XMetaL® Author Essential 13.0 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 such as Windows XP will fail. Please confirm the system requirements are met.

Important License Changes for version 7.0 and 8.0 users

With the release of version 9.0 through 13.0, 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. XMES.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-XMES.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.

Important .EXE and .INI file name change

With the release of version 10.0, the XMetaL executable and configuration file names no longer incorporate a version number. Instead of xmetal10.exe or xmetal10.ini, the file names are simply xmetal.exe and xmetal.ini.

Installation Notes

These installation notes cover the following XMetaL Author Essential installations:

Limited User vs. Local Admin accounts

All installations of XMetaL Author are pre-configured to operate in an environment where end-users are assumed to have ‘Limited User’ account privileges. Programs running under such user accounts are normally restricted from writing to Program Files and similar folders along with writing to Windows HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT registry hives. XMetaL Author still has some features that require operating under a Local Admin user account in order to write to the Program Files folder. A prompt will appear warning the user of this restriction.

Features requiring Local Admin privileges

For all installations, features requiring Local Admin privileges (right-click and choose ‘Run as Administrator’) are disabled. Here are the features that are disabled:

  • Drag-and-drop operations to Resource Manager Assets tab
  • Right-click menu does not show Assets tab operations
  • UI for assigning or reassigning shortcut key to an All Users macro

Alternatively, you can use these features by running XMetaL Author in Administrator mode. Follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the XMetaL Author shortcut and choose ‘Run as Administrator’.
  2. Provide login account info of user with administrator privileges.
  3. Run operation requiring administrator privileges.

Note: The disabled features also require you to configure XMetaL Author for Local Admin privileges.

Note: Regardless of being qualified as limited-user or local-administrator, users MUST chose ‘Run as Administrator’.

Configuring XMetaL Author for Local Admin privileges

XMetaL Author is installed with the assumption that users have Limited User account privileges under Windows. If your users have Local Admin privileges, or if your XMetaL customization is not Vista/UAC-compatible (i.e. writes data to Program Files folders), or if you want to enable disabled features, you must set the following variable in the XMetaL configuration file (xmetal.ini): 

user_setting_mode=default // Use this value for local-admin environments
OR 
user_setting_mode=per_user // Use this value for limited-user environments - default setting
Note: Local Admin can modify the XMetaL settings and behavior. This will affect all the users.

Desktop installation

The installer includes the following components:

  • XMetaL Author Essential 13.0

System requirements

  • Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, or 2008/2012 Server
  • Pentium 133 MHz processor
  • 256 MB of available RAM (512 MB recommended)
  • Color display with a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher
  • Minimum 400 MB of disk space (700 MB recommended)
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 or newer
  • MSXML3.dll 8.0.7820.0 or newer (MSXML 3.0)
  • MSXML6.dll 6.20.5002.0 or newer (MSXML 6.0)

Special note for installations: 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 Author installer.

Before you begin

You must have a 9.0 compatible or newer license file to install this version. If you do not have a license file, contact Sales.

If you are installing this version onto a computer with an existing version of XMetaL Author Essential, please be aware that the software does not support installing or running two versions in the same Windows installation. If you somehow manage to do so neither version will function properly.

If your current version is:

  • 5.5 or earlier - Existing version must be manually removed before installing this version.
  • 6.0 through 12.0 - These older versions will automatically be removed by this installer.

If you must use two versions of the software on the same physical computer you may wish to install one version in a virtual machine running inside software such as VMWare, Virtual PC, or VirtualBox.

If you switch to another program while XMetaL Author Essential license activating dialog is in the foreground, you will not be able to switch back to it using Alt+tab. Minimize all other applications in order to reveal the licensing activation dialog once again.

Licensing and Product Activation

Activating your XMetaL Author Essential 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 is started without a full license, 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. XMES.lic).
  • Continue Trial - Allows you to continue with the trial version of XMetaL. The trial lasts 30 days from the time of installation.
  • Exit - Closes XMetaL.

To install XMetaL Author

  1. Double-click the web installer file, XMAU-ESSENTIAL-13.0-x64.exe for 64-bit native or XMAU-ESSENTIAL-13.0-x86.exe for 32-bit native (or setup.exe if you received the software on cdrom).
    Note: We recommend using the x86 installer unless you are integrating with x64 software specifically.

  2. Click Install XMetaL Author and proceed with the installation.

Per-User Deployment of Samples and Customizations

Samples files installed in the Program Files folder are deployed on a per-user basis by choosing the Help > Samples submenu item of interest. Customization files may also be deployed on a per-user basis if they are initially deployed in the Program Files folder.

If you need to re-deploy samples, remove the following folder for each user:

  • %userprofile%\My Documents\XMetaL\Samples

If you need to re-deploy customization files deployed in the Program Files folder, remove the corresponding sub-folder for each customization for each user. Note that the folder structure within the following folder mimics the folder structure of the customization files:

  • %userprofile%\Application Data\SoftQuad\XMetaL\13.0\gen

The full (expanded) path for %userprofile% varies depending on your Windows version and user account configuration, but generally follows this pattern:

C:\Users\{account name}\Application Data

Note: The %appdata% folder is a hidden folder on most Windows accounts.

Reinstalling or uninstalling XMetaL Author

You can re-run the installer from the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel.

If you have already installed XMetaL Author, the installer gives you options to Remove or Repair XMetaL Author (see below).

To access the Maintenance installer

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  3. Select XMetaL Author.
  4. Click Change/Remove.

    If you have already successfully installed this version of XMetaL Author, a dialog box appears with two options: Repair, and Remove.

  5. Enable an option and click Next.

Repair

Select Repair if you suspect that the currently installed product has become corrupted in some way. Repair reinstalls the same set of components installed in the previous installation.

Note: The files that the original installer unpacked must still be available if you choose this option.

In some cases there may be two or more choices that the installer can make when installing certain components. In this situation a dialog box appears asking for your preference.

Remove

Select Remove if you want to uninstall the complete product.

  • 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.
  • The registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SoftQuad\XMetaL x.x, which was created whenever you ran the XMetaL Author application, is removed along with all its sub-keys.
  • Some types of User personal settings are also removed. These data are created by XMetaL Author and not meant to persist from installation to installation. These types of data are removed from the user's personal settings folder (usually %APPDATA%\SoftQuad\XMetaL\...): *.tbr, xmetal.ini.

Other types of user data, such as files that were created directly by the user or that contain preferences that a user might want to re-use in a later version installation, are not removed at uninstallation time. If you want to remove them, you must delete them manually after uninstallation has completed. Such files may exist here:

  • Files that the user has created directly in the XMetaL installation folder.
  • Files in the User's personal settings folder. These may include preference data files such as *.css, *.mcr.

Silent installer

You can install XMetaL Author 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 Author on CD you can skip this section. )

  1. Run the installer's EXE.
  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 Author
    • 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 Author Essential.msi file under the xmetal folder to install XMetaL Author silently. Using a license file with the silent installer is optional. If the license file is named xmetal.lic and is placed in the same folder as the XMetaL Author Essential.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 xmetal.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 Author Essential.msi file" /qn

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 xmetal.lic.

Use the following syntax to silently uninstall: 

msiexec /x "path of XMetaL Author Essential.msi file" /qn

To get more options pertaining to the silent installation, run msiexec in another Command Prompt without any options.

Installing dictionaries

This release of XMetaL Author automatically installs all supported languages for spell checking and the thesaurus including the following:

Spell Checker:

  • Afrikaans
  • Catalan
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • English-Australian
  • English-Canadian
  • English-U.K.
  • English-U.S.
  • French-Canadian
  • French-National
  • Galacian
  • German-National
  • German-Swiss
  • Greek
  • Icelandic
  • Italian
  • Norwegian
  • Portuguese-Brazilian
  • Portuguese-National
  • Russian
  • Slovak
  • Sotho
  • Spanish-American
  • Spanish-National
  • Swedish
  • Tswana
  • Turkish
  • Xhosa
  • Zulu

Thesaurus:

  • US English
  • UK English
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Norwegian
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
  • Swedish

Configuring the spell checker to use Hunspell compatible dictionaries

This release can be configured to use Hunspell compatible dictionaries for spell checking. These can be used to extend or replace the languages included with the spell checker. They are the same standard Hunspell spell checking dictionary files supported by OpenOffice™ and some other applications.

Most of these files come with their own EULA and so it is up to you to obtain and deploy compatible .DIC and associated .AFF files for each language you want XMetaL Author to use. For additional and updated information on this subject please see Obtaining and Using Hunspell Compatible Dictionaries with XMetaL Author

Configuration:

Once you have a compatible .DIC file (and optional .AFF file) use the following the procedure to configure XMetaL Author to use them.

  1. Copy the Hunspell compatible dictionary file(s) to a computer with XMetaL Author installed. You may place these files in any folder you like. Note: For XMetaL Author to locate and use an .AFF file it must have the same name and be in the same folder as the .DIC file. In some cases this may mean you will need to rename the .AFF file to match the .DIC file.
  2. Launch XMetaL Author.
  3. Open any XML or SGML document in Tags On or Normal view (a document must be open to enable the Spell Checker).
  4. Open the spell checker dialog (labelled "Writing Tools") by selecting Tools > Spell Checker. If you are prompted to close the spell checker click the "No" button.
  5. Perform the following substeps only if the language is NOT in the list of default supported spell checking languages:
    1. Open the "Select Language" dialog by clicking Options > Language.
    2. Click the "Add..." button.
    3. Type a new "Language Code" and "Description" and click OK. You may invent these yourself. The only requirement is that the Language Code is not already used by a default language.
    4. From the "Language" list, select the new entry for the "Language Code" you just created.
    5. Enable (check) the "Save as default Writing Tools language" checkbox.
    6. Click OK.
    7. A dialog titled "Unsupported Language..." should appear.
    8. Click the "Find File..." button then browse to and select your Hunspell compatible .DIC file.
    9. Close the Writing Tools window.
  6. Perform the following substeps only if the language is ALREADY in the list of default supported spell checking languages:
    1. Open the "Main Word Lists" dialog by clicking Options > Main Word Lists.
    2. Click the "Add List..." button then browse to and select your Hunspell compatible .DIC file.
    3. (optional) Disable (deselect the checkbox) any files you do not wish to use for spell checking for this language. XMetaL Author will use all enabled files when looking for a match.
    4. Close the Main Word Lists dialog.
    5. Close the Writing Tools dialog.

Restart XMetaL Author to start spell checking with the newly added Hunspell dictionary.

If the language you have added a Hunspell dictionary for is not set as the "default Writing Tools" language you may wish to set it. There are other ways to spell check (using xml:lang and APIs) so this is not necessarily the case. Please refer to Help for information on spell checker functionality.

Installing XMetaL Author without Administrative Privileges

The XMetaL Author Installer Setup program warns you if you do not have permission to install XMetaL Author (for example, if you are logged in as a normal or restricted user). The solution is to install XMetaL Author on Windows by logging in as a user who has administrator privileges.

Citrix-compatible installations

XMetaL Author is now certified on Citrix Metaframe Presentation Server 4.0. The Citrix-compatible version of XMetaL uses the MSI-type installer and has specific installation prerequisites. There are also some minor functional differences in the software. These and other differences are detailed below.

The Citrix Installation Manager will install the MSI installer silently, so there is no user interaction.

The MSI installer cannot be modified or repaired through Add/Remove programs. It should be removed only from the Citrix Installation Manager.

MSI installer prerequisites

The following components must be installed on your server before XMetaL Author will operate correctly:

Note: Version numbers noted above are minimum versions.

Silent installer

You can create a silent installer packages for Citrix installations. To create a silent installer from Installation Manager, add the product serial number as a command line parameter.

  1. In the Citrix management console, select the XMetaL MSI installer.
  2. Click Yes to add command line parameters.
  3. In the MSI Attributes dialog, specify the serial number and all-users option using the following command line option: 
    XMETAL_LICENSE_PATH=path of license file

No command line parameters are required to un-install.

Drive remap support

XMetaL Author has been tested and operates properly when the Citrix drive remap feature is configured. Please ensure XMetaL Author is installed only after drive remap has been applied.

Citrix ‘Publish Application’ recommended settings

In Citrix environments, it is expected that the administrator will setup XMetaL Author prior to publishing the application to the Citrix users. If specializations or some pre-configuration is required using these features, the Citrix admin needs to toggle the 'user_setting_mode' variable (see Configuring XMetaL Author).

The Citrix Presentation Server requires you to do a ‘publish application’ in order to make XMetaL Author visible to your end users. The following settings are recommended or suggested minimum settings: 

Application Limits: Check 'Allow only one instance of application for each user'

Application Appearance: Session Window Size: 1024x768

Application Appearance: Colors: High Color (16-bit) or better

If you encounter problems, it is possible that the XMetaL document customization you are using is not Citrix-aware. In addition to the above ‘Publish Application’ settings, adjust the following setting: 

Application Location : Check 'Isolate Application'