Installation and update › Installation

This page walks through a first installation of EPOS-Plan step by step – from the download and the setup program to the settings worth making after the first start. To bring an existing installation up to date, follow the Update page instead. Hardware and software prerequisites are collected under System requirements.

Contents

Step 1: Download the installation package

Sign in to our server with your user name and password. You receive both with the invoice or on request at info@inekon.de. Choose Downloads from the user menu. Depending on your access rights several categories are shown; for EPOS-Plan the categories EPOS-Plan and Update are the relevant ones.

For a first installation download the full version, not the file with the word update in its name. The package is a zip archive containing the setup program. Extract the archive completely into a local folder before starting the setup – running it directly from inside the opened archive regularly leads to missing files.

Step 2: Run the setup

Start Setup.exe with a right click and “Run as administrator”. Windows may ask for confirmation through User Account Control; as the package is signed you will see INEKON as the publisher. If SmartScreen reports an unknown application, choose “More info” and then “Run anyway”.

The setup runs through four steps: accepting the licence agreement, choosing the target folder, checking and if necessary installing the runtime components, and the installation itself. Keep the suggested target folder unless you have a compelling reason for a different path. If you do choose another folder, make sure all users have read access to it.

If runtime components are missing, the setup installs them. The program runtime itself is part of the installation package; what is installed in addition is the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, on which the newer dialogues and views of EPOS-Plan run. The machine has to be online briefly for that.

What the setup creates

Afterwards the program appears in the start menu under EPOS-Plan. The target folder holds the program files. The setup also creates the folder %ProgramData%\EPOS_PLAN and sets it up so that all users of the machine may write in it – only then can the later database also be used from a second Windows account. In addition the setup creates two data directories: shared data under %ProgramData%\WP-Plan and user-specific data under %LocalAppData%\WP-Plan. Imported climate data, caches and the local help cache live there.

The parameter database itself is only created on the first program start: EPOS-Plan copies the supplied template from the Vorlage folder of the program directory into the data folder just created – with the master data and the example projects – and checks the copy before continuing to start. If a database is already there, for instance from an earlier installation, EPOS-Plan leaves it untouched. If the template is missing from the program directory, the startup message names both locations – where the database was expected and where the template was looked for – and the program does not start.

The parameter database is a SQLite file named Kenndaten.sqlite; no further component is needed for it. Folder and file name are shown under Administration › Settings (default: %ProgramData%\EPOS_PLAN and Kenndaten.sqlite); a change there takes effect at the next program start. User settings – output paths, language, licence acceptance and the help assistant configuration – are stored in the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\wp-plan. They survive an update and can be reset completely by deleting that key.

Step 3: First program start

On the first start EPOS-Plan shows the licence agreement together with the legal notices and the list of components used. Read it and confirm; the acceptance is recorded per user and is not asked again. The full text remains available at any time under Help › Licence, where it can also be printed and saved.

The main window then opens on the start page. It is worth opening one of the supplied example projects and running it through once – that checks database access, climate data and the result charts in one go. If the simulation completes and the annual profiles appear, the installation is fully operational.

Step 4: Basic settings

Three settings are worth making right away. First the output folder for CSV exports: it is requested at the first export and remembered afterwards, but can also be set in advance. Second the path to VDI 3805 data sets, if you use manufacturer data in that format; without it only the supplied performance maps are available. Third the help assistant.

The help assistant answers questions about operating the program in plain language. It is optional and needs its own access key, entered in the chat window under “Settings…”. A daily limit for the number of requests can be set there as well; the default is 50 requests per workstation and day. Without a key the help search remains fully usable and works entirely locally. Only help texts, your question and the name of the dialogue you are in are transmitted – no project, client or simulation data.

Data storage and backup

Three locations belong in your backup: the parameter database at the location set in the settings (by default %ProgramData%\EPOS_PLAN), the shared data directory under %ProgramData%\WP-Plan and the user directory under %LocalAppData%\WP-Plan. That covers master data, projects, imported climate data and your own performance maps. The registry settings, by contrast, are quickly recreated and need not be backed up.

Close EPOS-Plan before copying the database. With the program closed a plain file copy of Kenndaten.sqlite is enough. If Kenndaten.sqlite-wal and Kenndaten.sqlite-shm lie next to it, the program has not been closed properly or has crashed – a copy would then be incomplete. Never copy, move or delete these two files on their own; they belong to the database. Where a backup has to be taken while the program is running, a SQLite tool writes a self-contained copy with the command VACUUM INTO without disturbing the program.

Before major changes to the master data – importing a large manufacturer database, for instance – keep a copy of the database file. Deleted records cannot be recovered from within the program.

Multiple workstations and network drives

EPOS-Plan is licensed per workstation; several workstations need several licences. Every workstation keeps its own database on a local drive. The database file does not belong on a network drive – this file format does not work reliably on network shares. Where projects are to be exchanged between workstations, the intended route is the project export as a .wpx package.

Several Windows accounts on the same machine can share one database; the setup prepares the database folder so that all users may write in it. Editing the same project simultaneously should be avoided in that case as well – a true multi-user project management is not provided.

For deployment through software distribution the setup can be run unattended. The runtime components should be provided by the distribution beforehand, because installing them requires administrator rights and internet access.

Troubleshooting the first start

The program starts, but dialogues or views stay blank

Then the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime is missing. The program runtime itself is part of the installation package and does not have to be installed separately; the WebView2 runtime is installed by the setup, for which the machine has to be online briefly. It can be set up later at any time – when in doubt, support will help.

Settings or exports are not saved

Then write permissions are missing in the chosen folder. Place exports in a directory below your user profile, or have the permissions on the program directory adjusted. No elevated rights are otherwise needed for day-to-day operation.

Climate data or location search do not work

Both need an internet connection. In networks with a proxy or a strict firewall the addresses of the European irradiance service PVGIS and of the place-name directory have to be allowed. All calculations run locally; without internet you continue to work with the climate data already imported.

Uninstalling

EPOS-Plan is removed through the Windows settings under Apps. Uninstalling asks once whether the database under %ProgramData%\EPOS_PLAN, together with its backup folder DB-Backup, should also be deleted; the default is No. This folder is shared by all Windows accounts on the machine – a confirmed Yes therefore also deletes the projects of the other accounts, and there is no way back. The two data directories and the registry settings are kept in any case, so that a later reinstallation can pick up your data. If they should go as well, delete the folders %ProgramData%\WP-Plan and %LocalAppData%\WP-Plan and the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\wp-plan afterwards. The runtime components are not removed, as other programs may rely on them.

If you get stuck

Within the maintenance agreement you reach us on working days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CET) on +49 711 9959 826 50 or by e-mail at info@inekon.de. Please have your customer number, Windows version, Office version and the EPOS-Plan version to hand – the latter is shown under Help › Version. For stubborn cases we offer remote support with TeamViewer. Further answers are in the FAQ and in the documentation.