license key every time that you start PowerPoint or Excel”.[4] If no valid key is found, or the key is about to expire, the License Key dialog appears. A user can always choose Cancel and keep using PowerPoint without thinkcell.[4]
The software can be used up to and including the expiry date. From 14 days before expiry, it shows a warning at every start.[2] Once the key has expired, the dialog can be closed with OK only after a valid key is entered. Otherwise thinkcell stays deactivated.[2] The deployment guide advises ordering and deploying the renewal key more than 14 days before expiry. A new key is valid immediately, not only from the old key’s expiry date.[2] Catalog: License key is checked at every start; expiry warning 14 days ahead.
How thinkcell can count installations
Whenever thinkcell contacts the vendor’s servers, for example to check for an automatic update, it sends:[2]
- the five-digit build number;
- the license key;
- a randomly generated GUID;
- the date and time;
- the Windows and Office versions;
- CPU information, the update level and feature-usage statistics.
The GUID is created the first time someone uses thinkcell on a machine and is stored with the user’s settings.[2] KB0080 notes that the license key “can be used to identify your company’s account”.[7] This is the data behind the SLA’s overusage clause, under which excess use “is determined by Provider by the use of Globally Unique Identifiers”.[9]
Because a GUID belongs to a machine and user profile, not to a person, GUID counts and User counts can differ. Re-imaging, roaming profiles, virtual desktops and second devices can all create new GUIDs. The SLA lets the Licensee rebut a GUID-based estimate within two weeks with proof of the actual number of Users.[9] Catalog: Update checks send the license key and a machine GUID; Overusage is measured by GUIDs and may be estimated.
Virtualization & partitioning
thinkcell runs on most server-based installations, both thin-client and application streaming, provided DirectX is supported. The vendor lists Microsoft Terminal Services and Remote Desktop Services, App-V 4.5 and later, Citrix XenApp 5 and later, Citrix XenDesktop 5.6 and later, and VMware ThinApp 4.5 as platforms customers use.[5] Licensing does not change on these platforms. “Any individual user needs to be licensed”, and there are no licences “for concurrent users or whole servers”.[8]
The administrator therefore has to stop unlicensed users from reaching thinkcell on a shared server. The ordering FAQ allows “any effective method of your choice”.[8] The deployment guide gives a group-policy method in three steps:[1]
- Link a group policy object that disables thinkcell (the Product Access Control setting) to the domain.
- Link a second object that enables thinkcell, applied after the disabling one.
- Restrict the enabling object by security filtering to the licensed users.
The same guide recommends managing the thinkcell browser extension through browser policies. It should be force-installed for thinkcell users and blocked for everyone else, “especially if thinkcell is installed per-machine on a machine not all users of which have access to thinkcell, like a terminal server”.[1] Catalog: Use group policies to restrict access on terminal servers; Server-based installations: every individual user is licensed.
Cloud / BYOL
Not applicable to the add-in, which installs locally on Windows or macOS.[1] Update packages can be hosted on the customer’s own intranet web server instead of thinkcell’s.[2]
Deployment controls
Distributing the key
The deployment guide offers three ways to set the key centrally, so users never see it:[1]
| Platform | Mechanism | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Installer command line | LICENSEKEY="ABCDE-..." |
| Windows | Group policy (think-cell.admx) | License Key |
| macOS | defaults or a configuration profile (Jamf, Intune) | com.think-cell.settings.licensekey in the com.microsoft.office domain |
On Windows, the key and the update and reporting settings are stored in the registry under Software\Classes\Software\think-cell. Group policy values are stored under Software\Policies\think-cell.[1] On renewal, the new key must be pushed through the same channel. Catalog: License key can be deployed centrally.
Installation scope
On Windows thinkcell can be installed per machine or per user. If both exist, the per-user installation of a given account is the one that runs, even if it is older.[1] The default locations are:[1]
- per machine:
%PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\think-cellon 64-bit Windows; - per user:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\think-cell; - macOS: always installed for all users, in
/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/think-cell.
Catalog: A per-user installation overrides a per-machine one.
Updates
thinkcell checks for updates whenever PowerPoint or Excel starts, and updates itself in place. Each update is about 150 MB.[3] Administrators may turn off automatic thinkcell updates only if automatic Office updates from Microsoft are also turned off. In that case they must test thinkcell against every Office update themselves.[2] Catalog: Automatic updates cannot be disabled while Office updates automatically.
Discovery and recognition
KB0148 says the MSI UpgradeCode E202304D-BA30-4EDA-9905-7459004CFFD1 “identifies all program versions and is therefore always the same”. The ProductCode and PackageCode change with every build.[6] The installer registers the add-in as thinkcell.addin under the PowerPoint and Excel Addins registry keys. It uses HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for per-machine installations and HKEY_CURRENT_USER for per-user ones.[1] Usable signals for recognition and reconciliation are:
- the UpgradeCode, or the add-in registration, for software recognition;
- per-user installation folders, to find users who installed thinkcell themselves;
- the License Key policy, to check which machines carry the corporate key.
Catalog: One MSI UpgradeCode identifies all versions.
Out of scope
- Network and proxy configuration, library sources, ribbon settings and style files. These are administrator options that do not affect licensing.
- Personal installations: the steps for individuals are in the user manual. There, a trial or expired installation asks the user for a key.[10]