Setup & Support

Individual User

To set up Red Ink on your computer, follow these two steps:

  • First step: Obtain an AI endpoint. Subscribe to a suitable large language model (LLM) through a cloud-based or local AI service provider to gain direct internet access. You can find a list of providers here. This subscription is inexpensive and will provide you with an API key or other credentials for the endpoint. Alternatively, you can use your own internal LLM.
  • Second step: Install the add-in. Install the add-in for Word, Excel, and Outlook for Windows (Office for Mac is not yet supported) and the optional browser extension. Each Office application requires its own add-in. The simplest installation method is to run the installer directly from here. After installation, start Word. The Installation Assistant will launch and prompt you to enter your API key or other credentials, as shown in the screenshot below. The assistant will then automatically create the “redink.ini” configuration file on your computer, and you are ready to go. You do not need to change the checkboxes at the bottom. Since the Excel and Outlook add-ins use the same configuration file, you only need to perform this setup once. You can add more models later. After you have configured your AI access, you will be asked to either confirm you are a private user or your will have to enter your license information and activate your license (see below).

 

  • Once you have started working with Red Ink, you may want to install more models or special services, or install the additional sample libraries we provide for various features. This can be done easily by download the relevant configuration settings. Start with having Red Ink download the sample files by going into “Settings” in Word and click on “Get Sample Files” (and confirm the questions asked). For more details on downloading configurations see the Get-More-Stuff page.
  • If you did not correctly complete the above configuration wizard and want to call it up again, but it does no longer appear, then you have to delete the configuration file it created. It can be found in the directory %appdata%\Microsoft\Word as the file “redink.ini”. Open the directory in the Windows Explorer and delete the file. Alternatively, you can use “Expert Config” in Settings and call up a more comprehensive Configuration Wizard there.  

A video tutorial on how to install Red Ink on a single seat computer is available here. Also try out our chatbot Inky on this site, which knows the entire handbook.

Corporate Environment

For a corporate environment, we recommend a centralized setup. Configure all necessary settings in a “redink.ini” file, then configure user client registries with the path to this file. Users can then install the add-ins with a single click when needed. You can host the add-ins on an internal server or use our version here. This allows users to start working immediately without any need to make any configuration work or go through the installation assistant. Updates will occur automatically, unless you turn this feature off. You can also use the “redink.ini” file for a local installation to achieve a more advanced configuration. For details, see the manual and in particual Annex 5 with a step-by-step instruction how to set up Red Ink with a centrally managed configuration (download here, use the Preview version) and the Advanced Configuration section here.

See our special Starter Setup Package if we shall set up the configuration of Red Ink in your corporate environment. 

License

If you want to use Red Ink at work or for work, you need a license subscription, which you can obtain in our online shop. The licenses available are described and the license text can be accessed here. The legal terms are also here.

  • We recommend getting a free test license to begin with. Try out Red Ink. We want happy users.
  • If you are happy, go for a paid subscription. The costs are very low, compared to many other solutions, so we hope this is not difficult question.

Either way, you will need a license key and product ID, which you will get upon your order and which you have to enter into Red Ink before you can use it. As a user ID, use your email address, unless your company has another approach (license registration and activation can also be managed centrally). You will have to register this information for each add-in separately. You can use your license on several of your computer devices as the same time.

Sharing of User IDs or shared User IDs are not permitted.

Problems

If you run into trouble, you have several options:

  • Check the Common Issues page here.
  • Use the integrated “Help me, Inky” chatbot, available within each add-in. It can access the full manual and use case handbook.
  • Read the manual yourself, which you can download here.
  • Visit the Get Support page here for further assistance.