Roadmap & Community
This page covers three things: what the current release contains, the known limitations (with workarounds), and where to send feature requests / bug reports so that they actually arrive.
No release schedule announced in advance
DVDAddin is developed by one person and released according to real user demand — there is no committed quarterly schedule. The "Known limitations" section below lists the things the add-in currently cannot do — written down so that you do not waste time looking for them and so that you know how to work around them, not as a list of promises.
Current release — 2.8.7 (2026-10-30)
The size of the toolset in this release:
| Ribbon tabs | 2 — DVD Addin (office) and DVD Cons (construction) |
| Ribbon commands | 224 — see the Full command reference |
| Worksheet functions (UDF) | 50 — see the Function reference |
| Commands available in the PRO plan only | 22 — schedule analysis, QA/QC test plans, AI cost estimating, PDF takeoff, footing, pile and column/wall shapes from DWG |
| Platform | C# / .NET 8, Excel-DNA, installs into C:\DVDAddin |
What is in release 2.8.7: fixes for bugs found while making the video tutorials — holidays in the Work calendar now take effect in every schedule command; Draw Gantt works on tables without a Level column; SQL Builder inserts formulas that give the right result; Team work accepts Kick and permission commands only from the session owner (update the whole team together); Column/wall shapes from DWG picks the sheet that matches the picture when a file holds several sheets and reads MLINE / wide-polyline walls and MULTILEADER marks; removing a footing / pile / column-wall shape set asks first; PDF Manager gains Crop pages (cut away empty space, e.g. an A4 sheet scanned as A3); Read PDF gains Edit PDF content like Acrobat's Edit PDF (edit existing text in place, edit images, recognize text on scanned pages to edit it); bundled templates cleaned further.
What is in release 2.8.6: a full review of the add-in — a long list of fixes for figures that went wrong silently (EVM/Manpower/Cash-flow with WBS summary rows, the dvdSumVisible/dvdSumIfColor/dvdColorShapes functions, TCVN3/VNI conversion, case changes, bulk find & replace, bulk rename, batch print…); Ctrl+Z right after a command restores the sheet; a shared data date and delays measured against the current baseline; three new commands, Plan progress, Update schedule (data date) in the style of P6's F9 and Column/wall shapes from DWG; P6 / MS Project import brings the work calendar, actual dates and constraints; a tidier ribbon (a Help menu, Find command remembers recent commands). Details in the Changelog.
What is in release 2.8.5: the Translate command via Google is fixed. Google had shut off the path the add-in used, so almost nothing translated, while the dialog gave the wrong advice — one cell failed exactly like 150 cells. A whole batch now travels in one request (a 150-cell range went from 150 requests to 2), a batch whose segment count does not match is discarded so rows can never be misaligned, and a blocked request now names the real problem. Also new: the Revision Cloud command draws revision clouds straight on the sheet, plus four sheet note tools — Arrow, Text Note, Sticky Note, Callout; and Reading Layout no longer drifts on a secondary monitor.
What is in release 2.8.4: data-loss protection. Add-in commands write straight through Excel, so Ctrl+Z cannot undo them — this release adds a confirmation before commands that can delete or overwrite, an automatic sheet backup before they run, and a Restore data command to get it back. Plus no more silent failures — AI/network errors now name the cause and the fix, and four schedule reports (EVM, Health check, Variance dashboard, Lookahead) stop using the wrong status date on non-Vietnamese machines. Plus no more frozen Excel: constraints and bulk rename no longer hang on a whole-column selection, Draw Gantt can be stopped with ESC and shows progress, and Translate no longer locks the screen during the network wait. Also a Forgot password button in the License window and an option to skip picture-less areas in Batch print. Added after 29 Aug — the working-together half: each purchased seat is its own user, so colleagues at one company can message each other privately; DVD Chat runs in the background and hears rooms you do not have open; the AI assistant no longer reads "bê tông M250" as a cell address and asks before sending data to an external server; and Compare BoQ compares two issued files.
Recent releases
| Release | Date | Main content |
|---|---|---|
| 2.8.7 | 2026-10-30 | Holidays take effect in every schedule command; Draw Gantt without a Level column; SQL Builder inserts the right formula; Team work accepts admin commands only from the session owner; column/wall shapes pick the right sheet in multi-sheet files and read MLINE / wide walls; removing a DWG shape set asks first; PDF Manager crop pages; Read PDF edits PDF content (text, images, scanned pages); templates cleaned further |
| 2.8.6 | 2026-10-09 | Full review: many fixes for silently wrong figures; Ctrl+Z right after a command; shared data date + baseline-based delays; Plan progress, F9-style Update schedule, Column/wall shapes from DWG; P6/MS Project import with the work calendar; Help menu, Find command remembers recent commands; illustrated step-by-step guides for all 224 commands and 50 UDFs |
| 2.8.5 | 2026-10-02 | Translate via Google fixed: a whole batch in one request (150-cell range went from 150 to 2 requests), a mismatched batch is discarded so rows are never misaligned, and a blocked request names the real problem; Revision Cloud + 4 sheet note tools |
| 2.8.4 | 2026-09-13 | Multi-file SQL functions, estimate bridge, price adjustment; 5 new commands: Combine files, Split table, Compare sheets, Merge tables, Sync page setup; data-loss protection; AI/network errors that name the cause; status-date fix; no more frozen Excel (ESC stops a run); Forgot password; one seat means one person + DVD Chat runs in the background; the AI assistant sees the selected range and asks before sending data out + Office-Tab style tab bar (drag, right-click); a "What's new" screen; F1 opens the guide from the command palette; 10 dead commands now work; long commands report progress; a copyable error dialog + file logging; number fields understand the decimal comma; punch-list photos are no longer destroyed |
| 2.8.3 | 2026-08-19 | Fixes Duration drift when syncing a schedule with MS Project |
| 2.8.2 | 2026-07-06 | Rest days in the diary; PDF annotations with background fill / font change; windows that move aside during range picking; fix to the PRO/STANDARD license evaluation |
| 2.8.1 | 2026-07-02 | Schedule (custom range); Import XML / Export XML for P6 and MS Project; smart picture insert with 4 modes; no more crash when printing to PDF |
| 2.8.0 | 2026-06-14 | Acrobat-style PDF annotation set; PDF Manager page copy/paste; the Assign Level command; full light/dark theme coverage; hold ESC to stop a running command |
Item-by-item detail: Changelog.
How to update
Check Update compares the version on your machine with the latest one; Download Tool downloads the installer directly. Close Excel completely before running the installer — Excel keeps the add-in code in memory, so installing over a running instance leaves the old build active and you will think the new version is broken.
Known limitations
The most frequently asked questions, with the way they are handled today:
| Limitation | Current workaround |
|---|---|
Runs on Excel for Windows only. The add-in is a .NET 8 .xll file; there is no build for Excel on macOS or Excel on the web. | On a Mac: run Windows in a virtual machine / Parallels and install as usual. |
No .msi package. The installer is an .exe built with Inno Setup, so Group Policy "Software installation" cannot be used. | Deploy with silent-install switches or as a Win32 package for Intune — see Deploying to many machines. |
| No custom AI base URL can be declared. Only OpenAI, Gemini, Groq and NVIDIA can be used; you cannot point it at a self-hosted endpoint or a local Ollama. | Adding a new model name does work — see Custom AI models. |
| The construction-specific translation prompt cannot be edited from the interface. | For documents outside the industry, pick the Google service in Translate — that route does not go through the domain prompt. |
There is no command that reads a table straight out of a .docx file. | Word → PDF then Extract Table — see Integration: Word. |
| Connect stores no data on the server side. No database, no snapshots. | Each machine presses Ctrl+S for itself before disconnecting — see Backup & Restore. |
Many commands write straight into the worksheet and cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z. | Press Ctrl+S immediately before running a bulk-write command, so that you can still close without saving and go back. |
Feature requests & bug reports
Real contact channels
All of these contact points are already in the add-in's About window — open it and click straight through:
| Channel | Address | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Zalo group | zalo.me/g/yqzwvk121 | Quick questions, sending screenshots |
| support@dvdpm.net | Bug reports with files attached, invoicing / licensing matters | |
| Phone | +84 988 909 382 | Urgent matters, direct support |
| Website | dvdaddin.dvdpm.net | Product overview and installer download |
| YouTube | @DVD-18 | Tutorial videos |
For security issues, send a separate email with a subject line starting with [SECURITY] — see Security & Privacy.
Bug report template
Copy this template, fill it in and send it over Zalo or by email. Take the version number from the About window — it is the first piece of information you will be asked for:
## Bug description
[Short description]
## Steps to reproduce
1. ...
2. ...
3. ...
## Expected result / Actual result
[Description + screenshot]
## Environment
- DVDAddin: 2.8.7 (About window)
- Excel: Microsoft 365 / 2021 — 32-bit or 64-bit
- Windows: 11 Pro 24H2
- Regional format: Vietnamese or EnglishAttaching a log file makes it much faster. The logs the add-in actually writes:
| File | Command that produces it |
|---|---|
%TEMP%\DVDAddin\case.log | The Case command group (UPPERCASE / lowercase / Sentence case…) |
%TEMP%\DVDAddin\ribbon-labels.log | Ribbon label dump, used when a tab shows the wrong text |
%TEMP%\dvdaddin-chat.log | DVD Chat |
%LocalAppData%\DVDAddin\diary.log | New Diary |
Do not attach settings.reg
The registry export contains API keys in plain text. If you need to send your settings, delete the API Keys branch first — see Backup & Restore.
How to make a request likely to be built
A description of "what I am doing, on which form, and which step I still have to do by hand" is far more useful than a sentence saying "add feature X". Attaching a sample Excel file (with sensitive figures removed) is the fastest way to turn a suggestion into a real command.
What the GitHub repository is for
The github.com/dangdvd/DVDAddin repo is where the installer is published: the Check Update and Download Tool commands download the DVDAddin.rar file from the Releases section of that same repo.
The source code is not public — this is commercial software, no pull requests are accepted and there is no code contribution process. If you want to take part, the two things below help right away:
- Send real forms. Word mail-merge templates, the client's acceptance report template that your company actually uses — these shape the construction commands more than anything else.
- Report bugs with a reproduction file. A workbook that reproduces the bug usually cuts the fix time from a few days to a few hours.
Supporting the author
DVDAddin is developed and maintained by Đặng Văn Đằng. The most direct way to support it is to buy or renew a license — the License button → Buy License (or Renew / Upgrade to Pro) right inside Excel, paying with a VietQR code.
Prices change on 01/01/2027
The current price list holds until the end of 2026; from 01/01/2027 new prices apply (an increase of roughly 38%). Buy before that date and you keep the old price, and a perpetual license already bought remains usable forever. Details in License.
If you are not buying, recommend it to a colleague, or record a short video of the workflow you run — both help keep the toolset alive.
Technical foundations
DVDAddin stands on the following open-source libraries:
- Excel-DNA (Govert van Drimmelen) — loads the .NET add-in into Excel as an
.xll, together with IntelliSense for the 50 UDFs. - Microsoft .NET 8 + WPF — the runtime and every interface window.
- PDFsharp and PdfiumViewer — build, merge and display PDFs for Read PDF / PDF Manager.
- MQTTnet — the internet transport of Connect.
- NAudio — audio recording for the Transcribe Audio command.
- ZXing.Net — generates the QR codes for the
dvdQRfunction. - NPOI — reads/writes Excel files outside the running Excel session.
- FuzzySharp — approximate matching for the lookup commands and the quick-input suggestions.
- Newtonsoft.Json — all configuration and API communication.
- Cloudflare Workers and Firebase — the license server and the DVD Chat infrastructure.
- The Vietnamese construction engineering community — feedback and real dossiers, the thing that shaped nearly every command on the DVD Cons tab.
Related
- Changelog — the full version history.
- Update the add-in — the correct upgrade procedure.
- Full command reference — 224 commands in exact ribbon order.
- Best Practices — day-to-day experience.
- License — price list, activation, moving to another machine.