Frequently Asked Questions
How do I install your add-ins?
Our software is deployed as a standard Excel add-in. It does not modify any system settings or require any special libraries or other dependencies. You can install our add-ins yourself very easily without requiring administrator privileges.
After restarting Excel the add-in's tab has disappeared from the Ribbon
Go to the folder where the add-in is saved. Right click on the .xlam file, and select properties. At the bottom of the General tab, check the ‘Unblock’ checkbox and click Apply, then OK.
Do you support Mac computers?
To run our software you will need the Windows version of Excel installed. Many users run Windows on their Mac either via Boot Camp or virtualisation software such as Parallels. This enables you to run the Windows version of Excel on your Mac. At this time we do not support the native Mac version of Excel.
How does your sentiment algorithm work?
Our sentiment algorithm is dictionary based. It uses a custom dictionary created and maintained by CX Data Science.
The add-in checks periodically to see if a new dictionary is available and if so downloads it automatically. The dictionary contains an ever growing list of individual words, phrases, common idioms, and emojis. At the time of writing the dictionary contains around 3,500 individual rules. In addition to detecting positive and negative sentiment, the algorithm can identify multiplier words e.g. ‘very’, ‘extremely’ etc, negations e.g. ‘not’ and double negatives e.g. ‘not unhappy.
Each piece of text is analysed by the algorithm and overall positive and negative sentiment scores are calculated based on the individual sentiment expressions within the text.
The algorithm requires no training or calibration so is ready to use immediately.
What scale is sentiment calculated on?
Sentiment is calculated on an open ended logarithmic scale. Sentiment is not artificially ‘capped’ to fit within a fixed scale e.g. 1 to 5 or 0 to 1, enabling you to make a true comparison between the overall sentiment in individual pieces of text.
How long will it take to process my data with Simply Sentiment?
This depends on a number of factors. The length of each item of text and how powerful your computer is being the main ones. As Simply Sentiment carries out all processing locally on your computer rather than in the cloud, it helps if you close down any open applications and large spreadsheets before using Simply Sentiment.
Do you send my data to the cloud for processing?
No. With our add-ins your data never leaves your computer so you can be assured it remains completely secure.
Err No: 52 Desc: Bad file name or number
If you see this error message, check that you have not installed the add-in in a folder linked to a cloud drive such as Microsoft OneDrive. The full file path that some cloud services use can cause errors with the code inside the add-in when trying to communicate with our servers while checking for program updates. To solve this error, install the add-in in a local folder directly on your PC.
Error 13 type mismatch
If you see this error message, check that the number format setting on your PC or laptop is set with the decimal separator as a ‘.’ (decimal point) and the thousand separator as a ‘,’ (comma).