MainBoss Advanced, Version 3.4.0:
Updating an Earlier Release

In order to install this version of MainBoss, you must meet certain requirements:

MainBoss 3.4.0 depends on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (SP2, Version 9.0.0.4035.00 or later), SQL Server 2008 SP1, or SQL Server 2008 R2. You must have SQL Server installed correctly before you can begin using MainBoss. (Small sites can use SQL Server Express, available for free from Microsoft. See the MainBoss Installation and Administration Guide for more details.)
Installing this version of MainBoss requires Windows Administration privileges (although running it does not).
To begin with, only install MainBoss on the computer where you are running the instance of SQL Server that manages the MainBoss database. Make sure MainBoss works correctly there before installing it on other computers.
To activate MainBoss, you must enter the license keys provided to you by Thinkage Ltd. or your MainBoss dealer.

This version of MainBoss requires license keys dated January 1, 2012 or later. If your license keys are too old, contact support@mainboss.com.

Install any new license keys BEFORE you begin installing any new software. This will avoid some complications later on.

The MainBoss Installation and Administration Guide provides full details of what you need before you can start using MainBoss, including information on troubleshooting the connection between MainBoss and SQL Server. We strongly recommend that you read the relevant parts of the guide before you install MainBoss.

Open Installation and Administration Guide now (PDF)

Once you have met the specified requirements, you can install MainBoss. You do not need to uninstall earlier versions of MainBoss Advanced. You can simply install this version on top of any existing version.

Using MainBoss in Spanish: You use the same MainBoss software for both English and Spanish. To use MainBoss in Spanish, go to your Windows Control Panel and set your Regional and Language Options to one of the Spanish options. It is possible for some people at your site to use MainBoss in English and others to use MainBoss in Spanish.

Initial Installation of the Software

1. Before doing anything else, make a backup of your current database so that you can restore your data if problems occur.

2. If you are currently using MainBoss Service, stop (but do not uninstall) the old version of MainBoss Service before you begin installing MainBoss Advanced 3.4.0. To stop the old version of MainBoss Service, start MainBoss and go to Administration | MainBoss Service. Click the Stop Service button. (Note: Before version 3.3, MainBoss Service was called @Requests Service.)

Any emails received while MainBoss Service is stopped will be processed once you install and start the new version of MainBoss Service.

3. On the computer where you intend to install MainBoss first, login to an account with Windows Administrator privileges.

4. Click here to obtain a ZIP file named Install.MainBoss.3.4.0.16.zip containing the files for installing MainBoss.

5. Extract the contents of the ZIP file into a folder of your choice.

6. Once you have extracted the files, execute the extracted setup.exe file.
(Do not execute the .msi file directly.)

.NET 4: This version of MainBoss requires version 4 of Microsoft's .NET framework. If you run the MainBoss installation program on a computer where .NET 4 is not installed, the installation program will automatically attempt to download and install .NET 4 from Microsoft's web site. If this is not possible, MainBoss will not be installed. You must install .NET 4 on the computer before the MainBoss installation program will work.

If the installation procedure installs a new version of .NET, you will have to reboot your computer in order to continue. After the boot, you must login to the same account you were using so that you can continue installing MainBoss. (This should be an account with Windows Administrator privileges.) The installation should continue automatically once you login.

Report Viewer 2010 SP1: This version of MainBoss also requires Microsoft's Report Viewer 2010 SP1. If the appropriate version of Report Viewer is not installed on the computer when you begin the MainBoss installation, the MainBoss installation procedure will automatically attempt to download and install the software from Microsoft's web site. (The Report Viewer 2010 SP1 software is available here.)

Upgrading Your MainBoss Database

When you first install this version of MainBoss, you must upgrade your existing database. Note the following:

If you are a privileged user on Windows 7 or Vista, you can use "Run as Administrator" to run MainBoss. In this case, MainBoss will let you upgrade the database, whether or not your login name appears in MainBoss's Users table as an authorized MainBoss user.
Otherwise, you can only upgrade the MainBoss database if your login name appears in MainBoss's Users table and either:
- You have SQL Server Administrator privileges on the instance of SQL Server that manages the MainBoss database; or
- You have the SQL Server "db_owner" security role on the MainBoss database (which is automatically granted if you have the MainBoss Administration security role).

To upgrade the database, follow these steps:

Have on hand a set of up-to-date license keys for the database—license keys older than January 1, 2012 will not work for this release.
Login to the computer where MainBoss is installed, using a login name that has the security privileges mentioned above.

Important: If you attempt the Upgrade from a login name that doesn't have sufficient permissions, you will receive various confusing error messages that don't actually tell you what the problem is. The first such error message is something like CREATE FUNCTION permission denied in database, and if you try the upgrade again, the diagnostic messages get even stranger. (These messages are generated by SQL Server, not MainBoss.)
Start MainBoss Advanced on the computer that holds the database. (Normally, you should use "Run as Administrator" as discussed above.)
When MainBoss Advanced attempts to open the database, you will see a message saying that the database cannot be opened because it's an old version. You will end up in the "Select Maintenance Organization" window.
In the window, click on the line for the database (if the line isn't already selected).
Click the Upgrade button at the bottom of the window.
MainBoss will ask if you really want to upgrade the database. Click Upgrade. You may be warned that you need up-to-date license keys for this version of the software.
The upgrading process will begin. (Note: If someone else is currently using MainBoss, you will be told that the upgrade can't take place because you can't get exclusive access to the database. See below for what to do about this.)
The upgrade process may take some minutes. When it's finished, click Finish.
You'll return to the "Select MainBoss Organization" window. Click "Open Organization" to begin using MainBoss.

If you can't upgrade the database because you can't get exclusive access: Close the Upgrade window and return to the "Select MainBoss Organization" window. Click on the line for your database, then drop the arrow on Open Organization and click View Sessions. The resulting window will tell you who is currently using MainBoss. If appropriate, you can ask that person to quit his or her MainBoss session so that you can do the upgrade.

MainBoss Service

If you have licensed MainBoss Service, you should have stopped the service before installing the new version of MainBoss. Now that you have installed MainBoss and upgraded the database, you can proceed to update MainBoss Service.

Click here for instructions on updating MainBoss Service.

Installing the Software on Other Computers

The previous section described how to install MainBoss Advanced on one computer. Installing on additional computers is easier.

1. Login to Windows using an account with Windows Administrator privileges.

2. Use the ZIP file downloaded in the previous section (or the files extracted from that ZIP file) to install MainBoss on each additional computer. Remember to run the setup.exe file, not the .msi file.

If .NET 4 and/or Report Viewer 2010 are not installed on the computer, the MainBoss installation procedure will automatically install them.

Note: Once you have installed MainBoss 3.4.0 on one computer and have got it working successfully, you must install the software on all other computers where you intend to run MainBoss. We will not provide support to sites where some computers are running MainBoss 3.4.0, while others are running older versions.

ClickOnce Deployment

As discussed in the Installation and Administration Guide, this version of MainBoss Advanced may be used with Microsoft's ClickOnce deployment. To use ClickOnce deployment, you must first install MainBoss manually on one computer. You may install MainBoss manually on other computers too, if you wish.

If you have set up ClickOnce deployment for a previous version of MainBoss, click here for instructions on how to install the new version.

If this is the first time you will be installing ClickOnce, click here for instructions.

MainBoss Web Access and Web Request

If you have licensed the Web Access and/or Web Request modules, the software is distributed as a single package called MainBossRemote. In order to use this software, you must have a Web Access and/or Web Request license key.

The following instructions explain how to update an existing installation of MainBoss Remote. If you are installing MainBoss Remote for the first time, click here for instructions.

Before you begin updating MainBoss Remote, you must first stop the web site from running. Follow these steps:

Login to Windows using an account with Windows Administrator privileges.
Start the Internet Information Services manager (IIS 7 or 7.5).
Expand the entries in the left-hand panel of the IIS manager until you find the one for the web site that contains MainBossRemote.
Right-click on the web site's entry. In the resulting menu, click Manage Web Site, then click Stop.

You'll have to come back later to IIS manager later. Therefore, you can keep it running.

Installing a New Version of MainBossRemote

The MainBossRemote software is distributed as a ZIP file named Install.MainBossRemote.3.4.0.16.zip. Download this ZIP file by clicking here.

Extract the ZIP file's contents into the directory that contains the current MainBossRemote files (overwriting the existing files). In Windows Explorer, the folder should look more or less the same as before.

In the left-hand panel of IIS manager, click on the entry for MainBossRemote. (This will either be a web site or a virtual directory.)

In the middle panel of IIS manager, double-click on "Application Settings". This opens a window with entries for "dbname" and "dbserver".

Double-click the entry for "dbname". In the resulting window, change "Value" to the name of your MainBoss database. Click OK to close the "dbname" window.

Double-click the entry for "dbserver". In the resulting window, change "Value" to the name of the SQL Server instance that manages your MainBoss database. Click OK to close the "dbserver" window.

In the left-hand panel of IIS manager, right-click on the entry for the web site associated with MainBossRemote. In the resulting menu, click Manage Web Site, then click Start.

Important: The first time someone connects with the MainBossRemote web site, the software must compile itself and perform various set-up processes. This can take a long time and use a lot of computer memory. Once this has happened, however, the software doesn't have to go through the process again (unless something significant changes in your configuration, e.g. you install a new web server or SQL Server).