Network installation lets you install Acces4 once so that several workstations connected to the network can use it.

Network Installation at a Glance

  1. Install Acces4 on a workstation
  2. Copy the Acces4 installation to a server and configure It
  3. Ensure .NET 2.0 is installed on the workstations
  4. Run accespol.bat on the workstations
  5. Create an Acces shortcut on the workstations

A network installation is recommended whenever Acces4 is run on many workstations at the same site. The installation can be performed on any file server that the target workstations have access to, either through mapped network drives or UNC paths.

Step 1: Install Acces4 on a Workstation

Go to a workstation and insert the Acces CD into the drive. The setup wizard should start. If it does not, open the CD in My Computer and double-click the setup.msi file. Choose Custom installation and change the install location to an easy-to-remember folder, like C:\ACCES4.

Step 2: Copy the Acces4 Installation to a Server and Configure It

After the program is installed on the workstation, copy the entire C:\ACCES4 folder to your server. For the purpose of these notes, let's assume you copy the contents of the folder to \\Server\Apps\Acces4.

After copying Acces to the server, double-click the anetcnf.exe file in the \\Server\Apps\Acces4 folder. This automatically updates a file called \\Server\Apps\Acces4\miktex\config\paths.ini. In addition to updating paths.ini, it will create a batch file named accespol.bat, which is used later in step 4.

Once the files are copied to the server and anetcnf.exe is run, you can uninstall Acces from the workstation. To do this, go to Start Menu > All Programs > Acces 4 > Uninstall Acces 4.

Step 3: Ensure .NET 2.0 is installed on the workstations

To check if .NET 2.0 is installed on a workstation, go to Start Menu > Control Panel, then open Add or Remove Programs. Scroll through the list and look for an entry called "Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0". If that doesn't exist, install .NET 2.0 by running the dotnetfx.exe on the Acces CD.

Depending on how your network is set up, you might be able to install the .NET Framework automatically without having to physically visit every workstation. Active Directory users can deploy the Framework following the directions at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa480236.aspx

Step 4: Run accespol.bat on the workstations

Log on to each workstation as an administrator, open \\Server\Apps\Acces4 and double-click the accespol.bat file. Doing so will automatically run a command like the following:

%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\caspol.exe -m -q -ag 1.2 -url file://server/apps/acces4/* FullTrust -n "EducAide Acces"

This batch file needs to be run only once for each workstation.

By default, .NET programs have restricted rights when running from any remote location, including intranet shares. The above command grants Acces the same rights it would have if it were installed locally on the workstation. Without these rights, users will see a security exception when they try to launch the Acces program. For more information on Security Policy Management, visit msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/c1k0eed6(vs.71).aspx

The easiest way to run this command on all your workstations is to use your network management system to configure your workstations to run the accespol.bat file on Windows Startup.

Step 5: Create an Acces4 shortcut on the workstations

All that's left is to create shortcuts on the workstations pointing to the \\Server\Apps\Acces4\acces.exe file on your server. Unlike Acces 3.x, the start-in folder for the shortcut does not need to be changed.

Final Note:

The network path to the Acces folder must be the same across all workstations that will be using Acces. If you're using mapped network drives, make sure the mapping on each workstation uses the same drive letter and network path.