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Installation and update

EPOS-Plan is a standalone Windows application. Unlike its predecessors it no longer needs Excel: calculation, data storage and presentation all run inside the program. The download is provided through our server; access is granted as part of the maintenance agreement.

System requirements

Windows 10 or Windows 11 is required, in the 64-bit edition. Recommended are 8 GB of RAM, about 1 GB of free disk space and a screen resolution from 1,600 × 900 pixels. EPOS-Plan brings its own program runtime; a separately installed .NET runtime is not required. What it does require is the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime – the newer dialogues and views of the program run on it, and the setup installs it if it is missing. No additional component is needed for data storage: the parameter database is a SQLite file that EPOS-Plan reads and writes without a third-party driver. An internet connection is needed for climate data, online documentation and updates; all calculations run locally.

Installation

Sign in to the download area and download the current installation package. Run the setup with administrator rights and follow the steps; the program, the sample and master database and the required runtime components are installed. Afterwards EPOS-Plan creates two data directories: shared data under %ProgramData%\WP-Plan and user data under %LocalAppData%\WP-Plan. Both should be included in your backup.

At first start the program opens the parameter database Kenndaten.sqlite at the location set under Administration › Settings; by default this is %ProgramData%\EPOS_PLAN. If instead a message appears that the database cannot be opened, check whether the database file is present at that location and whether you may write in the database folder. The program then starts normally.

First steps after installation

Check the import and export directories, the path to the VDI 3805 manufacturer data and the address of the online documentation under Administration › Settings. Then the Quick start guide takes you through a complete project in ten steps. The licence agreement can be viewed, printed and saved at any time under Help › Licence.

Updates

Updates are provided as a complete installation package and installed with the same setup; existing projects and master data are preserved. If an update contains changes to the data model, EPOS-Plan adapts the database automatically at first start. Back up the database and both data directories before every update. Which functions were added with which version is listed in the Update log; the installed version is shown in the header and under Help › Version.

Multi-workstation use and backup

Project and master data are held together in the database file Kenndaten.sqlite. It belongs on a local drive and not on a network drive – this file format does not work reliably on network shares. Every workstation therefore keeps its own database; projects are exchanged through the project export as a .wpx package. Several Windows accounts on the same machine can share one database, provided all users may write in the database folder; the setup arranges that. Simultaneous editing of the same project should be avoided. For a backup it is enough to copy the database file and both data directories while the program is closed. If the files Kenndaten.sqlite-wal and Kenndaten.sqlite-shm still lie next to the database, EPOS-Plan is still running; they belong to the database and must never be copied, moved or deleted on their own.

If something does not work

If dialogues or views of the program stay blank, the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime is missing; it can be installed later at any time. If EPOS-Plan reports a database error at start, check the database location under Administration › Settings as described above and make sure you may write in the database folder; if the files Kenndaten.sqlite-wal and Kenndaten.sqlite-shm still lie there after a crash, do not delete them by hand – the next program start cleans them up itself. If the climate data import or the online documentation does not respond, check the internet connection and the addresses stored in the settings. Further hints are collected in the FAQ.