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New camera license is not saved [solved - workaround for non standard windows folders]
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By:
DaveDp
Rank:
New Member
Topics:
10
From:
n/a
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Added:
11/17/2010 - 10:43 PM
I have just installed v4 with a Pro license and added an extra camera license. After adding the new license, saving the configuration and restarting AbelCam the list of camera licenses is blank.
I have read all the relevant forum topics and this does not seem to be covered anywhere. I have tried adding the license manually to the license file but this doesn't work (might be a different file).
As the camera license is not saved and the second camera cannot be used.
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By:
MelvinG
Rank:
Magna Cum Laude
Topics:
661
From:
Los Angeles, USA
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Added:
11/18/2010 - 03:14 AM
Did you remember to do File -> Save (on the menu bar) after using the Save button in the license entry form?
I can assure you the license saving functionality is not broken - I'm running 4.x with 9 cam licenses right here and now.
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By:
sse
Rank:
Forum Addict
Topics:
73
From:
n/a
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Added:
11/19/2010 - 05:46 PM
Dave, if you still have the same problem:
- go to the About screen
- click on Configuration folder
- do you see camlicense.txt in there?
you may insert the license manually as well, format it as shown here and make sure the line ends with a line feed. |
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By:
DaveDp
Rank:
New Member
Topics:
10
From:
n/a
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Added:
11/21/2010 - 03:31 PM
Thanks for the replies.
MelvinG - As noted in my original post the configuration is saved. The full process is:
1. Copy CameraLicense.... text from email.
2. Start AbelCam.
3. Open Configuration... Camera Licenses
4. Paste the license and manually add a carriage return.
5. File... Save... Yes
6. File... Exit
7. Restart AbelCam - default window is Camera Licenses and is blank. The license has not been saved.
SSE -
A. There is no camlicense.txt in the configuration folder.
B. Config folder is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users.WINDOWS\Application Data\Seiz System Engineering\AbelCam.
I've never understood why some Windows' builds create the Default User.WINDOWS and All Users.WINDOWS folders - I think it's something to do with the state of the new machine's connection to the network during the build.
C. The main license was saved OK so it shouldn't be a permissions problem, but possibly is.
D. I am logged in as Administrator and whilst AbelCam has saved the configs in the All Users.WINDOWS folder, there are also Administrator\Applications Data\AbelCam\Updates and Administrator\Seiz System Engineering\AbelCam folders.
I have now added a camlicense.txt file manually to the config folder and added the camera license. (I couldn't do this before because I didn't know what the file was called or where it lived.)
The 2nd camera now works. So there is a bug in AbelCam and my money is that it is a permissions problem.
Dave
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By:
MelvinG
Rank:
Magna Cum Laude
Topics:
661
From:
Los Angeles, USA
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Added:
11/21/2010 - 07:25 PM
"MelvinG - As noted in my original post the configuration is saved."
Okay, sorry about that. I'm so used to seeing license issue posts coming from people who don't follow instructions that I get in the habit of making assumptions and giving stock answers. It's now clear to me that you did follow instructions and aren't 'clueless' 
I don't see any mention of which O/S you're running, but I'm thinking Win7 since this would have come up ages ago if it was happening on XP or Vista. I tend to agree this is some new & exciting permissions or paths issue. I just went through the whole excercise - including deleting camlicense.txt - on my XP box and had no problems getting the camlicenses to save without any manual intervention. |
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By:
DaveDp
Rank:
New Member
Topics:
10
From:
n/a
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Added:
11/22/2010 - 12:05 PM
MelvinG:
Sorry, I should have included the OS - it's XP Pro SP3.
Permissions notwithstanding, I think it would be useful to investigate why AbelCam chose the All Users.WINDOWS folder in the first place, rather than just the All Users folder.
I can't remember from the setup whether or not the installation offers the option to install "for this user" and for "all users" as some software does. If it is installed "for this user" then surely all config data should be under the user's profile and, equally, if installed "for all users" it should be under the All Users profile. I can't understand why the config files should be spread about in different profles... And, to clarify, roaming profiles are not in use.
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By:
MelvinG
Rank:
Magna Cum Laude
Topics:
661
From:
Los Angeles, USA
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Added:
11/22/2010 - 12:38 PM
That's one very interesting XP installation if you've got 'All Users' AND 'All Users.WINDOWS' both present. The machine I'm sitting in front of right now has 'All Users.WINNT' but does NOT have 'All Users'. I think that's because I installed XP over Win2K on this old box, and Win2K may well have been installed over NT4. All AbelCam running configs are in the Documents and Settings\All Users.WINNT branch, and all AbelCam update tracking stuff is in my Documents and Setting\MyUserName branch.
On the other hand, my dedicated AbelCam box was a clean new XP install and is has only All Users (no All Users dot Whatevers).
Only SSE can give us the definitive answer on how AbelCam decides what goes where. But I think it looks at either registry entries or environment variables to find the system-wide Application Data path(s).
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By:
sse
Rank:
Forum Addict
Topics:
73
From:
n/a
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Added:
11/22/2010 - 06:23 PM
As Melvin mentioned, All Users.WINDOWS has probably been created with a system upgrade.
AbelCam uses the path returned by the .NET framework
System.Windows.Forms.Application.CommonAppDataPath
and adds Seiz System Engineering\AbelCam
regardless of installation type (this user vs. all users).
It would be interesting to have a debug log of the failing write attempt when creating / modifying
the camera license file. (Not sure if useful information will be logged though...)
Has AbelCam been installed before or after the system upgrade?
The update files end up in the Documents and Setting\UserName branch because that's handled by the installers updater, not by AbelCam
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By:
DaveDp
Rank:
New Member
Topics:
10
From:
n/a
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Added:
11/25/2010 - 12:24 AM
After a little investigation it would seem that the All Users.WINDOWS folder is created if the Windows installation finds an existing All Users folder, as with an upgrade. As this was a clean install I would have rejected this explanation, except that my install disc was knackered so I changed discs half way through and the installer went back to the start, so the explanation is probably correct.
I knew I wouldn't like .Net as soon as I saw it and I've avoided it like the plague ever since with my own projects. I know it adds a lot of extra functionality and generally makes life easier, but... having never used it I don't know much about the guts of it and I still prefer vanilla API calls.
Is it a bug in .Net? (Bear in mind that I was logged in as Administrator when I installed AbelCam but I invariably install software for All Users.) Possibly not - perhaps .Net is simply taking the line that after an "upgrade" the .WINDOWS folder is the one it should be using.
However, that does not explain Abelcam's failure to write the license file. As I now have the thing working and limited time to play I'd prefer not to have to go back a step. I can live with it and if you can't find the answer you can at least list it as a known problem which does have a workaround.
That, incidentally, leads me to suggest that a new topic for these issues would be useful.
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