Job Explorer Database - Installation Guide

Please take a couple of minutes to read these notes before installing JED. This will save you time and allow you to choose the best installation method for your situation.

On this page

Current version

Make sure you have the current version of the CDs. These are presented as a two CD set in a DVD style case. The current version of Jed is the 2010/11 edition - version 2.0

Licensing, internet use, installation

JED is available to install, or to use from the internet. The internet version looks and works just like the installed version, but does not have videos, and you can't add your own pictures or text.

For internet access to JED, see www.careersoft.co.uk/JED.

To use JED from the internet or installed to your computer or network, you will need the Authorisation Code and other details that came with your purchase letter. This letter also shows you which version you are licensed for.

Updating an existing installation

If you already have JED installed on a computer, you can easily update your installation using the CD.

To update JED, put the CD (disc 1 of your new two-CD set) into the CD drive of the computer to which JED is installed, and then double-click the setup file in the folder called 'install', on the CD to run it. This will update JED and keep your existing licensing details. It will also keep any settings and local information that you have entered previously while using JED.

Alternatively you can uninstall your existing JED and then do a fresh install from the CD. If you take this approach, any settings and local information you have already entered will be lost. You will have to re-enter your licensing details when you first use the newly-installed JED.

Updating the videos (where applicable and licensed) is done in a similar way. Insert disc 2 of the two-CD set into the CD drive of the computer to which JED is installed. Depending on your system, the disc may run automatically. If it does not run automatically, then double-click the setup file in the root of the CD to start the video installer. If you have a previous video pack installed, it will update it. If you have no video pack installed, it will install the video pack. If you look on the 'Case studies' page in JED, you should now see over 250 video case studies listed.

Installing on just this computer

To install JED you need to be logged on with an account that has Administrator rights. Once the program is installed, you do not need any special rights to run it.

Double-click the setup file in the folder called 'install' on the CD to get started.

To install JED just to this computer, choose the Use it on this computer only option on the Install Options page during the install, and go with the default choices for the rest of the install.

There are over 250 videos to go with JED. Video usage is an optional extra on your JED licence. The JED videos are installed using the second disc from the two-disc JED installation CD set. To install the videos, start by installing the JED program first (see above). Then to install the videos, insert disc 2 (blue) of the two-CD set into the CD drive of the computer on which JED is installed. Depending on your system, the disc may run automatically. If it does not run automatically, then double-click the setup file in the root of the CD to start the video installer. After the videos are installed, if you look on the 'Case studies' page in JED, you should now see over 250 video case studies listed.

Installing on your network

We intend that you should find JED easy to install on your network. It pays to read through these notes first to save time and hassle later.

Please note that this is the recommended way of installing for all compatible network types, including all types of Windows networks, Citrix, RM Community Connect etc (see the additional help web pages for specific installation notes for various network types, including RM).

The network install for JED is different to the network install for many other products.

  • Nothing needs installing to the client machines (unless using text-to-speech, for which there is a small client install)
  • You do not need to visit any of the client machines
  • The program files are not installed to mapped drives or UNC shares

Deployment principle

JED contains a lightweight engine that makes interactive HTML pages on-the-fly and makes them available over http. For a stand-alone installation, the html page-maker and the browser are on the same machine. For a straightforward network install, the page-maker and browser can be on separate computers, so the page-maker runs as a service on your 'server' (can be any current Windows OS, including 2003, 2008, XP , and Windows 7), and then your clients point their browser (typically Microsoft Internet Explorer) at the server to view the pages. The connection is effected using standard HTTP over your TCP network, like your clients do for viewing external web sites.

The engine does pages for JED, and some other Careersoft products if installed. It will not do pages for anything else, and does not require or interact with any web server on the same machine. You may have used other 'browser-ware' products based on this principle already, ranging from web interfaces for network printers, to sophisticated information management packages.

You can install the product to each client machine individually instead if you wish, but this will require visiting each machine to install the product. It is not possible to run the program by sharing the exe off a mapped drive or UNC share.

The installer installs the program and the ancillary components that the program uses, including the .Net framework.

Installation

  1. Choose a suitable computer to install to. This should be connected to your network and running at all times that users might want to connect to it. A server is often a good choice for this. The operating system for the server part can be any current Windows operating system, including Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2003 Server, and Windows 2008 Server. Clients can be any operating system that supports a suitable browser, including Windows Vista, XP, 7, etc. By default, the network connectivity components in JED will only work on networks with standard private IP ranges according to RFC1597, i.e. 10.x.x.x, 172.16.x.x to 172.31.x.x, and 192.168.x.x. (if your network runs on some other non-standard IP range, contact support@careersoft.co.uk for advice). JED will also work on the 'link-local' 169.254.x.x range used by DHCP-less local networks where clients auto-allocate their own IP addresses. If your network runs on some non-standard IP range (i.e. none of the above), contact support@careersoft.co.uk for advice.
  2. Run the installer by double-clicking the setup file in the folder called 'install' on the CD (there is also a Windows installer msi file on the CD, but using this directly could mean that you miss out on some important updates to your system files, so is not recommended). Note also that the setup file must run on the target computer – you can't run it on one computer to install to another. The installer must run as a Privileged user (Administrative rights). Once installed, users need no special rights to use the product.
  3. Choose the "Allow others to connect to it" option from the Install Options page during the installation.
  4. Choose to install to a local drive. The destination folder for the installation must be a local drive on the machine that you are installing on. Mapped shares, on this computer or on other computers, and any UNC paths (like \\computername ) will not work. The installation folder does not need to be visible on a file share – remember that JED makes its information visible as HTML pages over HTTP, not as files off a file share.
  5. Note the URL for connecting to JED. A box containing this information pops up during the network install (this information is also visible from the Careersoft Network Components item in your Control Panel). You should note these details for use by your client computers for connecting to JED. The box showing these links also allows you to try these out in your browser, and this can also be a good opportunity to register the program by entering the Establishment Name and Authorisation Code supplied in your subscription letter - the program asks for these when you try to use it.
  6. Provide a way for your client computers to find JED. This could be by putting a Favorites link in their browser (perhaps by using Group Policy in Active Directory), or by putting a URL shortcut on their Desktop or Start menu (like you might do with a shortcut to an exe file), or by putting a hyperlink on your intranet. See the pages on publishing your links for details.

Browser requirements

JED will work with most recent browsers, including Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer. If using Microsoft Internet Explorer, we recommend using IE6 or higher, although it will work with IE5 and up. For a network install, the clients can be any operating system that supports a suitable browser, including Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

What's on the CD?

Disc 1 - JED program

  • Install folder. This folder contains the main installer program, setup.exe
  • Beneath this folder are the folders for required Windows components, including dotnet for the Microsoft .Net Framework. Normally you do not need to bother with these items separately, because by running the setup file your system is updated with these components automatically as part of the install process (you get prompted first).
  • supporting application installers\text to speech. This folder contains the file TextToSpeechCX.exe. This file has to be run once on all clients wanting to use text-to-speech, to install Microsoft Agent and other components needed for text-to-speech. Also in this folder is the file TextToSpeechCX.msi. This does just the same thing as the exe file does, but as a Windows Installer package. To install text-to-speech client components, you need to run the exe or the msi file – it is your choice as to which.
  • supporting application installers\windows media player. This folder contains an installer for Windows Media Player version 9. Recent versions of the Windows operating system will have a suitable version of Windows Media Player, but if you want to upgrade to version 9, this installer is provided for your convenience. Later versions of Windows Media Player are available from the Microsoft web site.

Disc 2 - JED video pack

This contains the videos for installing to JED, where licensed.

The videos setup file is in the root of the CD. Double-click this to start the videos installation procedure.

Where to go for further information

Please visit the JED support pages for information about using JED with specific network types, including Windows Active Directory, RM CC3, Citrix and Novell, and notes about troubleshooting your JED application.

Doc version 1.0.5

Page date 1/09/10