| My-T-Soft® TS: for Windows; Indestructible Keyboards and Indispensable Utilities; Version 1.79; User's Guide | ||
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| Prev | Chapter 2. Getting Started | Next |
In order to License My-T-Soft TS, the correct License Key and Serial Number must be entered into the IMG License Manager, along with some text for the Customer (and optional Company) text areas. The License Key and Serial Number can be found on the Certificate of Authenticity, or in the Software Unlock Codes e-mail.
The License Key and Serial No. entries are a matched pair, and will work together to unlock the software. The Customer entry is required (i.e. some text must be entered in the Customer text area), but is not part of the license unlock process. The Company text area is optional, and will be shown as the Source when the product is licensed.
To quickly and easily license the software (on a system that has internet access), simply click on the "Purchase License Now" button. Once connected to IMG's website, you will be asked to enter billing information and payment information. Once paid, your order will be processed, and you will receive a confirmation e-mail and a separate e-mail with license information. Once the order is fully processed, you can then click the "Retrieve Purchased License" button to automatically license your system.
System ID Note: The System ID is used to accurately match the Product and Version you wish to license with the License Information provided. If the system you wish to License does not have Internet Access, you can use the Copy System ID to Clipboard to accurately copy the System ID to the clipboard (which can be saved in a text file or other document and moved to a system that does have Internet Access).
Note: The "Retrieve Purchased License" uses a unique identifier to automatically license your system (which is only sent if the "Purchase License Now" is used). If you try this on a different system, or after a system update or re-install (or after a change to this unique ID), the software will not license automatically. You will either need to enter the License Key and Serial Number, or go into Additional License Options (see below) and use your Order Confirmation Number and Order E-mail to retrieve the license.
Important Note: Be sure to save and/or print your Order Confirmation number (with Order E-mail), along with your License Key and Serial Number in case you need to re-license the software in the future (Operating System Re-install, hard disk reformat, new system, etc.)
Certificate of Authenticity Note: For Electronic Licenses, and Certificate of Authenticity can be retrieved on IMG's website: https://www.imgpresents.com/orders/account/licmanager.htm. This requires a valid License Key and Serial Number. Once entered, you may view a PDF of the Certificate, or download the Certificate of Authenticity PDF file (for printing or saving).
Server Note: When operating on a Server, there is an IMG License Manager Service that needs to be running for proper operation of Remote Terminals and Systems. When unlicensed, the Terminal Server Management (Demo) option provides access to Install/Remove, and Start/Stop this service. See below for more information.
The Additional License Options section has tools and options to Enter or Paste Evaluation or Other License Information; Request and Retrieve Evaluation Licenses; Support Options to View and Delete (Reset) the License file; and a mechanism to retrieve a Purchased License by entering the Order Confirmation Number and the Order E-mail address.
Often, interested parties want to review or test the software without the demonstration license limitations, and to accommodate this, IMG makes available Evaluation Licenses. These Evaluation Licenses are fully functional licenses, but with a date limit (when the evaluation date has passed, the software will return back to the Unlicensed, Demonstration mode).
Evaluation Licenses may be requested at the Product Download pages on the website, or by using the Request / Retrieve Evaluation License button here. Note that all Evaluation License requests are reviewed, and Evaluation Licenses must be created by IMG personnel (generation is not automated).
An Evaluation License sent via e-mail contains a block of text that has the license details for the License Manager. When sent via e-mail, the text can be copied and subsequently pasted into the text area here (Paste Text from Clipboard), then saved to enable (set) the License Information (Save License Info).
Alternatively, if an Evaluation License is Requested, then after processing, it may be automatically Retrieved directly by clicking the Request / Retrieve Evaluation License button. Please refer to any additional information provided by the messages shown when using this approach.
The View Current License File (LICENSE.LIC) button will load the file LICENSE.LIC from the installation folder. This file contains the actual license information for the product, or the license information used to validate a License Key and Serial Number.
Note: Because an Evaluation License uses this same file, the Delete (Reset) option should be used if Licensing the product after using an Evaluation License.
The Delete (Reset) License File (LICENSE.LIC) will remove the existing LICENSE.LIC, then copy the file LICENSE.ORG to LICENSE.LIC (both in the installation folder). The file LICENSE.ORG is the "as shipped" license file, and should be the License File when using a License Key and Serial Number to license the software.
Note: For License Purposes, using the Support Option to Delete (Reset) the License File is essentially the same as un-installing, then re-installing the software. Because this option is quicker and simpler, it is the preferred approach to resolve any license issues. Note that manually copying the file LICENSE.ORG to LICENSE.LIC (in the installation folder) performs the same operation as this option.
The License Retrieval Option will retrieve License Information from IMG's Website for electronically purchased licenses. The Order Confirmation Number and Order E-mail is required (which appear on the Order Confirmation page provided after successfully placing an on-line order, and are provided separately via an Order Confirmation E-mail).
Note: For Retrieved Licenses (via Retrieve Purchased License, and via the Retrieve License Support Option), License Key and Serial Number information is processed exactly as if this information was directly entered in the Authentication area. Therefore, all issues that may affect licensing also apply to these automated options (e.g. License File status, User permissions, etc.)
When properly Licensed, a screen similar to this will show the License Information for the product. The display of this indicates that the software is Licensed.
Note: Evaluation licenses also show this screen during the days that the Evaluation License is valid.
When My-T-Soft TS is Licensed (or when it is operating in a Demonstration mode), the IMG License Manager Service must be started (running) to allow Remote Terminals and Desktops to operate. The controls and Administration Option are available at the Licensed screen, and in a special Demonstration Management area.
These options operate the same whether Licensed and Unlicensed. When Unlicensed, the IMG License Manager Service will stop after 1 hour. It can be restarted, but when Unlicensed, it will never run more than 1 hour. The IMG License Manager Service must be running (installed and started) to allow Remote Terminals and Desktops to operate. The basic tools to access these features are available in the main License Manager screen when properly licensed. For completeness, the ability to Install/Remove, and Start/Stop have been included - for normal operation, all the Administrator needs to do is Install the Service, then Start it. Note that once Installed, you may access the service in the Services Control Panel icon under the IMG License Manager Service. The file IMGLM.EXE is the actual Service process. To end all existing instances of My-T-Soft TS, you can Stop the License Manager Service - this will force the closing of all My-T-Soft TS processes on any remote or console session. Restart the License Manager Service to enable normal operation.
Important Note: The proper configuration and implementation of these options requires a user with Administrator rights. Proper licensing is required to ensure correct operation of all features & options.
Install Service This uses the Service Manager and installs the IMG License Manager Service into the Services list for the system. It is configured to automatically start with the system.
Start Service This tells the Service Manager to Start the IMG License Manager Service immediately.
Stop Service This tells the Service Manager to Stop the IMG License Manager Service immediately.
Remove Service This tells the Service Manager to remove the IMG License Manager Service from the Services list.
Administration Options & Help This opens the Administration Options area, where settings can be managed and additional Help can be accessed.
The default setting (ConfigPath=4) places all User Settings (configuration files) in the public ProgramData area (Application Data) based on the User name. Each User starts with a copy of the Global Settings, and can then modify/configure their individual settings. The Global Settings refers to the configuration files in the Installation folder (which can only be modified by the Administrator (or through options available here)). There are various options available through these options to change the default behavior, and to manipulate the Global and User settings.
Note: Refer to the ConfigPath entry in the Initialization file for additional locations and options, but note that on the server, with multiple users, some of these settings are not recommended, and would require special security settings (which may defeat actual server security).
File Notes: The configuration files are the MYTSOFT.INI and KEYBOARD.KBF, along with Macro (MAC*.KMF) files. Refer to My-T-Soft TS Help, Advanced User Notes for other details on these files. The KEYBOARD.KBF file is the Keyboard Layout file, and it determines which program will be used to display & operate the layout. For KBF files built by Build-A-Board, MYTSOFT2.EXE will be used. For the default KEYBOARD.KBF, MYTSOFT.EXE will be used. When MYTSOFT2.EXE is used, the MYTSOFT.INI file is not referenced at all.
These are the key issues to be aware of when administering and setting up which keyboard layout / program each user will be presented:
If a user does not have an existing configuration folder, a new folder will be created when they run My-T-Soft for the first time - the KEYBOARD.KBF / MYTSOFT.INI / Macro files will be copied from the installation folder, and this will be their default layout.
If all users will be using the same layout, it is recommended that this KEYBOARD.KBF be located in the installation folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\MYTSOFT) prior to having any users operate My-T-Soft for the first time. See "Copy Global Settings to All User Folders" below for details on how to do this after users have been operating My-T-Soft. If you need to update the layout, after building in Build-A-Board, either copy the layout to the appropriate users, or copy to the installation folder and Copy Global Settings to All User Folders.
There is no specific way to retrieve the layouts built by Build-A-Board into the My-T-Soft folder / User folders. Build-A-Board is not recommended for server installation - it should be installed on a development workstation or stand-alone system. Once the required layout(s) are built, these may be copied from the \Program Files\Build-A-Board\Target\[Project] folder, where [Project] is the name of the Build-A-Board Project for the specific layout(s). As an Administrator, you are expected to be familiar with Windows Explorer or the command line.
The appropriate file(s) should be copied either into the installation folder, or into the specific user folders, overwriting the existing KEYBOARD.KBF. Alternatively, the files can be copied using their project name, e.g. NUMERIC.KBF.
Note that the shortcut can be used to launch a specific layout specified via the command line, e.g. C:\Program Files\MYTSOFT\MYTSOFT.EXE /k=NUMERIC.KBF, or C:\Program Files\MYTSOFT\MYTSOFT.EXE /k=KEYBOARD.NUM. The specified file MUST be in each user's folder that uses the shortcut.
With different configuration files in each user folder, different users can have different layouts - be extremely careful with the Global settings & Options here if you have a complex configuration of multiple users with multiple layouts.
When MYTSOFT.EXE is run, if the KEYBOARD.KBF file (or specified file via the command line /k=[Keyboard Layout]) is for MYTSOFT2.EXE, MYTSOFT.EXE will terminate, and launch MYTSOFT2.EXE. Do not run MYTSOFT2.EXE directly.
When Override default User Path for Configuration Files is checked "On" then the standard configuration files location will be changed to the location entered. There are 2 main approaches available when using this override:
1) Private configuration separate for each user - Users all have a "Home" Path or a personal configuration location established when they logon - commonly these are an H: drive or an I: drive that map to a private area on the network, unique for each user. Simply enter H: - note that a backslash and the filename will be appended to resolve the file (e.g. H:\MYTSOFT.INI) - you may need to review the details and the approach used in establishing these logon mappings to ensure that the file locations can be resolved correctly. Different networking systems / mappings can affect how the drive letter resolves - in essence, the drive must resolve to the "root" of the users location, even though on the server it may be \\SERVER\Users\ParticularUser.
2) Global configuration for all users - Simply enter a set location (e.g. R:\CONFIGS). Setting the "Read Only" operation is recommended in a shared situation, because otherwise the software expects both Read/Write access to these files, and you cannot limit these rights. Because these rights allow multiple users to modify the configuration, this is only recommended when you are using the Operator Mode (See My-T-Soft Setup | Configuration | Special Options)
Internally, the software uses the string length to establish the "override" - therefore, some text must be entered when the option is checked On. A trailing backslash will be added if not listed in the path, so this is not required. This will affect how the file location & name is built internally - essentially whatever text you enter will be appended with a backslash and the file name, except in the case where you enter a trailing backslash.
Notes on Global Settings: The configuration files are MYTSOFT.INI and KEYBOARD.KBF and Macro files. When My-T-Soft Setup is run on the Server (e.g. Console), you will be asked if this is for Personal or Global settings - select Personal for settings in the user folder (e.g. Administrator), and Global for \Program Files\MYTSOFT. You could also configure My-T-Soft the way you want it, then copy your personal settings into the install folder before Copying Global Settings.
Notes on Security: The concepts and details of security on a network server are well beyond the scope of the My-T-Soft Keyboards - these notes assume the Administrator is intimately familiar with the Windows security concepts, terms, and architecture. The easiest way to manage the necessary rights for users of My-T-Soft is to create a group (or use an existing group, such as Users or Remote Desktop Users), and make sure all users that will use My-T-Soft are in that group. The rights necessary for the group are Read / Write / Execute - this gives users full access to the files, the ability to create their own subfolder for their configuration files. By default (ConfigPath=4), the Public area is used for the configuration files, which separates the configuration files by user, but is not secured from the users. Since in most cases, the specific layout or configuration isn't revealing, and often most users share a common layout, this public location is acceptable. Refer to the ConfigPath setting, and other options outline here if a more secure approach is required.
Override default User Folder for Configuration Files (Enable Shared Settings for all Users) When cleared, the actual location of (path to) the individual User folders (holding each user's settings) is shown (grayed/unmodifiable). When Checked, this overrides the default settings folder, and results in All Users operating off of the same configuration files. This mode is typically used to force a fixed (unmodifiable) configuration onto all users. When enabled, the Browse button is also Enabled, so you can browse to a system folder and select via the system dialog (or manually enter the path). The path should end with a trailing backslash. Configuring these files with limited permissions, or as Read Only may be desirable when sharing fixed settings. Due to the potential for conflict if multiple users are changing the shared configuration files, it is strongly recommended that only one user (or preferably none) be granted permissions to save/modify the configuration files in this location.
Copy Global Settings to Shared User Folder When the "Override default users..." option is enabled, this button is enabled. When selected, and confirmed, this will copy the Global Settings (from Installation Folder) to the specified folder.
Copy User Settings to Global Settings This will allow you to browse to a particular user folder, and then, after confirmation, copy these settings over the default Global Settings in the Installation folder. This can be useful when used in conjunction with the Copy Global Settings to All User Folders - you can configure the Administrator or a particular user as desired, copy these settings to the Global Settings, and then distribute these settings to all users.
Copy Global Settings to All User Folders When selected and confirmed, this will copy the Global Settings into each user's sub-folder, providing each user with the same settings. Note that these settings can be changed by the individual user, unless permissions are limited, or Read Only settings are in use.
Help Opens Help for these settings.
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