This file contains late-breaking information about setting up and running Visio on a network. We recommend you read this file and keep a printed copy with your Visio documentation. For other late-breaking information about installing and running Visio, see the README.TXT file.
Tip: If necessary, choose Word Wrap from the Notepad Edit menu to wrap the text within the document window.
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NETWORK LICENSING INFORMATION
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To run Visio on a network where multiple users have access to the product, you need additional licenses. You can get additional licenses by purchasing additional retail packages of Visio or by purchasing license packs.
A license pack, which authorizes either one or ten additional users, includes a product license, a serialized registration card, and a documentation order form. You can use the product license in any of these three ways:
(1) Grant of License for Non-Networked Workstations
With this licensing option, you purchase one additional license for each additional designated workstation. For example, if ten users access Visio on ten workstations, you need one full copy of Visio and nine additional licenses. If the ten users access Visio on two designated workstations, you need one full version of Visio and one additional license.
(2) Grant of License for Metered Concurrent Usage over a Network
With this licensing option, you can install Visio on a network and allow as many users to access the product concurrently as you have licenses. For example, if you have ten licenses, ten users can use the product concurrently. Your network must have a software metering mechanism that monitors and controls the number of users accessing the software.
(3) Grant of License for Non-Metered Usage over a Network
With this licensing option, you can set up as many designated workstations as you have licenses. For example, if you have ten licenses, you can set up ten designated workstations. This option is designed for networks that do not have software metering mechanisms.
For more information on network use policies, please see your Visio license agreement. If you have any questions, you can call Shapeware Product Licensing at 206-521-4500 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time, or send a fax to 206-521-4501. You can also write to:
Shapeware Corporation
Attention: Product Licensing
1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 800
Seattle, WA 98101-1625
USA
To order Visio License Packs, contact your reseller or contact our Customer Service Department. Customers from the United States and Canada can call 800-446-3335. Customers from other countries can call 303-743-9533, or fax orders to 303-695-0555. You can also mail orders to:
Shapeware Corporation
Attention: Customer Service
P.O. Box 22063
Denver, Colorado 80222
USA
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NETWORK SETUP INFORMATION
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Setting up Visio on a network is a two-step process: First, you install Visio on the network server; second, you set up the workstations so they can either run Visio from the server or from each workstation's hard disk.
For details about setting up Visio on a network so that multiple workstations can use it from the server, see Section A.1 of this document. For details about running Visio from a server on a workstation, see Section A.2. For details about setting up Visio files on a network server so that the program can be loaded onto the hard disks of individual workstations, see Section B.1. For details about copying Visio onto your workstation hard disk, see Section B.2.
1. From a workstation, log on to the network and connect to
the drive where you want to install Visio.
2. If it is not already running, start Windows.
3. Insert Disk 1-Setup in a drive.
4. From the File menu, choose Run.
5. Type the drive letter of the drive and setup /n. For
example, type:
a:\setup /n
/n creates a directory called Visio\System where the system files required by Visio are stored.
6. Follow the instructions on your screen.
7. Setup asks where you want to install Visio. Type the path to the directory on the server where the Visio program will reside. For example, type:
e:\visio
8. If you run a shared copy of Visio from the network, mark the Visio directory as read-only. You can do this in File Manager. Although the Visio program directory on the server (the directory containing VISIO.EXE) can be either read-write or read-only, you should make it read-only to prevent users from unintentionally overwriting files.
Also, the VISIO.INI file is not an installed file. It is created automatically by Visio the first time the application is started. By default, VISIO.INI is created in the same directory as VISIO.EXE. However, if VISIO.EXE is marked read-only or the directory that contains VISIO.EXE is marked read-only, VISIO.INI is created in your personal Windows directory. By maintaining your own copy of VISIO.INI as opposed to a shared copy, you can customize Visio according to your preferences.
IMPORTANT NOTE: To run Visio, you must first set up each workstation using the procedure described in the following section.
A.2 >> To run Visio from the server:
1. On each workstation, create a Program Manager group and one or more icons for the Visio application. The command line for the icons should include the drive and directory on the server where the Visio program resides. For example:
e:\visio\visio.exe
You can also include a template or other drawing file as a parameter. For example:
e:\visio\visio.exe e:\visio\template\basic.vst
2. Use Windows File Manager to locate the Visio system directory on the network. For example:
e:\visio\system
3. Copy all the files in the network directory to the Windows system directory on the workstation hard disk. For example:
c:\windows\system
4. Choose Run from the File menu and type "regedit" at the prompt to launch the Microsoft Registration Information Editor.
5. Choose the OLE2.REG file (located in your Windows System directory) and choose OK.
6. Choose Run from the File menu and type "regedit" to launch the Microsoft Registration Information Editor again.
7. Choose OLE2AUTO.REG (located in your Windows System directory) and choose OK.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You MUST go through the registration process described in the previous steps on each workstation before running Visio. Otherwise, Visio will not run properly.
8. Start Visio by double-clicking on the icon. A private copy of the VISIO.INI file is automatically created in your personal Windows directory the first time you start the program.
Hint: Specify an alternative path for your drawing files by adding the following line to the [application] section of your VISIO.INI file:
[application]
DrawingsPath=c:\visio\drawings\*.vsd
By default, Visio looks first in the Visio subdirectory named Drawings for drawing files. If you are running a shared copy of Visio, this directory is likely to be marked read-only. If you would like the primary location for drawing files to be elsewhere, you can substitute any valid path for c:\visio\drawings. This will cause Visio to look in the specified directory whenever you open an existing file or save a new file.
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B. Placing Visio Files on a Network Server
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Visio has an administrative setup option that you can use to place Visio files on a network server. This option does not set up a copy of Visio that you can run; instead it transfers the files from the Visio Setup disks to the network drive in their compressed format. After the Visio files are in a directory on the network, users can connect to the directory and run the Setup program to set up Visio for their workstations.
B.1 >> To place Visio files on a network server:
1. From a workstation, log on to the network and connect to the drive on which you want to install Visio.
2. If it is not already running, start Windows.
3. Insert Disk 1-Setup in a drive.
4. From the File menu, choose Run.
5. Type the drive letter of the drive and setup /a. For example, type:
a:setup /a
6. Follow the instructions on your screen.
7. Setup asks where you want to install Visio. Type the path to the directory on the server where the Visio program will reside. For example, type:
e:\visio
B.2 >> To install Visio so that it runs from a local workstation
Installing from a network server is a time-saving, convenient alternative to installing Visio from disks. Before installing Visio on any workstations, you must be in compliance with the terms of your Visio license agreement. For details, see "Network Licensing Information" earlier in this file.
1. From the workstation, log on to the network and connect to the drive that contains Visio.
2. Start Windows, if it is not already running.
3. From the File menu, choose Run.
4. Type the complete path to where Visio is installed on the network, followed by setup. For example, type:
e:\visio\setup
5. Follow the instructions on your screen to install Visio. When Setup asks where you want to install Visio, type the path to the directory on your workstation where the Visio program will reside. For example, type:
c:\visio
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USING VISIO ON A NETWORK
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Using Visio on a network is essentially the same as using Visio on an individual computer. On the network, however, you can make a drawing available to other users and allow them to make changes to the file. You can also protect the file from changes.
Please keep the following issues in mind when using Visio on a network:
(1) When a Visio drawing file is opened in read/write mode, no other network user can access the file. (Even read-only access is denied.) Visio does, however, permit multiple users concurrent read-only access to files so they can share a single set of network stencils. Therefore, when stencil files are shared, it is important that no user open the files in read/write mode. As a safeguard, stencil files should have the read-only attribute set to prevent users from opening the files in read/write mode.
(2) You may see the messages ERROR 113, ERROR 115, or ERROR 116 when you use the Save or Save As commands to save a file that was previously saved to a network drive. That's because many networks unbundle permission attributes for directory access. The error occurs when an inconsistent set of permission attributes is applied to a directory. For Visio to save a file to a network directory, the user must have write, delete, rename, and file attribute change privileges. If the user does not have this complete set of attributes, Visio cannot save changes to the existing file. The changes are, however, saved to a temporary file in the Visio Drawings subdirectory and the name of the temporary file is displayed in a dialog box. Because this error is fatal, the file must be closed. (Any further work will be lost.) Be sure to note the filename displayed in the dialog box before you close the file.
To work around these errors, the network administrator can add a following line to the VISIO.INI file on the network server to alter Visio user privileges.
* To remove the user's file naming privileges, add NetFlags=1.
* To remove the user's file rename and delete privileges, add NetFlags=3.
If a VISIO user encounters ERROR 113, 115, or 116 when saving, Visio adds the appropriate line to the user's local VISIO.INI file. Though these VISIO.INI settings increase the time required to save files, they make it possible to save without error in a restricted network environment. Note also that NetFlags=3 may reduce Visio's error reporting capabilities.
