IssuesWithVista

Suggestions from Joe Nabity regarding NPGS compatibility issues with Win 7 and/or Vista.

Email from Joe to Adam March 2010

The office installation of NPGS v9 can be run under Vista and Windows 7
(non-Home versions).

The main issues for running the office installation of NPGS v9 under Vista
and Windows 7 are:

1) The Windows login must either have Administrator privileges or it must
have full read and write privileges for the entire \NPGS directory
structure. This same requirement applies to Windows XP and is described in
the NPGS Installation Guide and also in the NPGS Manual under “System
Installation: Software” where it says:

In order to run NPGS in a non-Administrator login under XP {and also
Vista/Win7}, you must set the file permissions for the NPGS directory to
allow other users to have full access to the files. Using Windows
Explorer, select the NPGS directory, right click, then select "Properties".
On the "Security" tab, set the file permissions to allow "Full Control" to
each user that will run NPGS. Alternately, in some Windows versions, you
can give "Full Access" to "Power Users", which will allow anyone with Power
User accounts to run NPGS. If the Security tab is not present, go to
"Tools" on the Windows Explorer menu, select "Folder Options" then the
"View" tab and remove the check from "Use simple file sharing" (at the
bottom of the list). After completing this step, the "Security" tab should
be modified as described above (hit "View – Refresh" on Windows Explorer,
if the Security tab is not initially displayed). An alternate sequence to
enable the Security tab is from the Control Panel (Classic View) - Folder
Options - View tab or Control Panel (Category View) – Appearance and Themes
– Folder Options – View tab. {The exact steps may vary in Vista/Win7.}

2) An issue unique to Vista and Windows 7 is that Microsoft does not
include support for the Windows WinHelp32 (.hlp) file format. This format
is used for the popup help in NPGS which is very useful, since it provides
answers to most new user questions. The following web sites have a free
download from Microsoft which will add the WinHelp support under Vista and
Windows 7:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917607 - General Info and Download Links

To directly download WinHlp32.exe for Win 7:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=166421

To directly download WinHlp32.exe for Vista:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=82148

Note that this file allows the very useful popup help to work in NPGS, but
it is not required for the overall operation of NPGS. However, it is
highly recommended, since this convenient, popup help can answer most new
user questions.

3) Regarding DesignCAD, the latest release of NPGS v9 now supports both
DesignCAD v16.2 and the older DesignCAD LT 2000 (both can be installed
simultaneously, if desired). DesignCAD v16.2 works fine with Vista and
Windows 7, while the LT 2000 version may have some random performance
issues and is not recommended for Vista/Win7.

4) Another file not found in Vista/Win7 which may be needed is "d3drm.dll".
This is used for some graphics functions and may affect the performance of
DesignCAD. It can be found online or in C:\WINDOWS\system32 on a system
with XP.

The only other known issue (which causes a run time error in NPGS) is when
a non-US version of Windows is used and the Windows ‘decimal character’ is
not set as a period.

The microscope installation of NPGS can now also run under Vista or Windows
7 Professional or higher. To do so, an updated board driver is required,
which can be sent by e-mail.

Regarding the Home versions of Windows, users have reported problems even
after doing the steps described above, while with Professional versions as
far as I know, the above details have always made things work. I haven't
tested a Home version myself, so I don't know if there may be some subtle
setting which will also allow it to work. The problem appears to be with
the file access permissions, so I suspect that it is an intentional
limitation put in place by Microsoft to differentiate the more expensive
versions from the Home version. If you know how to make the Home version
work like the Professional versions for NPGS use, please let me know.

Joe

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