How to Install CaseFinder on a Network from a Workstation

1. Read these instructions from beginning to end.

2. Create a folder named "Casefinder" on a computer on the network.

• The folder you create will be referred to as the "application folder" throughout the remainder of this web page, and it is referred to as such in the other pages on this web site. You can use a different name for the application folder, but "Casefinder" is the most intuitive (not to mention it's the name our tech support people are especially fond of . . .).

• Notice that we did not say that the application folder has to be created on the "file server." Whether a network is "client-server" or "peer-to-peer" is a distinction without any relevance for CaseFinder. Many small networks do not use a file server, per se, but that does not prevent Casefinder from being installed upon them.

• Notice also that we said the application folder should be on a computer "on the network." Although the workstation you are working from is a computer "on" the network, for our purpose it would be considered a "local" computer. Do not create the application folder on the workstation you're working from.

• The foregoing notwithstanding, in the majority of network installations the application folder is created on the file server.

3. Set the permissions on the application folder so that it is read/write accessible by all the workstations from which CaseFinder is to be run.

• If the application folder is on the file server, it is quite likely that only a user with "administrator" rights will be able to set the permissions.

• A quick way to test whether the permissions on the application folder are properly set is to log on to the network as one of the typical Casefinder users (as opposed to logging on as an administrator), create a test file in Notepad and save it to the application folder. If you can open it and read it, the permissions are correct; go ahead and delete the file.

4. Go to the workstation from which the monthly updates will be run.

• Entries are made in the Windows Registry of the computer from which the installation program is run. Monthly updates must be run from this computer.

• Neither the CD drive into which the Casefinder disc is about to be placed (next item) nor the location of the application folder (previous item) need to be on the computer from which the monthly updates are run.

5. Place Casefinder Disc One in the CD drive which will be used when the monthly updates are performed.

This does not need to be the CD drive on the workstation you are working from; it can be a CD drive on a computer (including the file server) out on the network, or it could be a drive in a CD tower. However, the CD drive from which you install CaseFinder will be the CD drive into which subsequent monthly discs will be placed for updating. In addition, it might be a drive from which databases are accessed.

If all the databases are going to be transferred to a hard drive, then using the CD drive in the workstation for installation and updating is the best choice.

However, if any or all of the databases are going to be accessed from the discs, then we need to look at some additional considerations.

• When databases are accessed from the discs, CaseFinder expects to find the databases on a disc in the CD drive that was used for installation. While the CD drive on the workstation can be used for installation, if it is also used to hold the databases, problems will ensue. The CD drive will have to be "shared" so that the workstations on the network can access the databases on the discs. The CD drive on the workstation is accessible to the user of that computer, who could (inadvertently or not) remove the disc at any time, disrupting everyone else's use of CaseFinder. In addition, as other users on the network access that CD drive, the workstation must process the file handling, which ties up the processor in the workstation and slows down the other work it is supposed to be doing.

• After installation, it is possible to open up the paths.txt file in the application directory and edit it so that it "points" to other CD drives that will contain the CaseFinder discs. However, since CaseFinder Disc One does not need to be in the CD drive of the workstation for installation, it makes much more sense to simply put Disc One in one of those other CD drives, and install it from there.

6. From the Windows desktop of the workstation, go to the CD drive chosen in Step 5 and double-click setup.exe.

(Depending upon the settings of the workstation, when the CD disc is placed in the drive, it may or may not start up by itself [a process known as "autorun"]. If it does, double-clicking setup.exe is redundant.)

An InstallShield "wizard" will run, follwed by the blue CaseFinder Setup screen, in the middle of which the CaseFinder Welcome Screen, shown on the right, should appear:

Click Next.

The next window will display the CaseFinder License Agreement (shown at left). In order to proceed, you must click Yes indicating your acceptance of the terms and conditions of the License Agreement. You will need to scroll the text of the Agreement in order to read it all. A Print button is provided for your convenience, and you can also access the text of the agreement from within the CaseFinder program after it is installed. If you decline to accept the terms of the license agreement, click the No button, in which case the setup program will terminate and nothing will be copied to your computer.

The Choose Destination Location window appears (shown at right). This is where you will enter the location of the application folder determined in Step 2, above. Note that the default location for the application folder is "C:\Program Files\Casefinder," which is for a local (i.e., non-networked) installation. Click on the Browse button to bring up the Choose Folder window shown below.

From here, you can navigate to the application folder created in Step 2, above. When you get to the application folder, and the full path is displayed in the blank near the top of the Choose Folder window, click OK to bring up the Transfer Databases window, shown below.

When you click Yes at the Transfer Databases window, the Select Databases window, shown at left, will appear. This window lists all the databases that are available on both CaseFinder discs. Click in the check box beside each database that you wish to transfer from disc to hard drive. Note that you will need to scroll all the way to the end in order to see all the databases. Note also that the number of the disc containing each database is shown; when you want to transfer all of the databases from one disc, this will help.

By default, CaseFinder will transfer the selected databases to sub-folders underneath the application folder you selected in Setp 2. If you want to put them somewhere else, click on the Browse button, navigate to the folder under which you want the databases stored, and click OK.

As you select databases, this window will show how much space is Required for the databases you have selected, along with the free space Available on the selected hard drive. Clicking the Disk Space button will let you check available disk space on all accessible drives. When you're done selecting databases, etc., click Next.

The Select Program Folder window suggests the name for a program group that will appear in the Start menu of Windows. Accept the default by clicking Next.

A little window will ask if you want to create a shortcut. Click Yes.

At this point, the installation program starts copying files to the hard drive, making entries in the Windows Registry, etc., and an InstallShield Wizard (below) shows the progress of the installation. If you elected to transfer databases to the hard drive, the Wizard will show you which database is being transferred. The Wizard may prompt you for the other CaseFinder disk; simply remove the existing disc and place the other disc in the same drive.

When the installer has finished transferring all files and making all entries in the Registry, an Installation Complete window, shown above on the right, appears. Click on Finish to return to the windows desktop. Optionally, you can click the check boxes to view the Read Me file (which contains any late-breaking instructions) and/or to start CaseFinder.

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