Blast Audit is an Excel add-in. You install it once in Excel, then open it from its own tab in the ribbon.
Where it runs
| Excel | Supported |
|---|---|
| Excel for Windows with Microsoft 365 | Yes, version 2002 or later |
| Excel 2021 or 2024 for Windows (one-time licence) | Yes |
| Excel 2016 and Excel 2019 | No |
| Excel for Mac | Yes, version 16.35 or later |
| Excel on the web | Yes |
| Excel on iPad, iPhone or Android | No |
Blast Audit needs a feature of Excel called the shared runtime (SharedRuntime 1.1). Microsoft lists it from the versions above, and Excel 2016 and 2019 do not have it. To save its data in your workbook it also needs Custom XML (ExcelApi 1.5). The simplest setup is a current Microsoft 365 Excel. To see your version, go to File > Account > About Excel.
Blast Audit works only in Excel. It is not available in Word, PowerPoint or Outlook.
Install from Excel
- Open Excel and any workbook.
- On the Home tab, click Add-ins. In some versions the button is under Insert > Get Add-ins.
- Search for Blast Audit and click Add.
- A Blast Audit tab appears in the ribbon. Click Documents on that tab to open the pane.
Excel remembers the add-in for your Microsoft account. You do not need to install it again for each workbook.
Install from the Microsoft Marketplace
- Open the Blast Audit page on the Microsoft Marketplace.
- Click Get it now and sign in with the Microsoft account you use in Excel.
- Open Excel. If the Blast Audit tab does not show, close and reopen Excel.
From the Blast Audit dashboard
After you start a trial in the browser, the dashboard shows Open the add-in, which takes you to the Marketplace page. If Excel is on another computer, click Email me the link: your mail app opens a message to yourself with the link.
Open the add-in
On the Blast Audit tab, click any button, for example Documents. The pane opens on the right and asks you to sign in. See Create your account and sign in.
If the install is blocked
- The Add-ins button is greyed out, or Blast Audit is missing from the search. Your organisation controls which add-ins you can install. Ask your IT team to deploy Blast Audit for you: Deploy the add-in for your firm.
- The Marketplace shows an access error after you sign in, for example error code 53003. Your Microsoft sign-in worked, but a policy in your organisation blocks the Microsoft store. Send the error code, request ID and timestamp shown on screen to your IT team.
- The pane opens but says Excel isn't ready, or that it is in read-only mode. The add-in is installed. The message comes from the workbook or the Excel session; see the troubleshooting section of the help center.