Beaverlog Tips: Volume 45 - July 30, 2009

Automatic Workstation Upgrades

When running The THERAPIST on a network, installing an update or upgrade can be made easier with a couple of simple changes to the configuration files on each network workstation. This technique also requires that you have one installation of the program that is accessible to all of the workstations. Usually, the simplest is to use the same computer on which the data is stored. This can be a dedicated server or another workstation on a peer-to-peer network.

All versions of The THERAPIST can update their program files automatically if you tell them where to find the newer files. Using the default program path on each computer, while not a requirement, will simplify everything and make helping you easier should you need technical support.

NOTE: This article is not about network data locations except in passing. It is about installations of The THERAPIST, its program files, and a primary installation of The THERAPIST on your network.

For an overall strategy for network installations, proceed using the following steps.

Identify the computer on which you intend to store the primary installation of The THERAPIST. This can be a file server or an individual workstation. If The THERAPIST is not already installed on this computer, install it onto this computer now. Be sure to select a Custom Installation to ensure that you can select the folder where The THERAPIST will be installed. Write down the full installation path (e.g. c:\Program Files\The THEAPIST), you will need this information later.
Ensure that each workstation on which you will be installing The THERAPIST has a drive letter mapped to the network location of the primary installation. A mapped drive is simply a drive letter assigned to some location on your network making it easier to access.

To map a drive, go to My Computer or Windows Explorer (it’s the same program, just a different initial view). On the Tools menu, select Map Network Drive. In Windows Vista, the tools menu and other menus are hidden until you press and release the Alt key on your keyboard. Select a drive letter and browse to the primary installation of The THERAPIST. You now have a choice of which folder on the primary installation computer to map the drive to. For example, if The THERAPIST is installed on c:\Program Files\The THERAPIST, you can map to any of the following on the remote computer:

\ (the root folder)
\Program Files
\Program Files\The THERAPIST
Ultimately, it doesn't really matter which one you choose but the last one will make things easier later on. Be sure to write down the map drive letter and remote folder you select. Also, be sure to check the box to reconnect this network drive when the computer is restarted or on logon.

You can use the same mapped drive letter for the data later on if that's where you are storing the data.
Install The THERAPIST locally on each workstation where you will be using it. Choose a Custom installation. Be sure to select the appropriate network location for your data.
If you are running The THERAPIST Pro, go to each workstation and run the Administrator Utility (Start Menu > All Programs > Beaver Creek Software > The THERAPIST Pro). From the file menu select "Setup Network Auto-Update". On this screen enter or lookup the folder of the primary installation on your network. You are done.
If you are running The THERAPIST EZ, go to the Help menu, select About The THERAPIST, and click on the Information button. On the next screen, go to the Paths tab. Note the Configuration File Path. You can actually copy this path to the Windows clipboard by highlighting it and pressing Ctrl+C.

Run Windows Explorer or My Computer. Navigate to the Configuration File Path. If you copied the path to the clipboard, you can paste it into the address bar and press Enter to immediately go to that path. Look for a configuration file called TWEZSet.ini (you may not see the .ini part of the name). Double click this file to edit it in Windows Notepad.
Look for a section that starts with [Paths]. Skip to below the comment and instruction lines that begin with a semicolon and look for a line that starts with NetPath=. (If this line is missing, you can add it immediately above or below the LocalPath line.) If there is already a path following the equal sign, verify that it is a drive and path that refers to the program path on your primary installation. Assuming that your mapped drive is drive Z:, enter one of the following after NetPath=. Use the path on the right based on which path on the left you mapped to Z:

If Z:\ is mapped to:

Enter this as the NetPath

\

z:\Program Files\The THERAPIST

\Program Files

z:\The THERAPIST

\Program Files\The THERAPIST

z:\

Now, when you install an update or upgrade onto your primary installation, the workstations will update themselves next time they are run. Be sure that none of the workstations are running The THERAPIST when you update your primary installation.

Beaver Creek Software on Facebook

If you are a Facebook user, you can now become a "fan" of Beaver Creek Software on Facebook. We set up this page for our customers to connect to each other, discuss issues related to your business or using our software. You can post pictures, videos, comments, and participate in discussions. To find us, search of Beaver Creek Software or use this link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beaver-Creek-Software/103578481523

Tip: Upgrading Your Computers

If you are upgrading to a new computer, most likely it will be running Vista 32 or Vista 64. If need to install The THERAPIST Pro or EZ you have to be sure to use a Vista compatible installation. For The THERAPIST Pro, the first fully Vista compatible installation was version 2.5.024. For The THERAPIST EZ, the first Vista compatible installation was version 2.5.017. If you install The THERAPIST from an earlier version CD onto Vista, you will run into problems that will be time-consuming to correct.

You can get a CD of the most recent version of either product by calling Customer Service at (800) 895-3344. These maintenance release CDs are available for $20 if you have any release of version 2.5.

If you have a CD that is Vista compatible but not the most recent release, it is still important to download and install the most current release because each release corrects problems discovered in earlier releases and maintenance release downloads are free.

Tip: Restoring Data Onto a New Computer

If you have installed The THERAPIST on a new computer (or a new hard disk on an old computer), you might have problems when you try to restore your data from a backup. That is, of course, unless you change the offline backup path. The default offline backup path is often set to drive A:, a floppy disk drive. If the computer doesn't have a floppy drive or the drive is empty, you could get an error when you try to restore (or backup). This happens so often that we've changed the default backup path to drive C: instead of A:. The fix is easy but it is not done from inside The THERAPIST.

If you are using The THERAPIST Pro, go to the Windows Start button > All Programs > Beaver Creek Software > The THERAPIST Pro > Backup and Restore Utility. Login into the utility with user name ADMIN and password ADMINPASS. Then, select Backup Options from the File menu. About half way down the Backup Options screen, look for the Offline Backup Path. Change it to a drive that actually exists.

If you are using The THERAPIST EZ, go to the Windows Start button > All Programs > Beaver Creek Software > The THERAPIST EZ > Administrator Utility. Login into the utility with user name ADMIN and password ADMINPASS. Then, select Backup Options from the Backup menu. About half way down the Backup Options screen, look for the Offline Backup Path. Change it to a drive that actually exists.

For either product, if you back up to a USB flash drive, you can set to the drive letter corresponding to that drive. Keep in mind, however, that it could be a different drive letter next time you plug it in. Drive C:\ is always present and using this as your offline backup path lets you easily navigate to another location.

Installing on Vista 64

In volume 44 of the Beaverlog Tips newsletter, we recommended that you avoid Windows Vista 64. But if you've been to a computer retailer lately, you may have noticed that many of the desktop computers have 64-bit processors and Windows Vista-64 operating system. There are a couple of things you may need to do to make The THERAPIST run nicely on Vista 64 and they are both done by editing the properties of the Application files, primarily the ThWin.exe file but also the utility programs ThAdmin.exe, Support.exe, FixData.exe, and TBackup.exe (Pro only).

If you are logged in to Windows as a System Administrator, you can do this manually. Start by locating the folder where The THERAPIST is installed, opening Windows Explorer (or My Computer), and navigating to the program folder. Then, for each of the above Application files, right-click on the file name to open the context menu and select Properties. On the Compatibility tab, check the box that says "Run this program in compatibility mode for" then select Windows XP SP2 from the drop list. Also on the Compatibility tab, if there is a check in the box labeled "Run this program as an administrator", remove the check.

Sure, you can do all that but why bother when you can download and install the latest release update and it will do the job for you. Pretty cool, huh? You still need to be logged into Windows as a System Administrator or get a System Administrator to do it for you.

We still cannot wholeheartedly recommend Vista 64 though if you still have issues running The THERAPIST on Vista 64, it may not be related to Vista but to some other software that is running and that's a whole other story (see the next item below).

McAfee Antivirus Software

Many of our users have reported that they cannot run The THERAPIST on computers running McAfee antivirus. There is a way to tell McAfee to allow The THERAPIST to run but it's a secret that McAfee is not willing to share with us. They will, however, make the appropriate changes for you but you have to temporarily let them access your computer over the Internet. Contact McAfee support for more information.