How to Install Your Course License from Palisade

How to Install Your Course License from Palisade
(DecisionTools Industrial Edition Software Version 5.5.1)

The accompanying email has a link to download the customized installer for your Palisade course license.

First, please download and archive that .ZIP file. The file will expire from our download site, and if you need us to re-create it there may be a delay of a few days.

This course license will install the full DecisionTools Suite, Industrial edition. This includes the Industrial editions of the following programs: @RISK , PrecisionTree, TopRank, NeuralTools, StatTools, RISKOptimizer, and Evolver.

Next, decide how you want to install the course license. The .ZIP file contains two options: a client-server network setup, and a standalone workstation setup. You may choose one or both of these options.

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  A client-server network setup, where you install on as many client computers as you wish. The software is limited to a certain number of simultaneous users, and they must be connected to your server, so this setup is appropriate for your computers in a classroom or computer lab. (The server need not be a powerful machine: all it has to do for our software is manage the license count. It is helpful, but not essential, for the server to have an Internet connection when you perform the one-time task of downloading licenses from our server. No Internet connection is needed to run the applications.) For this setup, please see Part I below.
  
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  A standalone workstation setup, where you install on individual student computers or have the students do it. The number of installs is limited to the number stated in your license. This setup is the only possibility if you want students to have the software on their own personal computers, but some universities also like to install this way in their computer lab. For this setup, please see Part II below.
  

Requirements: Both the client install and the standalone workstation install require 32-bit or 64-bit native Windows machines, with Microsoft Excel 2000–2007 for Windows. (Palisade release 5.5.1, shipped beginning in April 2010, supports the 32-bit Excel 2010 release candidate build 14.0.7734.1000 and later but not 64-bit Excel 2010.)

Ghosting: Both the client install and the standalone workstation install support ghosting or imaging.

Support: Palisade technical support is ready to assist you at [e-mail] or at [phone]. If individual students have installation issues that you can’t resolve, please give them only the email address because support for our student licenses is by email only. If they have questions about homework or other aspects of using the software, they should work through the included tutorials (under the Help menu) or talk to their professor.

Part I. If you choose a client-server network setup

Please extract all the files from the Network folder in the .ZIP file. The network installation instructions for both server and clients are in the file ReadMe.wri in that folder.

The serial number and Activation ID in the accompanying email are for your records only. It is built in to the installation files. A correct installation will never prompt you for an Activation ID, so if you do receive such a prompt, it is a sign that the installation was not done correctly or some steps (such as downloading licenses and starting the license server) were skipped.

How to run the applications: The applications don’t appear automatically on Excel’s menu. Instead, you start them from icons placed on the desktop. You can also start them through the Windows Start menu: click the Windows Start button, then Programs or All Programs, then Palisade DecisionTools, then the particular application such as StatTools or @RISK. If Excel is already running, the application will attach itself; if Excel isn’t running, then the application will start Excel for you.

Part II. If you set up the applications on independent workstations

The Activation ID in the accompanying email is for your records only. It is built in to the .LIC file and you never have to enter it directly. If the installer or the application prompts you for an Activation ID, it is a sign that the installation was not done correctly.

For this form of install you will extract the Workstation folder from the ZIP file. Here are some examples of how you might set up the installation:

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  To install on a standalone workstation in a lab, after extracting the files from the Workstation folder double-click the installer (for Vista or Windows 7, right-click the installer and Run As Administrator). At the end of the install you’ll be given the option of installing SQL Express, which supports the optional @RISK Library feature in the application. If you install this optional component on a 64-bit system, you may get a warning about installing a 32-bit program. It’s okay to proceed with the install.
  
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  To create an installation CD, burn all the files from the Workstation folder to that CD.
  
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  To make an install folder on your LAN or a USB stick, you need only the big .EXE file and the .LIC file. It’s essential to extract them from the .ZIP file; the installer won’t pick up the license if you run it from within the .ZIP file. Wherever you copy the .EXE file, make sure hat the .LIC file is in the same folder during installation. If the .LIC file was not in the same folder with the .EXE, then installer or the application will prompt for an Activation ID and you’ll have to repeat the install.
  
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  To set up an installer for students, please put only the .EXE and .LIC files into a .ZIP file on a secure area of your Web site. Please don’t give them the original .ZIP file that you downloaded from us, because it contains many files that don’t apply to them. We recommend you create a .ZIP containing the .EXE and .LIC files, because in our experience many students have trouble downloading the .LIC file correctly through their browser.
  

How to run the applications: The applications don’t appear automatically on Excel’s menu. Instead, you start them from icons placed on the desktop. You can also start them through the Windows Start menu: click the Windows Start button, then Programs or All Programs, then Palisade DecisionTools, then the particular application such as StatTools or @RISK. If Excel is already running, the application will attach itself; if Excel isn’t running, then the application will start Excel for you.

Sample letter to students

If you create an installer for students to install the software themselves on their own computers, please give them the following instructions or something similar. The following letter will help them avoid the most common installation problems and will reduce calls to your help desk. (Fill in the blank with the link to your secure Web site and necessary login information.)

Please follow these instructions for a trouble-free installation of the Palisade DecisionTools Suite, Industrial edition. This includes the Industrial editions of the following programs: @RISK , PrecisionTree, TopRank, NeuralTools, StatTools, RISKOptimizer, and Evolver.

Computer requirements:

The software is supported on native Windows machines. If you have a Mac, you can try running the Palisade software in Windows under Bootcamp, Parallels, and VMWare, but if they don’t work for you then neither our help desk nor Palisade can provide any assistance.

The software works with Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

The software requires Excel 2000–2007 for Windows (not Excel for Macintosh), or a released 32-bit Excel 2010. 64-bit Excel 2010 won’t work, and beta versions of Excel 2010 won’t work.

How to install:

1. Click on this link to download the installer, which will be a .ZIP file: ________________________________________________________
When your browser prompts you Open or Save, select Save and save it to your desktop so that you’ll know where it is.

2. When the download is complete, close your browser and other applications.

3. Double-click the downloaded .ZIP file.

4. A window will open showing two files, an application and a .LIC (license) file. Important: Drag both of them to your desktop. Do not launch them from inside the .ZIP folder.(*)

5. Close the window that shows the contents of the .ZIP file.

6. If you have Windows XP, double-click the application file (.EXE file) that you dragged to your desktop. If you have Vista or Windows 7, right-click the file and select Run As Administrator.

7. At the end of the install you’ll be give the option of installing SQL Express. This supports the optional @RISK Library feature in the application. If you install this optional component on a 64-bit system, you may get a warning about installing a 32-bit program. It’s okay to proceed with the install.

(*)Caution: Native Windows support, as well as many ZIP programs like WinZip, will let you double-click the .EXE file inside the .ZIP file, but that will not install the software correctly. If the installer or the application prompts you for an Activation ID, the most likely cause is that the installer could not find the .LIC file. Please repeat the installation, paying careful attention to steps 4 and 5.

How to run the applications: The applications don’t appear automatically on Excel’s menu. Instead, you start them from icons placed on the desktop. You can also start them through the Windows Start menu: click the Windows Start button, then Programs or All Programs, then Palisade DecisionTools, then the particular application such as StatTools or @RISK. If Excel is already running, the application will attach itself; if Excel isn’t running, then the application will start Excel for you.