Installation and Licensing

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Introduction

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

Installation

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

System requirements

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

  • Intel or AMD CPU with AVX2 support (circa 2013+)
  • Microsoft Windows 10 or 11
  • Microsoft Office 365 (Excel)
  • (Optional) SysCAD 9.3 Build 139.32355

Excel installation

  1. Unzip the contents of mdModels2.zip into C:\mdModels2 (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
  5. Ensure Manage is set to Excel Add-Ins and click Go
  6. Select Browse and navigate to your installation path (e.g. C:\mdModels2)
  7. For 64 bit versions of Excel (default Office install), select the file mdModels2.xll and choose Ok
  8. For 32 bit versions of Excel, select the file mdModels2_32.xll and choose Ok
  9. Return to the Excel worksheet window
  10. Enter the formula =mdLicense() in any cell and press Enter
  11. Confirm software license information is displayed (including the Site Code field, required for licensing)

SysCAD installation

Using Windows Explorer or a command prompt:

  1. Copy the ScdMD.dll file from your Met Dynamics software installation path (e.g. C:\mdModels2) to the SysCAD bin folder (e.g. C:\SysCAD139\bin)
  2. Copy the mdModels2.lic file from your Met Dynamics software installation path (e.g. C:\mdModels2) to the SysCAD License folder (e.g. C:\SysCAD139\License)
  3. Start SysCAD and open an existing project that utilises the Met Dynamics Integrated Library, or insert a Met Dynamics model into a newly created project as described in Getting started
  4. Open the SysCAD Access window for the Met Dynamics unit model and click on the About tab
  5. Confirm license information is displayed in the licensing data fields

Note: The ScdMD.dll library is compiled against a specific SysCAD Build version, as noted in the Revision History. As such, SysCAD projects utilising Met Dynamics models may cease to load if the SysCAD version is upgraded without the corresponding version of ScdMD.dll.

Licensing

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

The steps below outline the procedure for obtaining a license for Met Dynamics software:

  1. Install the mdModels2.xll add-on for Microsoft Excel, 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 Support team at support@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. mdModels2.lic) in the mdModels2 installation path (e.g. C:\mdModels2)
  11. Start Microsoft Excel
  12. Enter the =mdLicense() function in any cell and confirm the License status field now reports LICENSE_OK
  13. (Optional) Copy the mdModels2.lic file to the SysCAD License folder (e.g. C:\SysCAD139\License) to enable SysCAD simulation

Alternatively, the Site Code character string may be obtained from the SysCAD application, via the About tab of an Access window associated with a Met Dynamics Integrated Library unit model.

Please contact support@metdynamics.com.au if any step of the licensing procedure fails.

Trial license

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

  • A 30 day 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

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, no new Met Dynamics unit models may be added to the project and the project will not Solve/Run

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 mdModels2.xll or mdModels2_32.xll checkbox and choose OK
  5. Close Microsoft Excel
  6. Delete folder C:\mdModels2 and all contents
  7. Return to Excel Add-Ins via steps 1 - 3
  8. Click on mdModels2 or mdModels2_32.xll and select OK when prompted to "Delete from list"
  9. Close Microsoft Excel

SysCAD uninstallation

While the SysCAD application is closed:

  1. Delete the ScdMD.dll file from the SysCAD bin folder (e.g. C:\SysCAD139\bin)
  2. Delete the mdModels2.lic file from the SysCAD License folder (e.g. C:\SysCAD139\License)

Note: SysCAD projects that include models from the Met Dynamics Integrated Library will no longer load if the ScdMD.dll file is removed.