Installing Formulate2 on a network is fairly straightforward. However, there are three areas which will require special attention.
INSTALLATION: When the program is installed it will capture a unique system ID. At subsequent program starts, the captured ID will be compared with the ID where the program is currently running. If the IDs do not match, access to Formulate2 will be denied. Whether or not the program may be installed on a server then successfully imaged to other machines will depend primarily upon the hard drive serial number returned when the appropriate Win32 DLL is called. If the serial number returned by an individual machine is the same as the serial number of the server on which it was originally installed, access will be granted and the program will function properly.
If you are uncertain about the serial numbers returned on individual machines, and it is possible to install Formulate2 on the server and image it to only one other computer then do so and start the program. If you receive a quit message and the program terminates, the two computers do not return the same hard drive serial number and Formulate2 cannot be deployed by imaging and must be installed on each computer individually.
If the imaged program denies access, it will be necessary to uninstall it from the machine to which it was imaged and delete the two data folders created in the root directory of the drive on which the program was installed. The paths to the data folders are illustrated below with drive C:
C:\Formulate2 Working Data\
C:\Formulate2 Back Up Folder\
Once the program has been removed as described above, it may be re-installed on the machine individually with the installer you downloaded.
REGISTRATION: All installations of Formulate2 are provisional installations with access limitations. The access limitations can only be removed by processing an Access Key. Access Keys are configured from the content of the registration file. Registration files contain the information you enter (i.e. name, address etc.) and also other information generated by the individual system. When the registration file is created and placed on your Windows desktop it will also contain the serial number of the drive where the program is currently running. The registration file must then be forwarded as an email attachment to Central Valley Nutritional Associates. From the registration file, we configure an Access Key which is returned to you attached to an email containing instructions about how to use the Key to remove access limitations. To view a brief tutorial about the Formulate2 registration process, click here.
The Access Key will only remove access limitations from the installation of Formulate2 running on the hard drive where the registration file was created. Access Keys are NOT interchangeable – they are specific to the hard drive on which the registration file was created. However, if the machines on your network all return the same hard drive serial number, only one registration file and one Access Key will be needed.
USER ACCOUNTS: Formulate2 will run under Windows user accounts with or without administrative privileges. However, if the program will be running WITHOUT administrative privileges it will be necessary to set permissions on Formulate2’s two data folders to allow the user group appropriate access. To view information about how to locate the folders, what permissions to set and how to set them, click here.
If after reviewing the information above, you have questions or would like assistance please contact us at cvnasoft@formulate2.com or call 1-559-732-0515. If you send an email message, please include your telephone number, time zone and best day and time of day to reach you. If you contact us by telephone and we are not available, please leave a message and telephone number and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.