Flexcel Bridge installation error

Hello,

when installing the current version of Flexcel (7.22) and the Flexcel Bridge (current version, downloaded today, 3.2 it says) with UI Pack 13.1.6.3 installed I get this error:

TNS FlexCel Studio for VCL and FireMonkey is not installed. Please abort this installation, install TMS Flexcel Studio for VCL and FireMonkey and try again.

I reinstalled a couple of times, including reboots, also re-installed the UI pack but cannot get over this.

I also tried to just install anyway but it will then give me an error upon loading Delphi.

thank you!

best regards
thomas

Hi,
Sorry about that, the bridges don't install anymore using the setup.exe, we are about to release a newer version hopefully today or tomorrow, but we are retiring the setup.exe.

We are moving all of our installers to smartsetup ( TMS Smart Setup introduction | TMS Smart Setup documentation ), and the new setup.exe for FlexCel is actually just a wrapper over smartsetup. And one of the reasons we are moving to smartsetup is that it handles dependencies automatically, which is exact case for the bridges. The bridges depend on FlexCel and UIPack, so if you install a new version of either of those, the bridges must be recompiled, and smartsetup does all of that automatically.

But also, because the UIPack uses different package names in setup.exe (packageDXE5.bpl) and in smartsetup (package.bpl) it is just too complex to keep supporting them all.

So, to install the bridges now (and you don't even need to wait for the next release hopefully today), the steps are:

1.Uninstall FlexCel, the bridges and UIPack by going to start menu->add or remove programs.
2. Get smartsetup from Download | TMS Smart Setup documentation
3. start tmsgui, configure it, and install the bridges. It will automatically install FlexCel and UIPack as those depend on it.

That is it. After that, for the future, you can just update from the gui (or by typing tms update in the command line) and all products will be updated.

Hello Adrian,

thank you for the quick response. Used the cmd-install and it worked. With the GUI I got some error, maybe this helps for final tuning:

[ERROR] Error running TTmsInfoRunner: Could not parse info result as JSON object (ETmsRunner)
[ERROR] Error running TTmsCredentialsRunner: Could not parse info result as JSON object (ETmsRunner)

In any case: does this new procedure change the availability of purchased components when there is no active update license? In other words: will the latest purchased version still be available beyond the validity date?

best regards
thomas

Hi Adrian,

I am in the same situation. After the latest Flexcel upgrade (via SmartSetup GUI) I have an empty list in SmartSetup GUI, just with the error messages:

[ERROR] Error running TTmsInfoRunner: Could not parse info result as JSON object (ETmsRunner)
[ERROR] Error running TTmsCredentialsRunner: Could not parse info result as JSON object (ETmsRunner)

Fortunately, the command line command works fine

In any case: does this new procedure change the availability of purchased components when there is no active update license? In other words: will the latest purchased version still be available beyond the validity date?

This doesn't change anything about the purchased components. They will still work as before, but you need an active license to download them from our web page. SmartSetup downloads the components as zip files to a "Download" folders, you can install them offline from there. And the setup.exe of FlexCel, even when smartsetup based, includes the components inside, and doesn't require to login to our side.

In here: TMS Software | Blog
in the section folder structure you can see how it works actually. All products are downloaded to "Downloads" and you can back up them there. They are just zip files with the .pas and .dproj files. You can either unzip them yourself and install them manually, or use "tms build" to install them automatically. You actually have more options now than you had with setup.exe: you can install manually by unzipping the bundle and compiling it manually, or you can install automatically too. You can even unzip the component, change the sources to add some changes, type "tms build" and the have the product reinstalled with your changes, which you couldn't before

Yes, there seems to be an issue with tmsgui, other users have reported it. We will fix it asap

We have just released a new Smart Setup version (1.1.1) that should fix the tmsgui issue.

Hi @wlandgraf
In my case, the issue remains with the new version 1.1.1

I apologize. I did not update correctly. To fix the problem, you need to run the command line:

tms self-update

Downloading the executable "tmsgui" obviously does not work. Thank you for your help.

1 Like
  1. Where on earth is the Downloads folder located? I have a couple but none are holding anything as all my downloads go into a temp folder.

  2. what is a "Credentials" code .. I can't find anything that says where to acquire one.

  3. The GUI window is unusable - can't do anything with it.

  4. Look all I want to do is install FlexCel and its two bridges and have everything working . Right now I might as well ask for Basil Fawlty's suitcase full of hippopotamous sauce than actually use something that works seamlessly and simply.

This 'smart Setup' is about as smart and intuitive as a brick.

I just don't get how you could make something so straightforward (install an application) into Mission Impossible.

So, how do I install Flexcel and its two bridges given I can't access anything with the smart Setup GUI or even a command line?

Paul Barrett

1 Like
  1. It should be right below where you are running tms/tmsgui:

    But if you haven't filled the credentials right, it won't download anything, maybe that's what's happening here.

2.The registration code you got from us when you bought the component. You should have got a reg email /reg code by email. It is the same you use to login in our site.

  1. It could be related to the credentials. If you don't have the right credentials, you won't see any product.

  2. You should be able to do it with this command line:

cd "empty folder where you want to install tms components"
tms credentials   <enter your email/reg code>
tms install tms.vcl.excel.bridge

That should be it, it should install the bridges, FlexCel and UIPack. (but please remember to uninstall all 3 products if you have installed with setup.exe before).

In the future, just going to the command line and typing:

tms update

is all you will need to be to update everything to the latest version.

This 'smart Setup' is about as smart and intuitive as a brick.

Sorry you see it this way. We won't ever be able to make everyone happy so we expected some negative feedback, but I can assure you that the feedback in smartsetup is consistently positive. Most of our customers are really happy with it: it might be one of the tms products right now getting people more excited and people mailing us to tell us how much they like it, even when it isn't really a product. The session about smart setup in tms days about a month ago was the one which got the biggest score of all sessions, with only 9/10 and 10/10 score. In the last-year tms days, the biggest complain we got was about our old installers, which was which triggered us to release smart setup this year.

I know this I said doesn't help you much, but I just wanted to make clear that we are doing this because people is asking for it, and has been doing for years. The old installers had a lot of issues on their own, and were the main source of support we got. Think about it, we spent more time answering email about what went wrong with the installers, than with actually support for the products.

Of course smart setup is not going to be perfect, and it is competing with 20-year old installers that had a lot of the stuff already solved. It has been its own source of support, but not as much as the old installers, and we hope it will go down a lot in the future. Because the old installers were separate for each product, so when we fixed a problem in one of them, the others would still have them. Now when we solve a problem in smart setup, every product gets the fix. And we are planning other GUIs too on top of what we have. So I am sorry you couldn't get it to work, but I hope you will soon. I hope once you get it working, you will start liking it too.

So, how do I install Flexcel and its two bridges given I can't access anything with the smart Setup GUI or even a command line?

I've sent the command above. I think the main issue here is that you aren't entering the credentials correctly (your point 2). This is just the registration email/registration code you got by email. If you are still having problems, please tell me:

A. What do you get when you do:

tms list-remote

B.
What is the exact screen you get after you do tms install tms.vcl.excel.bridge (as I mentioned above)

I can't find anywhere on your site where I can buy the software .. I didn't even realize we had to purchase it. What is the URL which allows me to purchase it?

I had no idea we had to pay for this. I've looked everywhere on your site but I can't see any normal 'purchase this product' link.

Sigh ...

Hi,
The bridges are free
FlexCel (which you need to install the bridges) requires a license
TMS VCL UI Pack (which you need to install the bridges) requires a license.

SmartSetup will only install the bridges if you have licenses for FlexCel and UI Pack.

You already have an active license for FlexCel, and I imagine (but can't see it beacuse I don't manage the product), you also have an active license for UI Pack.

If that is the case, you should have got your registration code when you bought FlexCel and when you bought UI Pack. It should be the same. It is the one you use to login to our site and download the products "the old way".

If you don't remember your reg code, go to tmssoftware.com. The button at the top right should be "account". Press it. If you are logged in, press logout and then account again.
image

You will get this form:

This is the data you need to enter in "tms credentials". If you don't remember the code (and it is cached automatically by the browser), you can press the "Forgot code" link at the bottom to get it.

Well, that was a bit crazy but after all TMS program deletions (except for webcore) using the Control panel, some judicious text commands in Powershell to uninstall some apps, and using the GUI, everything actually installed and worked. A bit chaotic but I got there I the end.

I’ve checked a mix of my software (recompiles etc.) – all works AOK.

So, back in business thank goodness.

I’m still on the fence on the app … it’s new .. and this is going to take getting used to.

Anyway, many, many thanks to Adrian for clarifying things so comprehensively .. but really this should all have been explained clearly in a proper online help system / document.

So, "job done" from my perspective .. but now the next exciting bit will be uploading an ‘updated’ package ..

I suspect the deeper issue is that, as a research scientist, I've always used Delphi as a very fast 'computational resource', replacing Fortran, rather than programming commercial apps .. and use the webcore as a convenient resource for distributing free-to-use online specialised computational applications - rather than anything commercial.

So, I'm not on a par with probably many who are serious app-constructors / real programming experts.

Anyway, I can't thank Adrian enough for helping me like this .. now I can sleep again!

Regards .. Paul

Great! :slight_smile:

I’m still on the fence on the app … it’s new .. and this is going to take getting used to.

Smartsetup isn't yet as polished as we would want it to be. It will get better.
It is just that we had to rush to release it, because many users were asking all the time for it. Even if not 100% polished, it is already helping lots of customers, specially those who have a lot of components to install.

Anyway, many, many thanks to Adrian for clarifying things so comprehensively .. but really this should all have been explained clearly in a proper online help system / document.

Better docs should be coming too, it is just that we also have to work in our "real" products (like FlexCel in my case), and well, docs for smartsetup haven't got enough priority. But they will come, also because a lot of new stuff is coming too and we will need to explain it.

So, I'm not on a par with probably many who are serious app-constructors / real programming experts.

I am sure you are more on par than what you think :slight_smile: The thing is, not all of our brains work the same, and what is "intuitive" for someone makes no sense for another. So we are trying to give choices here.
The command line (tms.exe) is the basis for it all, but it isn't designed to be the primary way to interact (you can think it as "command line git". yes, some people use it and dies for it, but most people prefer to use a GUI on top). Tms gui is a more friendly experience, but still "nerdy" enough. It is kind of like "gitgui" (which comes bundled with git). We are planning another GUI, that should be simpler and replace sub manager, but we are still working on it. That would be more alike the "professional" git clients we use.

But the command line tms is still the basis for it all, so we have a lot of focus on it right now since we want it to be perfect. And it is personally what I use, but I fully understand people who want something more friendly.

Finally, until this is really working 100% to our (and our clients) liking, we plan to keep providing the setup.exe. The case in bridges was special for technical issues (the package naming for VCL UI PACK is different in setup.exe and smartsetup, so it was impossible to make a "bridge" that would work with both). But it will likely be the only exception. All other products will keep having setup.exe as long as we feel the need.

Many thanks for the detailed reply Adrian .. onwards and upward!

Regards ... Paul