SSO Compatible Helper Applications

Helper Applications  

CobbleStone® Software Helper Applications

Welcome to CobbleStone® Software's Helper Applications page of the Documentation Wiki. All of our Contract Insight clients are free to use the helper applications provided on this page. Each of the links below will install an application on your computer through Microsoft's ClickOnce Install.  To manually update any of the below applications, click Install Now for the applicable application. SSO compatible desktop applications work with both SSO and standard username and password login. If you do not have the necessary requirements, you can use the older version found here instead.   

CobbleConnect
(replaces PC Helper App)

INSTALL NOW

Description:
- File upload and download tool.
- Search for existing records and associated files
 

Requirements:

.NET Framework 9.09 or higher - installer will prompt to install if not present on your machine.
TLS 1.2 or higher enabled

REST API is required.

How To Use CobbleConnect:

Logging in:

Step 1: Enter Your Contract Insight URL 

• Enter your organization’s Contract Insight URL (e.g., https://companyname.cobblestone.software/Core/). 
• The system validates and normalizes the URL format automatically. 

Step 2: Choose Your Login Method 

• Username & Password: Standard login with CI credentials. 
• SSO: Sign‑In via your organization’s identity provider  

Step 3: Configure Preferences 

• Remember Me: Saves URL and username for future sessions. 

What Happens During Login 

• System validates CI server compatibility. 
• Authenticates credentials or SSO token. 
• Establishes secure connection to environment. 
• Prepares workspace and loads permissions. 

Need Help? 

Ask IT for your CI URL and credentials.  Contact your IT for SSO issues. 

Uploading Files

After choosing the File Upload option on the side bar, the 6 main areas (Contracts, Requests, Employees, Companies, Solicitations, and POs) will display. Only the areas that you have permission to access and are licensed in your system will be accessible.

Clicking on any of the 6 areas will bring up a list of all records for that area, filterable by any column and searchable via the bar on the top-right side of the grid

Clicking on a record opens the Record Details page, where you will be able to see fields and field groups for that record.

Click the Files/Attachments Tab to see the list of files already attached to the record. Click Download to download a file from the record. Click Browse... to open your file explorer and select the file you wish to upload. Maximum individual file size for upload is currently 1GB.

Dashboard

The Dashboard page shows a count of records for each Record Area in the system

Mass Import/CSV tool (Future Phase)

This tool will allow you to upload massive files to CI. You will choose the files you want to upload, and the tool will automatically convert them to a CSV with the paths where they are stored. Once this step is completed, depending on the options you choose in the configuration with the tool, you will be able to go to the second step, which is to upload the files to the corresponding area. 

1. Select the files you want to upload.
    
2. Search for the value in the folder name or file name. 
3. Transform the options: Ignore extensions, use text before or after. 
4. Search by subfolder. 
5. Format and remove spaces.

Not all options are required, but they depend on the intended use. 

Once you have everything ready the tool generates a .csv file called FileList.Csv which is will be ready to import

Here you are going to choose the FileList and you are going to associated with the area , the Primary key and recordID that you already have in the document it is going to be the register that the archive will be associated with the area

Backup Manager  (Future Phase)

When using the Backup Manager, you will able to run backup from your data manually or automatically. This feature will require a license and a different installer.

CobbleConnect Install Instructions for IT/Administrators

This section provides technical and deployment details for IT administrators responsible for installing or distributing CobbleConnect across corporate environments. 

Installer Overview 

The CobbleConnect installer is built using Advanced Installer (v22.9.1). It includes all necessary runtimes packaged within the EXE to allow offline installation. 

Embedded prerequisites: 

• .NET Desktop Runtime 9.0.9 (x64) 

• Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime (Evergreen x64 – offline installer) 

System Requirements (IT)

MSI Installer Link HERE

Installation Steps 

1. Run 'CobbleConnect_Install.bat' as Administrator. This script installs the MSI silently, logs progress, and verifies success. 

2. Or install manually using: 

msiexec /i "CobbleConnect.msi" /qn /norestart ALLUSERS=1 /L*v "C:\Temp\CobbleConnect_Install.log" 

3. After installation, do not launch the app elevated — users open it themselves from Start Menu. 

4. Confirm: 

   - App folder: C:\Program Files\CobbleConnect\ 

   - Shortcut: available for all users 

   - Log shows 'Installation completed successfully' 

Uninstall Command 

msiexec /x "CobbleConnect.msi" /qn /norestart /L*v "C:\Temp\CobbleConnect_Uninstall.log" 

CobbleStone Add In for Microsoft Word

More information on the current CobbleStone Add In for Word can be found HERE.

SSO Legacy Microsoft Excel Plugin

INSTALL NOW

CHECK REQUIREMENTS

Description:
- Upload a document to Contract Insight directly from Microsoft Excel

- Download Ad-Hoc Reports

- DIM Uploads

- Add and update records for the main areas (Contracts, Requests, Purchase Orders, E-Sourcing, Vendors and Employees)

Requirements:
CobbleStone® PC Helper App
Contract Insight Version 17.11.0 or higher
Microsoft Windows OS
Microsoft Office 2010 or higher
Windows Installer 3.1
.NET Framework 4.5.2 or higher
TLS 1.2 or higher enabled

REST API is required.

CobbleStone Add-In for Microsoft Outlook

For more information on the current CobbleStone Add In for Outlook, click HERE

Security

Certifications are from DigiCert. Some data is cached on user machines in an encrypted SQLLite DB. (Contract types, dropdowns, etc.)