Installation and Licensing

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Introduction

This article describes the procedures for installing and licensing Met Dynamics software on client PCs.

Installation

Figure 1. Steps to enable the Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In.

Met Dynamics software may be installed by following the procedures provided in this section:

  • Manual installation steps are provided in lieu of an installer program, which may be restricted in some security environments.
  • Some basic knowledge of file manipulation in Microsoft Windows is required to complete the installation.

System requirements

The following hardware, operating system and software installations (and licenses) are required in order to use Met Dynamics software:

  • An Intel or AMD CPU with SSE2 support
  • Microsoft Windows 10 or later
  • Microsoft Office 365 or 2021 version (Excel, 32-bit or 64-bit)
  • (Optional) SysCAD 9.3 Build 139.35544 or later

Administrator rights are not required to install or use Met Dynamics software.

Step One: Obtain the distribution package

The Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In is distributed as a zip archive file. The zip archive contains versions of the software and associated example files.

To obtain the latest distribution, please contact support@metdynamics.com.au

The Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On is distributed with the SysCAD application.

Step Two: Software License Agreement

Unzip the contents of Met Dynamics.zip into C:\Met Dynamics (recommended) or your preferred folder.

Please read the LICENSE.pdf document before installing or using the Met Dynamics Models software. By using the software, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Software License Agreement.

If you do not agree to the terms in the Software License Agreement, please delete the extracted files from your computer and terminate this installation procedure.

Step Three: Excel installation

The Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In may be installed by undertaking the following steps:

  1. If not already undertaken, unzip the contents of Met Dynamics.zip into C:\Met Dynamics (recommended) or your preferred folder.
  2. Start Microsoft Excel.
  3. Identify your Excel installation architecture (32 or 64 bit), File…Account…About Excel.
  4. Select File...Options...Add-Ins (see Figure 1).
  5. Ensure Manage is set to Excel Add-Ins and click Go.
  6. Select Browse and navigate to your installation path (e.g. C:\Met Dynamics).
  7. For 64 bit versions of Excel (default Office install), select the file MetDynamics.xll and choose Ok.
  8. For 32 bit versions of Excel, select the file MetDynamics32.xll and choose Ok.
  9. Return to the Excel worksheet window.
  10. Enter the formula =mdLicense() in any cell and press Enter.
  11. Confirm the software license information is displayed and the License status field is LICENSE_OK.

If the software is not licensed, please proceed to the Licensing section below for instructions on obtaining a license.

Step Three: SysCAD installation (optional)

The Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On is distributed with the SysCAD application and does not require additional installation.

To confirm if the Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On is licensed and functioning, please follow these steps:

  1. Start SysCAD and open an existing project that utilises the Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On, or create a new configuration file and project as described in Getting Started.
  2. View the General Message Log in the SysCAD Message Window and locate the text beginning with "Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On...".
  3. Confirm the License status text is LICENSE_OK in the General Message Log.

If the software is not licensed, please proceed to the Licensing section below for instructions on obtaining a license.

Licensing

Figure 2. Example Met Dynamics Models license information shown in Microsoft Excel.
Figure 3. Example Met Dynamics Models license information shown in SysCAD.

Licenses to use Met Dynamics software are provided on a 'per seat' basis.

A granted license is locked to the unique hardware identifier of an individual client PC.

Obtaining a license

Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In

The steps below outline the procedure for obtaining a license for Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In:

  1. Install Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In, as described above.
  2. Start Microsoft Excel.
  3. Enter the formula =mdLicense() in any cell and press Enter.
  4. Copy the string of characters displayed next to the Site Code field to the Windows clipboard.
  5. Close Microsoft Excel.
  6. Paste the Site Code character string into the body of a new email message.
  7. Include your contact details and a message requesting a license issue in the email.
  8. Send the email to the Met Dynamics Accounts team at accounts@metdynamics.com.au.
  9. After the license request has been received, Met Dynamics will generate a license file and return it to the sender's email address.
  10. Place a copy of the returned license file (e.g. MetDynamics.lic) in the Met Dynamics Models installation path (e.g. C:\Met Dynamics).
  11. Start Microsoft Excel.
  12. Enter the =mdLicense() function in any cell and confirm the License status field now reports LICENSE_OK.

Please contact support@metdynamics.com.au for assistance if the software is still not licensed after following these steps.

Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On

Licenses for the Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On can be obtained from the SysCAD vendor:

  • Please note that additional SysCAD Add-Ons (e.g. Size Distribution, Integrated Libraries) may be required to use the Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On.
  • For more information or to obtain licenses, please contact the SysCAD vendor at info@syscad.net.

If the General Message Log in the SysCAD Message Window reports "WARNING: SysCAD Runtime license or /rt command line argument required for Met Dynamics 'MD-SysCAD Runtime' license level", then the Met Dynamics software is licensed for runtime use only. Please obtain a runtime license for SysCAD or start the SysCAD application in runtime mode.

Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On (Alternative)

This method requires the SysCAD Size Distribution and Integrated Libraries Add-Ons to be already licensed on the machine.

A Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In license file obtained above may also be used to activate a Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On license. Please undertake the following steps after obtaining a valid license file and placing it in an appropriate path:

  1. Start SysCAD and open an existing project that utilises the Met Dynamics Models SysCAD Add-On (e.g. C:\SysCAD139\Examples\09 MetDynamics), or create a new configuration file and project as described in Getting Started.
  2. Open the SysCAD Access window for an existing Met Dynamics unit model, or insert a new model if none are present.
  3. Click on the About tab. (See Figure 3).
  4. Click the Browse button and use the file browser dialog to select the Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In license file which was added to the path above.
  5. Confirm the software license information is displayed and the License status field is LICENSE_OK.

This procedure only needs to be conducted once to activate the license on a given machine.

Trial license

A Trial License for Met Dynamics software is available upon request:

  • A time-limited trial period is typically offered.
  • Trial licenses are not locked to client PC hardware identifiers, and software functionality is not in any way restricted during the trial period.
  • The software will cease to function after the expiration of the trial period.

A trial license may be activated by following the Met Dynamics Models Microsoft Excel Add-In installation instructions above from step 9 onwards.

Please contact support@metdynamics.com.au to request a trial license.

Expired licenses

Expired client or trial licenses limit software functionality in the following ways:

  • Excel functions cease to operate and return the #License error message in place of results.
  • SysCAD projects will continue to load and unit models may be inspected. However, the project will not Solve/Run if the On field of any Met Dynamics unit model in the project is checked.

Uninstallation

Met Dynamics software may be removed from your system by following the instructions below.

Excel uninstallation

  1. Start Microsoft Excel.
  2. Select File...Options...Add-Ins.
  3. Ensure Manage is set to Excel Add-Ins and click Go.
  4. Unselect the MetDynamics.xll or MetDynamics32.xll checkbox and choose OK.
  5. Close Microsoft Excel.
  6. Delete the installation folder, e.g. C:\Met Dynamics, and all contents.
  7. Return to Excel Add-Ins via steps 1 - 3.
  8. Click on MetDynamics.xll or MetDynamics32.xll and select OK when prompted to "Delete from list".
  9. Close Microsoft Excel.

Further support

If any step of the installation or licensing procedures fails, please contact support@metdynamics.com.au for assistance.

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