Access to the program is provided in one of two ways: either with a USB protection hardware key (also called a dongle), which must be plugged into one of the available USB ports of the computer on which you are using DomuS3D, or with a software key, which allows you to access your license with a username and password (you must be connected to the internet to login) on one computer at a time.
The use of a software key gives you several benefits over the use of a hardware key:
- eliminates the need to carry any physical item with you or plug anything into your computer, as the license will be entered using only your Username and Password;
- eliminates the risk of losing or damaging your hardware key;
- license can be shared among users who are physically separated (for example, colleagues in various office locations or visiting a customer on their premises);
- multiple software licenses can be managed so you can share projects and collaborate on them with architects, designers, installers, or influencers involved in the work (contact your dealer for further information);
- license can be accessed on Virtual Machines.
If you use a hardware key, you can still install the program on more than one computer, but it can only be actively used on one computer at a time, moving the USB key accordingly. Note that it is a basic requirement to install and use DomuS3D that the operating system is 64-bit version of Windows, successive to Windows XP, which is no longer supported.
The installation procedure will install following components:
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 Full
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express SP1 Native Client
- Microsoft Solver Foundation
- Bonjour Service
- Hardware key drivers
- DomuS3D® Application
Here is a detailed guide to help walk you through installation of the program:
Check to make sure that you have administrator privileges on the computer you are using. If you do not, some parts of the installation may be not allowed, may be faulty, or may only partially be installed. If you do not need to provide a username and password when logging into Windows, this usually would mean that you are the only configured user and also the administrator of the computer.
If you received an installation DVD (or USB key), insert it now and wait for the start-up window to appear. If you received a download link containing the program, download it now (download time varies depending on internet connection and speeds) and save it to your hard drive. Once it is done downloading, double click the file and click the "Install" button as seen in the image below:
DomuS3D will automatically start to extract the archive file and a window similar to the one below will appear. If this does not happen automatically, or if the program has been downloaded from the internet, you may need to manually click on the file Autorun.exe, located in the installation folder of the program. Since the program needs to install with Administrator privileges, it will now check this requirement and, if necessary, will ask you to confirm running as an Administrator.
If the installer does not find any previous versions of the program installed, it will run a standard installation. If, on the other hand, a previous version already exists, it will ask the user if they would like to import all of the data from the previous installation and to execute a backup of these data with the button in the lower left:
If previous versions of the program are installed, the most recent one will be indicated in the center of the window, below the system information:
The installation procedure should automatically check the language of the operating system, but you can change the installation language by choosing among those available. If you select the wrong language for installation, or would simply like to change your operating language at a later time, you can always change the language from within the program.
SYSTEM INFORMATION
The System Info section checks the compatibility of the program with the system on which you are installing it, displaying results as either red, yellow, or green, depending on the compatibility of each significant component. The first check is the operating system: if it is not compatible, the following screen will appear and installation will stop:
The operating system but be 64-bit Windows, successive to Windows XP.
The system memory is another parameter that must be verified: installation will be stopped if memory is less than 4 GB.
In the case of only 8 GB of Ram, the symbol will be yellow, indicating that this parameter is not ideal for DomuS3D but that the program will work.
We suggest having at least 16 GB of Ram or more.
The resolution of the screen is verified next; if it is less than 1024x768 (indicated in yellow as a non-optimal resolution), the installation will stop.
Lastly, the space on the disks present is verified and those that do not have enough space are identified in red:
Here are the ranges: If available space is < 10 GB, then the symbol will be red and you must not install the program on that disk. If the space available is between 10 and 50 GB, then the symbol is yellow, indicating a non-optimal situation .
INSTALLATION
To proceed with installation, click on the Full Installation button, which will install DomuS3D and all of its add-on applications, which can be accessede individually with the Install Tools button.
Similarly, the Install DomuS3D button will only install the DomuS3D program.
We recommend installing all applications with the Full Installation button, which, to recap, will install the following applications: DomuS3D, DomuS3D Starter, Application Manager, Composer, Render Manager. Distributed Render is not installed since this application, if necessary, is usually used on machines that do not have DomuS3D and Render Manager installed on them, since the goal is to distribute rendering processes across various machines in order to lighten processing loads across more complex networks.
Once you click on Full Installation, the following window will appear, which will allow you to specify the language, as noted above.
If your desired language is not shown here, please contact support in order to verify its availability. In any case, the default language is English and it is always available.
Installation of the program happens in two distinct phases: in the first step, setup will check if the operating system has all needed frameworks (.NET, Bonjour, database engine, key drivers, etc..). Frameworks are modules of the operating system needed by the Application in order to correctly operate.
At the end of this first step, the computer may require a restart: restart the computer to ensure proper installation.
Once the computer has turned back on, the procedure will continue automatically with the next phase.
The second phase will install DomuS3D and each of the add-on applications. A few simple pop-up windows will help you optimize installation.
If you are updating a previous version, there will be another request regarding whether or not to import the data (catalogs, projects) from the previous installation in order to continue using them in the new version of the program. We suggest importing your past data, even if you don't think you need to work on any past projects or catalogs. It will NOT be possible to recover old project data if you decide not to import it now. We also suggest, as a precaution, exporting the project packages in an archive so that they are accessible in the future if you do need to import them.
At the end of the installation, insert the hardware key in any available USB port.
ATTENTION: the hardware key represents the license of the program and therefore its entire commercial value. Take extreme care of this physical key since, if you lose it or if it is stolen, it CANNOT be substituted. If you lose your hardware key, you will have to buy a new (second) license to continue using the program. It is your responsibility to ensure the safety of your key; we cannot replace lost or stolen hardware keys.
If you are updating a previous version of DomuS3D, the program will automatically update the license from the old version to the new version when you first open the program. If the program cannot update your license automatically, it will ask you to manually update your license:
If you see this window, please contact MATICAD to receive the v2c file.
Click on the red link and confirm to proceed and apply the upgrade.
This article is valid for DomuS3D® 2018 and later versions