PhraseExpress Network Edition - Manual

Document conventions

Introduction

System requirements

Installation of the Server

Installation of the Clients

Network communication

Server Configuration

Miscellaneous notes

Data backup

Keep PhraseExpress up-to-date

Uninstallation

Document Conventions

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• Bold, italic type in this documentation indicate either a procedure or menu items
• Filenames are printed in italic letters

This symbol indicates a useful hint

This symbol indicates very important notes and should be carefully read

Introduction

Basic text snippet utilities provide "networking functionality" just by using a shared file in a network. This simple approach can cause many problems such as synchronisation issues if multiple users try to edit phrases simultaneously.

The PhraseExpress Network Edition provides a powerful solution by providing a Windows server service plus a full-blown Client-Server architecture. The server service is set between the central phrase file and all connected clients and manages read/write access plus many additional benefits:

Your unique PhraseExpress advantages:

• Multiple users can share common phrases in a corporate network and even over the internet.
• The server access management prevents synchronization problems and hazardous write collision if multiple users attempt to edit the central phrase file.
• All clients can simultaneously use individual and shared phrases.
• All personal phrases are tied to your Windows user name. You always have your personal set of phrases on whichever PC you are logging on ('roaming profiles').
• PhraseExpress automatically switches to a local backup when disconnected from the network ("network phrase file cache") and reconnects to the server when network connection is available.
• The Client Manager allows to define read/write access rights from a central place.
• The phrase file is centrally stored including multiple incremental backups automatically created and managed by the PhraseExpress Server. No need for you to backup spread files.
• The phrase file and any PhraseExpress network traffic is securely encrypted.
• The Client Manager provides overview about the software version numbers of all installations.
• The integrated license key management saves you from authorizing the workstation installation applying license keys.
• The user interface can be restricted for individual users to prevent access to the workstation installation's program settings or editing phrases:
  
  
  
  This securely prevents users from making mistakes.

The PhraseExpress Network Edition is designed as a Client-/Server application and consist of three different programs. Following scheme is showing a typical installation:

Explanation

PhraseExpress component	Purpose	Notes
Server	Provides access to the central phrase file	The Server is running as a Windows Service on any computer which is networked to all workstation PCs.
Client Manager	Configures the Server Manages the Read/Write rigths of each individual workstation client Manages the license keys	The Client Manager ist a single program file which can be executed from any computer which has access to the Server PC. The Client Manager does not need access to the individual workstations.
Workstation installations	Provides the PhraseExpress functionality on the local workstations	The workstation installation is identical to the regular free single-user version. The only difference is the setting of the phrase file location, pointing to the Server PC IP address

System requirements

PhraseExpress Server:

• Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista
• TCP/IP connection to all workstations

Client Manager:

• Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista
• Network connection to the computer where the PhraseExpress Server service is running
• Temporary Internet connection for the license key authorization and optional check for software updates

Installation procedure

1. Install the PhraseExpress Server on the Server PC. This PC does not need to run a special special Windows Server operating system. It can be any regular OS which has network access to all desired workstations.
2. If you already have a phrase file (by default, it is named phrases.px3), copy this file onto the Server PC. Important note: The Server PC must have local access to the phrase file. You cannot use a remote network path for the phrase file. If any single-user PhraseExpress installation is found, setup offers to use this file for the PhraseExpress Server.
3. Install and launch the Client Manager on a computer which has network access to the Server PC. This can also be the Server PC itself of course.
4. Copy the list of purchased license keys into the corresponding input field of the Client Manager. Otherwise, PhraseExpress Server runs in demo mode and will disconnect all workstation installation after a couple of hours.
5. If the Client Manager is not running on the Server PC, enter the computer name of the Server PC in the Client Manager or let the Client Manager search for the Server PC.

Client installations

Install the regular PhraseExpress single-user software (Download) without entering any license key on all desired workstation PCs.

Enterprise Deployment

PhraseExpress does not include any specific deployment features like a MSI installer but you can setup a reference installation and make any desired settings. Then you can distribute the program folder /programs/phraseexpress/*.* plus the config5.ini configuration file to any workstation.

All settings you make as a particular user are stored in the file config5.ini in your user(!) application data folder. This must be copied to the common(!) application data folder on the remote computers. Upon first program launch, PhraseExpress then automatically copies the config to the user's application data folder.

PhraseExpress >v4.0 does not store any user setting in the Windows registry

Command line parameters for the PhraseExpress installation file

Command line parameter	Explanation
/SILENT /VERYSILENT	Instructs Setup to be silent or very silent. When Setup is silent the wizard and the background window are not displayed but the installation progress window is. When a setup is very silent this installation progress window is not displayed. Everything else is normal so for example error messages during installation are displayed. If a restart is necessary and the '/NORESTART' command isn't used (see below) and Setup is silent, it will display a Reboot now? message box. If it's very silent it will reboot without asking.
/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES	Instructs Setup to suppress message boxes. Only has an effect when combined with '/SILENT' and '/VERYSILENT'.
/SERVER=auto /SERVER=IP address:Port	When you intend to use PhraseExpress with the PhraseExpress Server, you can specify the server's IP address and port via command line. This command line option does also generally enable the networking feature in PhraseExpress like /NETWORK does. When using /SERVER=auto, PhraseExpress will automatically search for the server.
/UDP=port number	The Client always tries to find the Server via a UDP 1036 broadcast poll and additionally via UDP 1050 in case if UDP 1036 is occupied in your network. You can change the Secondary UDP port to a custom port: Example: /UDP=1062
/NETWORK	Enables the networking functionality of the PhraseExpress client installation.
/NOSTATS	Disables the PhraseExpress statistics function
/IGNORECAPSLOCK	Enables the PhraseExpress to ignore accidentally hitting the CAPSLOCK key
/NOHOTKEYCHECK	Installs PhraseExpress with the hidden setting which disables the hotkey plausability check. This allows to define phrase hotkeys even with a single letter key (which is not recommended and only suitable for special requirements).
/NOTEXTPREDICTION	Installs PhraseExpress with the text prediction feature disabled..
/NOTEXTPREDICTION	Installs PhraseExpress with the text prediction feature disabled.
/NOCLIPBOARDCACHE	Installs PhraseExpress with the clipboard cache feature disabled.
/NOLASTUSED	Installs PhraseExpress with the Last Used folder deactivated.
/NOLAUNCH	Instructs Setup not to launch PhraseExpress after installation.
/LOG /LOG="filename"	Causes Setup to create a log file in the user's TEMP directory detailing file installation and actions taken during the installation process. This can be a helpful debugging aid. For example, if you suspect a file isn't being replaced when you believe it should be (or vice versa), the log file will tell you if the file was really skipped, and why. The log file is created with a unique name based on the current date. (It will not overwrite or append to existing files.). The information contained in the log file is technical in nature and therefore not intended to be understandable by end users. Nor is it designed to be machine-parseable; the format of the file is subject to change without notice.
/NOCANCEL	Prevents the user from cancelling during the installation process, by disabling the Cancel button and ignoring clicks on the close button. Useful along with '/SILENT'.
/NORESTART	Instructs Setup not to reboot even if it's necessary.
/RESTARTEXITCODE=exit code	Specifies the custom exit code that Setup is to return when a restart is needed. Useful along with '/NORESTART' The Setup program may return one of the following exit codes: 0 Setup was successfully run to completion. 1 Setup failed to initialize. 2 The user clicked Cancel in the wizard before the actual installation started, or chose "No" on the opening "This will install..." message box. 3 A fatal error occurred while preparing to move to the next installation phase (for example, from displaying the pre-installation wizard pages to the actual installation process). This should never happen except under the most unusual of circumstances, such as running out of memory or Windows resources. 4 A fatal error occurred during the actual installation process. Note: Errors that cause an Abort-Retry-Ignore box to be displayed are not fatal errors. If the user chooses Abort at such a message box, exit code 5 will be returned. 5 The user clicked Cancel during the actual installation process, or chose Abort at an Abort-Retry-Ignore box. 6 The Setup process was forcefully terminated by the debugger (Run | Terminate was used in the IDE). Before returning an exit code of 1, 3, or 4, an error message explaining the problem will normally be displayed.
/LOADINF="filename"	Instructs Setup to load the settings from the specified file after having checked the command line. This file can be prepared using the '/SAVEINF=' command as explained below. Don't forget to use quotes if the filename contains spaces.
/SAVEINF="filename"	Instructs Setup to save installation settings to the specified file. Don't forget to use quotes if the filename contains spaces.
/DIR="x:\dirname"	Overrides the default directory name displayed on the Select Destination Location wizard page. A fully qualified pathname must be specified.
/GROUP="folder name"	Overrides the default folder name displayed on the Select Start Menu Folder wizard page.
/TASKS="comma separated list of task names"	Specifies a list of tasks that should be initially selected or deselected. To deselect a task, prefix its name with a "!" character. Only the specified tasks (and their children) will be selected; the rest will be deselected. Example: Deselect all tasks, then select the "desktopicon" and "fileassoc" tasks: /TASKS="desktopicon".

Above command-line parameter apply to the installation setup file only. For command-line parameter for the program file, see here.

Network communication

After launching the PhraseExpress client on the workstation, it is searching for the Server via UDP Port 1036 and automatically connects to the first PhraseExpress Server found.

You can also manually enter the Server PC address if no server is found: Select Settings Tab Edit Phrases Click the root element of the phrases tree in the upper left (the PhraseExpress program icon ) Click the Details button on the right Click the Network button and enter the Server PC's IP address.

If you intend to use many workstation installations, you may be interested in the command line parameters you can use for the workstation installations.

Server configuration

The PhraseExpress Server is always automatically launched with the Server PC launch. Windows applications running as a service generally do not have a user interface and are running invisible in the background by design.

The PhraseExpress Server is configured using the Client Manager.In the Client Manager you define all desired settings and then send the parameters to the Server service by clicking the Update button. All clients will be temporarily disconnected and reconnected for a very short time when changes take effect on the Server service. While the clients are disconnected, they cannot make any changes to the phrase file.

Fatal error messages are displayed in red colors in the Client Manager

It is not required to run the Server and the Client Manager on the same computer but you may try this configuration to eliminate any risk of communication problems between the Server and the Client Manager.

Server Tab

The Server tab of the Client Manager allows to define basic communication settings:

If the Client Manager is running on the same computer as the Server service then just keep the "." (without "") as the Server location. Otherwise enter the name of the computer where the PhraseExpress Server is running.

Define the TCP port which is used for the communication between the PhraseExpress Server and the workstation installations. Only change this setting if the default TCP port is already occupied by another application in your network.

Avoid using ports which are well-known to be used by other software (e.g. any port below 1025)

You may need to configure the firewalls on all workstations when changing the TCP port

Phrase file tab

Here you can enter the phrase file location on the Server PC harddisk:

The phrase file must reside locally on the Server PC.

If you have a phrase file of the previous version 2, please convert to the new v3 format first. You can do that with any PhraseExpress workstation installation (Refer to Chapter "Import/Export")

The server keeps backups of any phrase file change in the folder /PhraseExpress backup, located in the same folder as the main phrase file. You can define here, how many versions shall be stored.

You can also decide whether any change of the phrase file shall be instantly updated on all workstations. If disabled, phrase file changes will take effect upon the next launch of the PhraseExpress client program on the workstation.

This option takes only affect on workstation with read-only rights to the phrase file. Clients with write access are always updated

Monitor tab

In the Monitor tab, all status information and connected workstations with their license key associations are displayed:

Clients with a license key association which are not currently connected with the server are displayed in grey.

A license key associations can be removed by right-clicking the desired entry. Such clients will catch a new license keys on re-connection.

You can set write access rights ("W") for individual users or remove the menu option to access the configuration ("C") on the workstation installations. You can also change this settings for all users simultaneously by (un)ticking the check box in the title row and confiming with the Set button.

The check boxes next to the Set buttons also define the default settings for clients who connect for the first time.

If you try to remove write access from a user who is currently editing phrases, you will receive a warning message. Please avoid removing write access while a user is working on the phrase file as it may confuse the user.

License keys tab

Please copy&paste all purchased license keys using the Windows clipboard and click the Update button. An internet connection is required as the license keys are validated online.

Licensing

Whenever a PhraseExpress workstation installation connects to the Server, a license key from the pool of available license keys will be tied to the combination of workgroup/user name or workgroup/computer name/user name as defined in the settings

Explanation:

Combination	Notes
Workgroup/User Name (default)	A user can use PhraseExpress on one PC only. PhraseExpress must be shut down before it can be used in any other simultaneous session.
Workgroup/Computer name/User Name	A user can use PhraseExpress simultaneously on multiple PCs. However, a separate license key is occupied for each such simultaneous session.

The license key association is permanent even if the client is not currently connected to the PhraseExpress Server. You can however remove any association in the Monitor of the Client Manager.

This licensing system assures that PhraseExpress provides each user his personal phrases indendepent of the computer he logs onto ('roaming profiles').

PhraseExpress adds the string "_TS" (without "") to the computer name if installed within a TerminalServer session. This allows to use PhraseExpress in a TerminalServer session and on the host PC simultaneously.

You can install PhraseExpress on an unlimited number of computers in the network. The number of license keys defines the number of users which can simultaneously access the PhraseExpress Server. You can purchase and add additional license keys at any time.

Client Installation states

The local Client Installation can work in three states which are indicated in the application's title bar or when you hover over the PhraseExpress tray icon:

Title bar text	Description
PhraseExpress (red program icon)	This is the default mode of the free standard version. If the free PhraseExpress (vs. PhraseExpress Pro) connects to a PhraseExpress Server, it always switches from the local to the network phrase file. If disconnected from the server it keeps looking for the Server until you manually define another phrase file location. If the administrator has restricted access to the configuration, you cannot change the phrase file location and any such menu item is removed. In order to change the setting, you would need network access again and the right to edit phrases granted by the administrator via the Client Manager. If you wish to automatically switch between the network and the local phase file, you would need to obtain a Pro Edition license (see also below).
PhraseExpress Pro (red program icon)	If you have entered a Pro Edition license key into the local workstation installation, the installation is converted to the Pro Edition. PhraseExpress Pro automatically reverts to the local phrase file whenever the server connection is lost. Important: Any change to the local file are not applied to the network phrase file as it is independent. If you have activated the option Prefer network phrase file in the workstation installation's setting, PhraseExpress Pro automatically switches back to the network phrase file whenever it finds the Server again. The option Automatically switch to local phrase file on network disconnection will let PhraseExpress automatically switch back to the local phrase file whenever the network connection is lost. This behaviour is handy, when you undock a Laptop from the network and you can still work with the local phrase file. Please note, that you may not notice this (silent) switch and any change you make on the local file will not be synchronized with the network phrase file.
PhraseExpress Network (green program icon)	The client is successfully connected to the PhraseExpress Server and uses the central phrase file.

 

There is no license key input required on the workstation installation if you do not wish to use PhraseExpress without network connection

Miscellaneous notes

• If the workstation installation loses access to the Server PC, the user can continue to use PhraseExpress in read-only mode but cannot alter or create new phrases until the connection is re-established ('network cache').
• If certain users have no write access to the phrase file, all menu entries to create or alter phrases are automatically removed.
• If certain users are not allowed to access the configuration, such menu entries are removed. This can be set by the administrator in the Client Manager.
• If multiple users have write access rights and if one user is currently editing a phrase, all other users temporarily have no access to functions to alter phrases until the editing process is finalized.
• Depending on the PhraseExpress Server configurations, changes to the phrase file may either be transmitted to all clients instantly or upon the next program launch on the workstation.

Data backup

PhraseExpress automatically creates backups of the phrase file each time you save changes to the phrase file. The backup file is located in the folder /PhraseExpress backup, located in the same folder as the main phrase file and has the file extension .bak. You can set the amount of backup file versions in the Client Manager. PhraseExpress automatically deletes the oldest backup file first.

If you would like to discard accidental changes to your phrase file of if the original phrase file cannot be read anymore, please do the following:

1. Close PhraseExpress
2. Delete the current phrase file with the file extension .pxp or move it to another folder
3. Remove the file extension .bak of the backup file. It should then have the .pxp extension
4. Launch PhraseExpress again and the backup file will now be used as the new main phrase file. A new backup file will automatically created when you save any changes to your phrase file

Keeping PhraseExpress up-to-date

We continuously improve PhraseExpress and you can keep the program up-to-date with the built-in internet update check.

To check manually for updates, connect your computer to the internet and in the Client Manager select the tab Online Updates Check now

If the menu item is missing, please contact your system administrator who may have disabled the option to avoid operating errors

The online update feature on the client installations is deactivated they are connected to the PhraseExpress Server of the Network Edition

Uninstallation

PhraseExpress can be uninstalled via Start Programs PhraseExpress Server Uninstall PhraseExpress Server

Please note that for data security reasons, the phrase file is not deleted when uninstalling the PhraseExpress Server. You can safely delete this file manually if you do not need your phrase file anymore.