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Installation

Depending on your version of PoreXpert or PoreXpand, the software is supplied as a downloadable installer file or on a PoreXpert branded memory stick.

  • A demonstration copy of PoreXpert is available by registering for a download. It works with a license bundled with the installer that gives you a fourteen day trial of a limited version of the software.
  • PoreXpert, PoreXpert Professional, PoreXpert Professional Academic and PoreXpand are protected by a hardware dongle (Sentinel Hasp Key) that we will courier to you.  It looks like a USB flash drive, and plugs into the USB port on whichever computer you are using.
  • Licence upgrades, for example to change or remove the expiry date of a time-limited or rental licence,  can be carried out remotely, as explained on the Registration page in the Help system.
  • Checking your licence.  The successful installation and features of a software or hardware licence, for example the expiry date and time, can be checked by typing the following address into the web-browser open on the computer onto which you have installed the software: http://localhost:1947/   If the licence is installed correctly, it should be visible under the Sentinel Keys option.  The Features action box gives the details of the licence.
  • PoreXpert Cloud and PoreXpert Professional Cloud are web based services for intensive simulations – please contact us if you wish to make use of these versions.
  • PoreXpert for POROLUX™ is protected by a software license and 30 day demonstration versions are available from your instrument manufacturer.
  • Corporate networks. The software can also be licensed over a corporate network if multiple users in your company need to use a version of PoreXpert. Please contact us if you want a quote for a network license.

How to install PoreXpert

If you have purchased a full Academic or Professional version of PoreXpert, you will receive by courier a hardware dongle that looks like a black or green USB flash drive. For a 14-day trial licence of a demonstration version, first register.

The installers are designed for MS Windows 7, 8 and 10, 64 bit operating systems. They have been digitally signed to show that they are verified, virus-free software from PoreXpert Ltd. Nevertheless, security measures on your computer such as virus checkers and Windows Defender may prevent a successful installation. To avoid problems, please ensure that you, or the person nominated to install the software, has Administrator rights on your computer. Then follow the steps below exactly.

A – Run the PoreXpert installer

1. If you have been sent a PoreXpert branded USB stick, run (double-click) the PoreXpert v2 installer application (.exe) which is in its root directory.  Skip to step 3 below.
2. If you are downloading PoreXpert from a link we have sent, copy the downloaded Zip file to a temporary directory and extract all contents. If you are downloading the installer from this website, go to the download section of the User pages and download the .exe file.
3. Right-click the installer application (.exe) file and in the Properties tab check that it has not been security blocked by Windows as a download. If it has been blocked, unblock by clearing the checkbox. Run (double click) the PoreXpert v2 installer .exe file.
4.  A blue screen might appear entitled Windows protected your PC – this is Windows Defender. Click More info. POREXPERT LIMITED will appear as Publisher, thus verifying the installer. Click Run anyway.
5. Agree to the various questions asked by the installer, and the software should install correctly. Virus checkers may delay the installation to check the software.
6. If you are installing the trialware version, skip to Section C below.

B – Plug in the Dongle (Hardware key)

1. If you are installing a dongle-controlled version of the software, plug the hardware dongle that you have been sent into a USB port on your computer. A small red light at the outer end of the dongle should glow to show that the licence drivers have installed on your computer and that licence is working for you. (If the dongle (Sentinel Hasp Key) has not installed correctly, more up-to-date drivers can be downloaded from the Sentinel Website ).

C – Run PoreXpert for the first time and register your Dongle or Trialware license

1. To run the software on a Windows 10 computer, click the Windows icon at the bottom left of your computer, and PoreXpert v2 should appear in the Recently added software list. (To run it under older operating systems, you may need to use the link created on your Windows Desktop.) Click the small down arrow next to the file icon, which will reveal the application PoreXpert v2, and the user manual (which is also available on the website and incorporated with the software). Click PoreXpert v2 to run the software.
2. Double click on PoreXpert v2 to launch it. When PoreXpert is first launched, it will ask you to register PoreXpert so that you can access customer support. Click Register at poreXpert.com on the software’s registration page, which will open a new website browser tab for the user registration process.  If you do not yet have a registered email and password, scroll down the page and click on the User registration link.
3. The website user registration process will open a tab in your browser to show you the activation code to unlock the software, and will also send you a confirmation email with the activation code. Highlight the activation code, and press CTRL + C to copy it to your computer’s clipboard.
4. Return to the PoreXpert software, which should have its Registration page still open.  (If not, restart the software.) Paste (CTRL + V) the activation code into the box below Enter your activation code to enable the new license .  If you enter a valid activation code, a green tick will appear.  Click on the Activate button at the bottom of the Registration window.
5. The PoreXpert software will now be activated.  You will see a License info message telling you that your current licence will expire in 13 days.  Don’t worry – it counts 1 day less than actual in the Build 690 release, so will count from day 13 to day 0, rather than 14 down to 1.  (We will fix this in a subsequent build. ) Click OK.  You will then need to re-start the software as before (i.e. click on your Windows icon at the bottom left of the screen, click on PoreXpert v2, open its dropdown menu by clicking on the small down arrow next to it, and then clicking on the actual application PoreXpert v2).  This re-start is only required on first use.

D – Getting started

A paper copy of the Getting Started Guide is included in the presentation pack with every full installation. It is also available from the Downloads page.

E – feedback

We welcome feedback and suggestions; the version you are using contains improvements suggested by other current users of the software, as detailed on the Change log page. If you have suggestions, or in the unlikely even that you discover a bug, please go to the Reporting bugs and suggesting modifications page.

Updating PoreXpert

To discover whether you have the latest build of PoreXpert, check the Change Log.  Compare the build number to that shown when you start your current PoreXpert software.  You should already be registered with PoreXpert. So using the previous details, re-register and then download the software installer.  The update and trialware versions are the same  – they behave differently according to whether you have a hardware key (dongle) plugged in.  If you have taken over use of PoreXpert from someone else in your institution, and they have given you the dongle, then you can create a new login identity, and proceed to download the software installer.

Uninstall the previous version of PoreXpert by clicking : Windows icon key | Settings | Apps | PoreXpert v2 | Uninstall . (Your own datafiles should not be uninstalled, but backups are always recommended.)

Now run the PoreXpert installer, following the instructions starting at section A3 above.

How to install PoreXpand

Use of the software is controlled by the same, or similar, dongle to that of PoreXpert.  If you have purchased or a trialling both PoreXpert and PoreXpand, then they are controlled by the same dongle.  Note that the dongle can control the features of each item of software separately – for example you may be using a time-limited version of PoreXpert, and a version of PoreXpand with no time limit.

Follow sections A and B above, but using the PoreXpand installer rather than the PoreXpert installer.  Then follow section C.1 to start the software.  In the current version of PoreXpand, (1.00.38), the registration system has been switched off  so the rest of section C is not required.

There is no Getting Started guide for PoreXpand – simply follow the tutorial.  It is recommended that you use the software online, as the on-line version of the Help system is clearer than that supplied with the software, although there is no substantive difference between the two versions.

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