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troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Slido for PowerPoint on Windows


Martin Broz
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Slido for PowerPoint is available for both Windows and macOS. This guide is to help Windows users troubleshoot any issues that may arise when accessing or using the integration. If you’re a Mac user, please reference our Slido for macOS troubleshooting guide.

 

To learn more about Slido for PowerPoint, check out our overview to see how everything works

 

Most issues are solved by simply following the steps outlined in this guide. However if you require more assistance, please see the section on capturing logs and reporting an issue to our support team.

Otherwise, have a look at the list below and scroll to the right section based on your scenario:

 

 

Is my PowerPoint application up-to-date?

 

Slido requests that you update your Microsoft PowerPoint application regularly. For the best Slido experience, you should use Microsoft PowerPoint with the latest security and quality updates installed. We will notify you if we detect that the PowerPoint application is old and some Slido feature might not work correctly.

 

If we detect you are using PowerPoint without proper updates applied, we will display a notification message informing you to update your PowerPoint.

 

Example notification for updating your PowerPoint

 

We require PowerPoint to meet or exceed these requirements:

  • Office 365 Current Channel: Version 2209 (Build 15629.20208)
  • Office 2021 Retail: Version 2209 (Build 15629.20208)
  • Office 2019 Retail: Version 2209 (Build 15629.20208)
  • Office 2016 Retail: Version 2209 (Build 15629.20208)
  • Office LTSC 2021 Volume Licensed: Version 2108 (Build 14332.20400)
  • Office 2019 Volume Licensed: Version 1808 (Build 10391.20029)

For more information, please reference the Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

 

We strive to bring you the best experience possible, so we strongly recommend installing the latest Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office updates.

 

Please refer to the Microsoft guide for installing Office updates.

 

 

I can’t see the Slido button in PowerPoint

 

The Slido button always appears under the Home tab.

 

 

If you can’t see it there, complete the following steps.

  1. Close PowerPoint
  2. Restart your computer (recommended)
  3. Click Start, search Slido, and launch the application
  4. Open PowerPoint
  5. Close the Slido app (if you don't need it)

 

❓Didn’t work? Continue with the steps below. The Add-in may be disabled or inactive.

 

Add-in is disabled. How do I enable it?

  1. Go to PowerPoint and click File
  2. Select Options and then Add-ins
  3. Pick “Disabled” from the drop-down at the bottom and click Manage
  4. Select Slido in the list, click Enable and Close.
  5. Click File, select Options and click Add-ins again
  6. Go back to the drop-down below and select “COM Add-ins”
  7. Check off Slido and click OK
  8. Find the Slido button under Home tab

🎥 Watch this how-to video

 

Add-in stays inactive. How do I activate it?

  1. Click Search in Windows
  2. Type “Change User Account Control” and launch the application
  3. Move the slider to the second position from top.
  4. Click OK
  5. Restart the computer (recommended)

🎥 Watch this how-to video

 

💡 If this control isn’t available or it jumps back to the default position after restart, please contact your IT or system administrator.

 

 

Polls, Quiz or Q&A do not work in the Present mode. The slide stays white.

 

One of the reasons why this may be happening could be your network setting. Click “Show content”, copy-paste the text and send it to your IT Department to add an exception for Slido.
 

Text to send to your IT admin:

Slido for Windows currently doesn’t support proxy authentication of any kind. The processes -- Powerpnt.exe, Slido.exe and CefSharp.BrowserSubprocess.exe need to be able to run and connect to the following domains in order for the Slido add-in in PowerPoint to function properly:

 

*.slido.com
*.sli.do
*.sentry.io
log-api.newrelic.com
log-api.eu.newrelic.com

 

If you’re using some type of firewall or proxy server, you must make the above mentioned domains to be accessed by the Add-in processes. The rules or exceptions would need to be configured using the domain masks instead of entering specific IP addresses as we use dynamic IP addresses.


 

Sidebar isn’t loading and stays white (or shows an error)

 

One of the reasons why this may be happening could be your computer policy set by your system administrator. Click “Show content”, copy-paste the following text and send it to your IT admin to adjust the rules.

 

Text to send to your IT admin:

If you’re using Microsoft Intune to manage the devices, the Attack surface reduction policy is enabled which blocks any Microsoft Office applications from creating processes. Also, Windows Defender may be blocking some parts of the Slido Add-in, too.

 

You can adjust the Endpoint Security Policy to exclude Slido for PowerPoint installation path from ASR rules. Here are the steps:

  1. Open Microsoft Intune and go to Endpoint security

  2. In the Manage section, open Attack surface reduction

  3. Click Create Policy

  4. Use Platform: Windows 10 and Profile: Attack Surface Reduction rules

  5. Click Create

  6. Go through the wizard and configure the policy. Enter the path %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Slido\Slido for Windows in the Exclude files and paths from attack surface reduction rules policy.

  7. Save the policy and propagate it to your Windows devices.

Note: If you are using the Basic installer, you must exclude the path C:\Users\*\AppData\Local\Slido\Slido for Windows in the above mentioned policy.

If you need help or have questions, contact support@slido.com.
 

 

Sidebar is blurred

 

If your Slido sidebar is blurred, it’s most likely because you’re using multiple monitors and there’s a large difference in their resolution scale settings. If Slido detects a difference >100% between your monitors, you’ll see the below message as a banner in PowerPoint:

“Screens you use have different DPI scaling and the sidebar can look blurred depending on which screen PowerPoint is located.”

 

For example, sidebar blurriness may occur on a 4K monitor screen scaled to 200% or higher when it’s connected to a HD laptop screen scaled to 100%


Next steps:

The quickest fix is to move PowerPoint to your other monitor where the sidebar is not blurry. Otherwise you can follow the below steps to adjust your monitor scaling:

  1. Open your Start menu
  2. Begin typing Display Settings and launch the application
  3. Under Scale & Layout, check the Scale value for both monitors
  4. Change the settings so that the difference in scale is less than 100%
  5. Restart PowerPoint

 

 

Slido is not connected (upgrade to Windows 10)

 

Slido for Windows will no longer be supported on operating systems older than Windows 10. This includes Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

As these operating systems are no longer receiving vital security updates, Slido will no longer be compatible with these operating systems. These changes are needed to maintain the greatest privacy and security for our users, as well as enable us to build future products. To continue using Slido for Windows, we strongly recommend updating your operating system to Windows 10 or above

Slido for Windows will notify you about outdated Windows version:

Slido for Windows is not connected
Can’t connect securely to Slido. You must upgrade to Windows 10 or newer to access Slido.
 

Error message: Upgrade to Windows 10 or newer needed



Fixing the problem:

Upgrade your system to Windows 10 or Windows 11 to continue using Slido and receive up to date features and security updates.

 


 

Slido is not connected (TLS configuration)

 

Slido for Windows will notify you when it cannot connect to Slido service. You may receive this notification when you run Slido application:
 

Slido for Windows is not connected
Can’t connect securely to Slido. This might be because your computer needs newer TLS security settings. Please, contact your administrator.
 

Error message: TLS security settings update needed

 

Fixing the problem:

Contact your administrator to check the Windows OS settings and enable these protocols and ciphers to use secure connections to Slido service.
 

Protocols TLS 1.2, TLS 1.3
Cipher Suites for TLS 1.3 TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256
Cipher Suites for TLS 1.2 TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256


For up to date information about security settings you may use the Qualys®️️ SSL Labs service.

 

For more information check the following documentation

 

 

Enable User Account Control


Slido for Windows requires the User Account Control to be enabled in Windows. You’ll need administrator rights to change the User Account Control settings.

 

Symptoms:

  • Slido add-in stays inactive in the list of add-ins in the PowerPoint Options dialog.
  • You cannot access Slido from the Home tab in PowerPoint.
  • The Slido for Windows will show this error in the COM Add-ins dialog:

“Not loaded. A runtime error occurred during the loading of the COM Add-in.”

 

Error message in COM Add-ins

 

Fixing the problem:

To enable User Account Control, you’ll need administrator computer rights:

  1. Open the Start menu on your computer
  2. Start typing Change User Account Control settings and launch the application
  3. Use the slider to select the 2nd value from top named ‘Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default)
  4. Click OK to save changes
  5. Restart the computer

 

Enabling User Account Settings

 

For more information go to User Account Control documentation. 

 

 

Download the Admin installer if you’re using a built-in administrator account


As the basic installation of Slido for Windows is not compatible with the built-in Administrator account, you’ll need the Slido for Windows admin installer to be able to use Slido in PowerPoint.
 

Symptoms:

  • Slido add-in is listed in the Inactive Application Add-ins in PowerPoint Options dialog.
  • You cannot access Slido from the Home tab in PowerPoint
  • When you manually enable Slido for Windows add-in under add-ins, it will not activate, and this error will show in the COM Add-ins dialog:

“Not loaded. A runtime error occurred during the loading of the COM Add-in”



Fixing the problem:

  1. Open Program and Features dialog from Control Panel
  2. Uninstall the Slido for Windows basic installation
  3. Download the Slido for Windows admin installer
  4. Install Slido for Windows from the MSI file


Run PowerPoint and the Slido button will be available in the Home tab in PowerPoint now.

 

For more information read the Download Slido for PowerPoint for Admins article. 

 

 

Slido add-in is blocked by Group Policies


The Group Policy settings may cause Slido add-in not being enabled in PowerPoint. 
 

Symptoms:

• Slido add-in is not enabled in the Add-Ins section of the PowerPoint Options dialog box.

• If you then open the COM Add-ins dialog box by clicking Go… button, you cannot enable any of the listed add-ins

• Selecting any add-in from the list prompts the following text in the COM Add-ins dialog box:

“The add-in you have selected is disabled by your system administrator.”

 

 

Fixing the problem: 

Through Group Policy, an administrator can manage the add-ins that are loaded in Microsoft Office programs. Contact your IT administrator to enable the Slido add-in in Group Policy.


The following Group Policy settings are used to manage this functionality:

  • The list of managed add-ins
  • Block all unmanaged add-ins
  • Disable all application add-ins
  • Disable Trust Bar Notification for unsigned application add-ins and block them
  • Require that application add-ins are signed by Trusted Publisher

 

For more information visit No Add-ins loaded due to group policy settings - Office 365 (Microsoft Docs).

 

 

Reporting an issue to our support team


If our troubleshooting steps haven’t resolved your issue, send an email to support@slido.com or start a live chat with us from our website.


To speed up the process, please follow the steps below and include the log files in your email, or add them as an attachment to your chat.

 

How to get logs

For v1.11 and later, you can collect the logs by simply opening the app and selecting Get logs.

 

Get logs from Slido for Windows v1.11 and later

 

🎥 Watch a how-to video

 

We highly recommend staying up to date with the latest version of PowerPoint for Windows. This ensure the best experience possible.

 

 

If for some reason you’re using an older version of Slido for Windows (before v1.11) and you do not see the option to Get logs above, please follow the steps below.

  1. Click Start, type Slido, and launch it
  2. Right-click the “S” icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner)
  3. Select Get logs
  4. Attach the generated .zip file to your email or chat


🎥 Watch a how-to video

 


 

 

Curious about more? 

 

https://community.slido.com/slido-with-powerpoint-52/how-to-use-slido-for-powerpoint-546

https://community.slido.com/slido-with-powerpoint-52/troubleshooting-slido-for-powerpoint-on-mac-3112

 

 

Did this topic help you find an answer to your question?

  • September 29, 2021

Hello,

I’ve been trying to use Slido for Powerpoint on a corporate network and when the add-in is activated, it either crash at launch or I’m receiving an error message.

Is it a recurring issue?

We already tried to change the User Account Control settings but it didn’t change anything.​​​​​​​

Best regards,

Ludovic


Jozi from Slido
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Hi @Ludovic,

Please send us the logs from Slido for Windows so we can check what is happening.

To capture logs

  1. Use Start menu to find the Slido app and run it

  2. Find the Slido app in the tray menu (near the clock and battery/network icons)

  3. Right-click on the Slido icon

  4. Choose Get logs

  5. A Windows Explorer window will open with the log file selected (eg. SlidoLogs_123.zip)

  6. Send the ZIP file to support@slido.com

 

The ERR_ABORTED error indicated there is something blocking us from connecting to the Slido servers. If you are using authenticated proxy on the corporate network Slido for Windows does not work.

Are there any limitations in Slido for PowerPoint? | Slido Community

 

Best regards,
Joži


  • March 8, 2022

There is a red exclamation mark over the SLIDO tab in my powerpoint ribbon. I do not appear to be able to get rid of it. please can you help?


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Hi @Pete,

This could mean that you’re not signed in or you’re not signed in with the correct account.

Could you please click on the Slido tab? This should open the sidebar and ask you to log in. Then please log in with your Slido account.

Let me know if this helped 🙂 If you need immediate assistance, feel free to reach out to our fantastic customer care team by opening a chat from slido.com or writing to support@slido.com. 


  • June 14, 2022

I’ve downloaded and have the Slido icon in Powerpoint.

I’ve created 3 polls in Slido

  1. How do I get the correct poll to appear in the slide deck?
  2. How do I get the the ppt slide to show the QR code and website when it’s time to start the poll?

Thank you for your insights.  I’ve gone round and round for a couple hours.


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Hey @DianeV,

Sorry to hear you’ve been going in circles, hopefully this will help :)

Firstly, have you linked your slido to the presentation? To do that, you will need to click on the Slido icon which will open the sidebar. Then log in and select your specific slido from the list in the sidebar. 

To add your polls to the presentation, either click on Existing polls and then select the poll you’d like to add, or create a poll from scratch.

The QR code and the website will show up on the left-hand side of the slide when you launch a poll, but you can also add a slide with the Joining instructions if you wish.

Hope this helps :) Let me know if you have any further questions!


I created a new slido, but it is not showing up as an existing interaction in PowerPoint. Only the old one. Please advise. How long does it take for a new creation to appear?

 

Thank you


Cori from slido
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Hi @ctaeworks2022

It is instant. It sounds like you are trying to link a different slido to a PowerPoint presentation. To do this, you would need to switch slidos in the PowerPoint sidebar. The button is called ‘Recent Slidos’ and you can select your newly created slido from there. 

Hope this helps! 


I can see the plug in in powerpoint and can open the window and login successfully online, but after I do this the slido window in powerpoint then says ‘authentication’ for about a minute and then just times out and asks me to log in again. 


Meggie from Slido wrote:

Hi @Pete,

This could mean that you’re not signed in or you’re not signed in with the correct account.

Could you please click on the Slido tab? This should open the sidebar and ask you to log in. Then please log in with your Slido account.

Let me know if this helped 🙂 If you need immediate assistance, feel free to reach out to our fantastic customer care team by opening a chat from Slido admin or writing to support@slido.com. 

Meggie from Slido wrote:

Hi @Pete,

This could mean that you’re not signed in or you’re not signed in with the correct account.

Could you please click on the Slido tab? This should open the sidebar and ask you to log in. Then please log in with your Slido account.

Let me know if this helped 🙂 If you need immediate assistance, feel free to reach out to our fantastic customer care team by opening a chat from Slido admin or writing to support@slido.com. 

Hi @Maggie ,

My Slido plug in PowerPoint has red exclamation mark. When I press log it, I got confirmation ‘You are now logged in’ on the Slido website. But Slido plug still shows red exclamation mark and sidebar still shows ‘log in’ message. No connection between PP and Slido was established.  


  • November 27, 2022

Hi.  I have created a survey in PowerPoint.  When I put it in presenter mode, it does not connect.  It runs perfectly via the web but not from my slide pack.  It just says that it is taking too long to respond.  I have checked my network and tried another network.  Nothing seems to get it sorted.  Please help.

 

Thanks


Alex
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  • Slido Community Manager
  • November 28, 2022

Hi @SB258,

I suspect that this is because you have the old version of Slido for PowerPoint. 

Try downloading the newest version here - https://www.slido.com/powerpoint-polling and please let me know if that helped!

 


  • November 29, 2022

Hi @ Alex. 

Thanks.  Had to uninstall and the reinstall.  That seems to have sorted it out.  


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Wiewioora wrote:

Hi @Maggie ,

My Slido plug in PowerPoint has red exclamation mark. When I press log it, I got confirmation ‘You are now logged in’ on the Slido website. But Slido plug still shows red exclamation mark and sidebar still shows ‘log in’ message. No connection between PP and Slido was established.  

 

Hi @Wiewioora,

Sorry to hear my solution didn’t help 😞 Could you please reach out to our support team at support@slido.com? They will be able to look into the backend of your account and troubleshoot.

Let me know if you need anything else!


  • January 13, 2023

Hi, I would like to see the result of a new added poll during a running presentation. In presentation mode: The question is displayed but unfortunately not the result, not the QR not the #. Is there a way to display the result of ad hoc added questions without having to end the presentation every time?

This is what I have: The question is active and the audience is answering, “hide result” is not active and I have “show results immediately”

Thanks for helping.

 


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Hey @kathi,

Hmm it looks like Slido isn’t working correctly in your presentation because the screenshot shows the holding slide which should look like Present mode when you start presenting.

Could you please make sure that you’re signed in and that you’ve connected the correct slido to your slide deck? Simply click on the green S in PowerPoint and make sure that your sidebar shows the correct slido and the correct account. 

Hope this helps!


Meggie from Slido wrote:
Wiewioora wrote:

Hi @Maggie ,

My Slido plug in PowerPoint has red exclamation mark. When I press log it, I got confirmation ‘You are now logged in’ on the Slido website. But Slido plug still shows red exclamation mark and sidebar still shows ‘log in’ message. No connection between PP and Slido was established.  

 

Hi @Wiewioora,

Sorry to hear my solution didn’t help 😞 Could you please reach out to our support team at support@slido.com? They will be able to look into the backend of your account and troubleshoot.

Let me know if you need anything else!

I also have the same issue! How did this get solved?


Cori from slido
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Hi @vichtori

Could you reach out to our customer care team? They should be able to look into this a little deeper. 

You can reach out via our live chat or by emailing support@slido.com 

Best, 


I am trying to revise a PPT last used in 2022. It had a slido poll integrated at the time, and I have since used slido in other presentations but not this one. I have reinstalled slido from the website (and logged in to my university account. Everything looks fine on the website. But I cannot get the integrated Slido/PPT to work. It keeps telling me that the presentation was created with a different account. See screenshot:

 

 

I have tried all my gmail (personal) and university accounts. I have tried requesting access. Nothing seems to work. The slido button continues to display the exclamation mark.

 

Any help is much appreciated!


Carly from Slido
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Hey @foodprofessor ,

This message means that the Slido event linked to the Powerpoint Presentation is owned by another Email account. Do you happen to know who added the slido to this Powerpoint? If you would need to re-use the Powerpoint deck and want to add a new slido to it, you would need to Copy just the Powerpoint Slides into a new file and then sign into your Slido account to add the correct event.

It is currently not possible to unlink a Slido event from the Powerpoint presentation, but you can reuse the event or add a new session to your presentation.

Let us know if you have any other questions, and for further troubleshooting please email support@slido.com.

Best,


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