XMetaL® XMAX™ 19.0 Install Readme

Important Digital Signature Changes

Effective January 1, 2016, Microsoft has mandated that software vendors digitally sign their products using the SHA256 algorithm. All XMetaL 11.0 and newer products are signed using the mandated SHA256 algorithm. As a result of using this new signing algorithm, attempts to install the software on older unsupported Windows systems will fail. Please confirm the system requirements are met.

Important License Changes for version 7.0 and 8.0 users

Since the release of version 9.0, the XMetaL software no longer requires an Internet connection to register or unregister a per-seat license. Users with a version 7.0 or 8.0 license file should receive a new license file (e.g. XMAX.lic) as required to activate this software.

For concurrent licenses, a new version of the XMetaL License Server (XMLS) software must be installed. The new XMLS software does not require an Internet connection to register or unregister. A new product license file (e.g. XMLS-XMAX.lic) must be added to your XMLS server. See the new XMLS User Guide for more details.

Note: Older .lic files are incompatible with this version.

Contact your JustSystems Sales representative if you have further licensing-related questions.

XMetaL XMAX Desktop Installation

The installer includes the following components:
  • XMetaL XMAX 19.0
  • XMetaL Forms Toolkit runtime (XFT)
  • XMetaL-Authoring-Customization (XAC) Provider System runtime (XPS)
  • WritingTools Spell Checker
  • WritingTools Dictionaries

System requirements

  • Microsoft Windows 10, 11 (32-bit or 64-bit) or Server 2016
  • Color display with a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher
  • Minimum 250 MB of disk space (800 MB recommended)
  • MSXML v3.0 (Msxml3.dll, version 8.00.7820.0 or later)

If you are installing the software from a Limited User account, you must provide an Administrator ID and password in order to run the XMetaL XMAX installer.

Third-party software

Installing Microsoft XML (MSXML) Parser Technology

XMAX uses MSXML to enable DTD validation. If you do not have the correct version of this DLL installed, the installer will warn you and give you the option to automatically install it. You can also launch the MSXML Parser Installer from the Web site MSXML Core Services 6.0 Service Pack 2.

Licensing and Product Activation

Activating your XMetaL XMAX software is required in order to be fully licensed to use the software. The license information required for activation is provided by a license file.

When XMetaL XMAX is started without a full license and asked to load an XML file, you will be prompted with three options:
  • Activate - Allows you to select a license file. Choose this option if you have been supplied with a license file (e.g. XMAX.lic).
  • Continue Trial - This options is disabled for XMetaL XMAX.
  • Exit - Stop loading XML file and display no-license watermark.

Uninstalling XMAX on a local machine

You can uninstall XMAX from Add/Remove Programs on the Control Panel.

This removes all product files (except for files that exist in the WINSYS folder and which may be shared by other products), product shortcut icons, and product registry settings that were created when the product was first installed.

Other types of User Data, which might be files that were created directly by the user or that contain user preferences that a customer may wish to re-use in a later version installation, are not removed at uninstallation time. If you wish to remove them you must remove them manually after uninstallation has completed.

To uninstall XMAX

  1. Choose Settings from the Start menu, and then Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  3. Select XMetaL XMAX.
  4. Click Change/Remove.
  5. Click OK to uninstall the complete product.

Silent installer

You can install XMetaL XMAX silently from the command line. If you obtained a single .exe file (sometimes referred to as the "web installer") you need to unpack it to obtain the "real" installer as follows:
Note: If you obtained XMetaL XMAX on CD you can skip this section.

  1. Run the installer's .exe file.
  2. When you are prompted for a location to unpack the installer to, specify a location you can easily locate and interact with at a command prompt.
  3. The installer will be unpacked to the location you specified and the dialog box should say "Extracting Files" (or something similar). You will know all files have been unpacked when the "real" installer has launched itself and is displaying a splash screen with the XMetaL logo and options similar to the following:
    • View Installation Guide
    • Install XMetaL XMAX
    • Exit
  4. Terminate this process once all files have been unpacked by selecting the Exit option.
  5. Confirm the location you specified in step 2 contains a number of folders and files, including a file called setup.exe and possibly a file called autorun.inf among others. These files and folders are what you would obtain if you obtained the product on CD.

You will need to use the XMetaL XMAX.msi file under the XMAX folder to install XMetaL XMAX silently. Using a license file with the silent installer is optional. If the license file is named XMAX.lic and is placed in the same folder as the XMetaL XMAX.msi file, the installer will automatically use it. Use the XMETAL_LICENSE_PATH parameter when a license file is not in the same folder as the MSI file or the name of the license file is not XMAX.lic. If a license file is not used, the XMETAL_LICENSE_PATH is not required. The license file is provided by JustSystems or by your system administrator.

Use the following syntax to silently install: 
msiexec /i "path of XMetaL XMAX.msi file" /qn XMETAL_LICENSE_PATH=path of license file
Note: The XMETAL_LICENSE_PATH parameter is required only when the license file is not in the same folder as the MSI file or the name of the license file is not XMAX.lic.
Use the following syntax to silently uninstall: 
msiexec /x "path of XMetaL XMAX.msi file" /qn
To get more options pertaining to the silent installation, run msiexec in another Command Prompt without any options.
Note: If you wish to use the copy of XMetaL XMAX on another computer, you no longer need to unregister XMetaL XMAX before uninstalling. See Licensing and Product Activation.

Known issues

After uninstalling XMetaL, some of the XMAX customization dialogs and spell-checking features may stop working.

The implementation of certain XMetaL features requires the use of dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) that are shared with other XMetaL products. In a system with multiple XMetaL installations, removing one product may cause remaining products to lose certain features.

To correct this issue, goto the Add/Remove Program control panel, select the XMetaL product which is not working, click the "Change" option and wait for the installation wizard to appear. After the installation wizard appears, follow the wizard's instructions and choose the "Repair" option when presented.

"Registration failed" message displayed

Confirm your CPU has a working internet connection and check that there a firewall is not blocking Tcp/ip port 443 as this port (https) is used by XMAX to communicate with a XMetaL license server.

Also check you have unused licenses available to allocate. If you have a XMetaL License server on-site, check with your IT administrator. Otherwise, contact XMetaL Support.

Installing XMAX without Administrative privileges

The XMAX Setup program warns you if you do not have sufficient privileges to perform the installation (e.g., if you are logged in as a normal or restricted user). The solution is to install XMAX on Windows by logging in as a User who has Administrative privileges.

Stand-alone WritingTools installation works only for end-users with Administrative privileges

If the spellchecker feature is deployed using the stand-alone WritingTools installer, end-users need administrator privileges to perform spellchecks.

Anti-virus program interference

Anti-virus programs sometimes interfere with the installation process, causing the installer to hang, usually within a short time after it starts up. If you encounter this problem, and you have any type of anti-virus program installed on your PC, disable it while you are installing XMAX.

Multiple installations on the same machine

Multiple installations of XMAX on a single machine are not supported.

To prevent multiple installations, installers that call the XMAX installer must be well-configured. When distributing an installer (or uninstaller) that includes the XMAX installer, you should configure your installer as follows:

  • Do not install XMAX if it is already installed
  • Do not uninstall XMAX if there is another application on the local machine that requires XMAX as a component