Category Archives: Start-up

New start behaviour

Using SCOUT and CODE as OLE servers in your own applications you had – up to now – no chance to verify a correct start of the software. Starting with object generation 5.28 the start-up routine gives information about the attempt to start the software remotely.

To enable response of the server to a calling OLE client the server has to survive a failing start, at least in such a way that it still can react to client requests. Whereas in the past the software would be closed when no proper license was identified it will now continue to run in a restricted mode (and show up in Task Manager).

We have implemented 4 OLE routines to retrieve status information:

  • license_status: returns an integer number charcterizing the state of the program
  • license_status_string: returns a line of text describing the status of the program
  • license_status_details: returns more detailed information about the program status
  • available_program_instances: returns the number of program instances that can be started in addition to the already running instances (most licenses have a limitation concerning the number of instances that can be operated in parallel).

 

“The program can´t start because mfc120d.dll is missing “

This problem has been described in a previous post. The recommended installation of the Microsoft redistributable package does not seem to solve the problem in every case.

We have made the missing DLLs available on our website. You can download the files here and copy them to your SCOUT or CODE program folder directly, without executing any installation routine.

The relevant program folders are (very likely) c:\scout\ (in the case of SCOUT) or c:\code\ (for the CODE software).

MSVCP120.DLL is missing …

If you try to run CODE, SCOUT or SPRAY with object generation 4.50 or higher and you get this message please install the Visual C++ Redistributable package for Visual Studio 2013. Here is the link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40784

If you follow the ‘Download’ section you have to select the vcredist_x86.exe. Running this will install the required DLL files.

Windows 10

Will the software run under Windows 10?

Yes, our software products run under Windows 10.

We recommend the following: Since Windows 10 carefully watches the folder ‘Programs’ (or however this folder is called in your language) it will ask you for permission to write or modify files in that folder. This can be very annoying because our software products frequently write to files in their folders and subfolders (the database, for example, and the passport file). For this reason we recommend to install the software outside the program folder – you can use, for example, a folder like c:\my_software\.

Licence information

When I start the software I get the message ‘Licence information for TF1Book is invalid’. What should I do?

In our products we used to work with a workbook component named TF1Book. This is replaced now by a more modern workbook component supporting Unicode characters and Excel files, but the software still contains the TF1Book component in order to be able to read old configuration files.

TF1Book is a so-called ActiveX control which sits in the file vcf132.ocx. During the installation, this file is copied to the program directory and the setup program then registers the ActiveX component using the windows program regsvr32. You will get the above mentioned error message if another software package registers an older version of vcf132.ocx. This happens even if the other program copied its version of vcf132.ocx to a totally different directory. Due to the registration Windows will start the wrong version of the component when our software needs to generate the workbook component.
In this case you should unregister all older versions of the component and work with the latest version only. You unregister an ActiveX component with a command like
regsvr32 “c:\program files\software_xyz\vcf132.ocx” /U
where the specified path should be the installation path of the software package that uses the older version of the component. When all older versions are un-registered, you should register the latest version with the command
regsvr32 “c:\program files\scout\vcf132.ocx”

Missing DLL

Trying to start the program I get an error message saying that a DLL is missing. What can I do to solve this issue?

You have probably upgraded your program to a version which needs more DLLs than your previous program version. We add DLLs (dynamic link libraries) if new software packages have been included in the software, probably to support new spectrometer hardware or mathematical routines.

In order to get going you should download the DLL package from our website and copy all files to your program directory (the files are packed in a zip-file). Please start on www.whteiss.com, go to ‘Support’ and then to ‘Download DLL package’.

Object version

I get the message ‘Error: Object version in file younger than in program version!’. What does this mean?

You are trying to open a configuration which has been generated with a higher version of the software. The program refuses to load the file because this will contain objects which are not supported by your version.

There are 2 solutions: Update your program to the latest version so that you are able to read the file, or ask the producer of the file to generate a version for you which uses the object generation that you have in your software. You can find out about your program version in the ‘About box’ (menu item ?/about).

No valid dongle

When I try to start the software I get the message ‘No valid software protection key (dongle) found!’. Why?

Our software packages are protected by so-called dongles. A dongle is a small USB device (looks like a memory stick) which must be present in one of the USB ports of the PC in order to run the software. If you get this message the dongle has not been detected – very likely it is really not there.

OLE server only

When I try to start the software I get the message: ‘This program can be used as OLE server only!’. What does that mean?

The program has been installed with a passport file which allows to run the program as OLE server only. It cannot be started as a normal desktop application.

Very likely you have downloaded the software from our website and installed it on your system. The download packages do not contain valid passport files, i.e. valid user licences. After the installation, you have to copy a valid passport file into the program directory.
In the case of SCOUT, the passport file is called scout_passport.wtp. If you installed CODE the name is code_passport.wtp.

In the case of a software purchase you should have received a passport file from us either by e-mail or with the setup CD. If you are evaluating the software you should have received a passport file with a demo licence by e-mail.

Windows 7: HASP key

The HASP software protection key (dongle) does not seem to work properly when I install the software on a Windows 7 system. What should I do?

The dongle drivers that used to be delivered with our software products are not compatible with Windows 7. The supplier has provided new drivers which we re-distribute on our website.

Please open the section ‘Support’ and select the page ‘Current driver of the HASP software protection key’. Here you can download a setup program which will install the latest driver version. This should work under Windows 7.