Get started

The setup wizard step by step — individual versus organization, connecting a drive, installing the Word add-in, and your first upload.

Before you begin

Use the invitation or sign-in method your organization provided. If BriefCatch asks you to verify your email, complete that before returning — some steps are unavailable until verification clears. If you were invited to an organization, the wizard already knows and skips the choices an invitation answers for you.

The setup wizard

Welcome

A short orientation before anything is configured.

Select User Type

Choose Individual or Organization. This is the same choice covered in Plans and licenses — pick Organization if you are setting this up for a team, not just yourself. If you arrived through an organization invitation, this step is already decided: “You’re already part of an organization, so this is set for you.”

Create Your Organization (organization path only)

Name the organization. The creator becomes its owner — see Roles and permissions.

Connect a drive

Connect Google Drive or OneDrive via OAuth, for a personal account or for the organization’s shared drive. This step is skippable — Skip for now is always an option, and you can connect a drive later from Integrations.

Install the Word add-in

Install from AppSource so you can review inside Microsoft Word using the same account and the same engine as the web. Also skippable.

Upload and continue

Upload a document to see the product work end to end. Supported types are .docx, .doc, .pdf, and .txt, up to 25 MB.

Invite users (organization path only)

Add teammates by email now, or skip and invite them later from Teams and organizations.

Every optional step says so outright — you can reach a working account without a connected drive, the Word add-in, or any invited teammates, and pick each of those up later without repeating the wizard.

The BriefCatch dashboard after onboarding, with an Analyze a Brief call to action, counters for briefs analyzed and credits remaining, a card to resume editing the last document, a recent-documents list, and a side panel offering the Word add-in and drive connections — The dashboard is where the wizard leaves you. Anything you skipped stays on offer here — the Word add-in and each drive keep their **Install** and **Connect** buttons until you use them.

Completing your first review

Once the wizard uploads a document, or once you skip to the product directly:

Open My Documents.
Select Upload and choose a supported file.
Review the storage and retention choice — where the file lands and how long it is kept. See My Documents.
Wait for analysis to finish, then open the editor.
Work through the suggestions one at a time before reaching for a bulk action, so you get a feel for what BriefCatch flags before letting it touch many passages at once.

If something in the wizard fails

“The sign-in popup was blocked. Continue in this tab instead.” — your browser blocked the OAuth popup for the drive connection. Use the in-tab flow the wizard offers instead of retrying the popup.
“Connection timed out” / “Connection cancelled” — the OAuth flow did not complete. Retry, or skip and connect later from Integrations.
“Unsupported file type” or “File is too large” — the upload step has the same .docx / .doc / .pdf / .txt and 25 MB limits as the rest of the product.
“Organization membership is still being confirmed” — an invitation acceptance is still processing. Wait a moment and retry rather than restarting the wizard.
“Upgrade to the Organization plan to continue” — a step needs a capability your current plan does not include. See Plans and licenses.

Next: My Documents and Review a document.