Windows Services 2.8+

Running Omniscope Server as a Windows Service (2.8+)

New documentation: This page relates specifically to Omniscope version 2.8 b313 (end Sept 2012) and later.  If using Omniscope 2.6 or 2.7, or any build of 2.8 up to 312, see the older instructions [3].

Keeping Scheduler and Mobile Web Server running without login/logouts

If installed as a Windows Service, Omniscope Server/Publisher will start when your system starts, without a user account login required. This enables 'always-on' 24/7 services to remain running regardless of user account logins or logout.

Installation on Windows Vista, 7, 8, Server 2008 and  Server 2012

Per-user installation (2.8+)

On typical systems, this is the default option when installing Omniscope.  Omniscope will be installed to the user profile under "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app", and will not be available to other accounts.  The same user account will be activated, and will also be used to run the service under.

1. Stop the Visokio Enterprise service if previously installed, using the Windows Services dialog (Start > Control Panel" then "System and Security > Administrative Tools > Services).
2. If you are upgrading from 2.8 b312 or earlier, delete "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service\wrapper.conf" (but keep a copy if you have previously customised it).
3. Install Omniscope, customising and ensuring "Per-user" installation is chosen. If available, choose 64-bit.  No need to uninstall.
4. If you copied then deleted wrapper.conf in step 2, restore any advanced customisations to the newly installed file (we recommend using Beyond Compare 3), but you no longer need to customise memory allocation - this is now automatic.
5. Activate: If not already activated, start Omniscope and activate with your Server license key. Note that activation is unaffected by upgrades.
6. Install the service as follows
   • Browse to "Start menu > All programs > Accessories > Command Prompt"
   • Right click and choose "Run as administrator".  Approve any User Account Control dialog that may be shown.
   • Enter:
     cd "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service"
     "Install Visokio Service.bat"
   • Check the command executed successfully.  If not, check you followed the above steps correctly, then get in touch [4].
7. Configure the Windows account for the service to run as:
   • Open Windows Services dialog > "Visokio Enterprise" > Properties > "Log on" tab
   • Select "This account" and enter name and password of the account that the Visokio service is going to run on. 
     This user must be the same account that has been installed and activated.
8. Start the service using the Windows Services dialog.
9. Schedule some tasks:
   • Browse to "Start menu > All programs > Visokio Omniscope" and choose "Scheduler".
   • This will open the scheduler interface where you can add and edits tasks. 
   • You can exit this and tasks will continue to run in the service.
10. Check the Scheduler log and make sure everything is working.
    • Scheduler configuration and logs are located in "C:\Users\[username]\scheduler" folder.
    • Alternatively, in the Scheduler window, click the link to view the log.
11. To uninstall the service:
    • Open command prompt as administrator (as in step 6)
    • Enter:
      cd "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service"
      "Uninstall Visokio Service.bat"

System-wide installation

Follow the steps above.  But in this case, Omniscope is installed to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Visokio Omniscope" or "C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope". 

Regardless of installation location, activation is typically per-user.  You must ensure that the service is configured to run as a specific user account, and that same user account must be activated by logging in and entering the key into Omniscope Desktop.

Memory configuration (2.8+)

By default the service uses the same memory limit as the desktop app, which is 1100mb on a 32-bit system or approx. 75% installed memory on a 64-bit PC.

Advanced users can customise this to free up memory for multiple schedulers or to squeeze more RAM out of a server.

To edit the service memory configuration, open wrapper.conf in your Omniscope installation folder typically in "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service" or "c:\ProgramFiles\Visokio Omnisope\service" and edit the line "wrapper.java.maxmemory", specifying a number in MB.  For example:

wrapper.java.maxmemory=1100            (32-bit limit)

or

wrapper.java.maxmemory=6000            (as recommended on an 8gb server running 64-bit)

32-bit vs 64-bit Mode

The Visokio service will by default run in the 32/64-bit mode as chosen when first installed.  By default this is 64-bit on a 64-bit PC and 32-bit on a 32-bit PC.  If you are upgrading an older version of Omniscope you will need to replace "wrapper.conf" as detailed above in the installation section, otherwise an old configuration will be used.

To switch between 32-bit and 64-bit, reinstall following the steps above and choosing the right option in the installer, being sure to replace "wrapper.conf" as detailed.

Troubleshooting

First steps

Make sure you're using 2.8 b313 or later and have followed the instructions above carefully.  See also Scheduler troubleshooting [5] and the flowchart PDF in this forum post [6]. 

Service will not install

If you try to install Visokio as a service on Vista, you will get a"OpenSCManager Failed - Access is Denied. (0x5)" error. On Vista, you need to log on as an administrator when you install the service, as detailed in the installation instructions above.

Service will not start

If your service will not start after it has been installed, please check that you have a clean installation of Omniscope with an updated "wrapper.conf" file as detailed above.  

Also make sure the service is configured to run under a user account which has access to the Omniscope installation folder.  Make sure the same account has been activated with your license key, and not another user account.

Repeat the installation steps carefully.  Get in touch on the forums [7] if you still cannot get the service to start.

"Out of memory" errors

If you get out of memory errors (in the scheduler or service log files, in the program folder), please check that you have a clean installation of Omniscope with an updated "wrapper.conf" file as detailed above.  

See above Memory configuration [8] section on how to increase memory and switch to 64-bit Java (if you are using a 64-bit machine).

You need to restart the service for the changes to take effect.

Files on network drives

Scheduler as a service is unable to access files on mapped network drive, because these drive mappings are only available to a desktop user session on Windows.

The way to get around this issue is by using full UNC paths (\\machine name\path) in your DataManager models and source/output paths.

Database drivers not working

See System-wide database driver location settings [9]. 

Scheduler Server task will not execute - Java errors in log

This usually means the "wrapper.conf" is old and applies to an older version of Omniscope.  Please check that you have a clean installation of Omniscope with an updated "wrapper.conf" file as detailed above.  

Administered Desktops

Installing Omniscopes throughout an organisation 

Installation for corporate-administered Windows machines/networks

To install Omniscope in a corporate administered network environment you may either install individually, or deploy (roll out) to multiple terminals from a central location. Once installed, you will then need to activate your installation(s) to increase functionality from the read/query/print-only free Viewer to the authoring Desktop (or Server) Editions. Omniscope licensing is on a per-account, not a per-machine basis. If you install using an Administrator account, you must activate using the User, rather than Administrative account. Installing to all accounts will result in all unactivated accounts having the free Viewer installed...usually a good thing.

Single User Windows installation

Download the full installer files

There is only one installer file for all Omniscope Editions. Download the full installer from here [12]

The full installers which are self-contained (include the latest Java PVM) and do not trigger further downloads.

Installation by an System Administrator

It is advisable for the Administrator to configure the appropriate proxy settings at installation, allowing Omniscope to activate and update itself online. This can be done from Settings > {Application-wide} Advanced > HTTP Proxy Settings. Another alternative is to deploy a plain-text properties file into the Visokio Omniscope program folder in Program Files. See Proxy Settings [13]for more information.

Activation from User account

Installations can be either unactivated Omniscope free Viewers (read/query/print-only of .IOK files), or an activated Omniscope Editions able to publish data sets as .IOM Workgroup or .IOK Professional files. If the user is intending to use only the free Viewer, then Omniscope doesn't need to be activated. However, if the user needs an authoring Edition of Omniscope, then the installation needs to be activated. Activation is by-account. Omniscope should be activated while logged in to the User account, not the Administrator account used for the installation. If another user logs in to a different account on the same machine, they will see the free Viewer only. When upgrading to a newer version, it is best to have all users refresh their activation from Omniscope:

Help > Licensing & Activation > [Refresh]

Multiple or 'Roll-out' installation

Omniscope can be deployed to multiple machines in an administered network environment using either a 3rd party application deployment management suite that will simulate the log-in of an administrator and execution of the offline installer executable, or using the silent installation option detailed below.

Roll-out Installation Options

Silent installation

Using the /S (capital "S") switch, the installer will run in silent mode. You can remotely execute the following command to install Omniscope without the usual sequence of interactive wizard steps. You may need to configure the installer to run in silent mode on next login.

 Z:/path/to/OmniscopeOfflineInstaller.exe /S

See Silent installation [14] for more information. 

Deployment without using the installer

It is also possible to roll out Omniscope without the installer.  Please contact [4] Visokio for further information.

Terminal Services

Installing Omniscope on remote machines 

Using Omniscope via Terminal services and Remote Desktop

Overview

This page explains how to install Omniscope on a server and use it through Windows Terminal Services (WTS). This page assumes you have a basic understanding of Windows operating system and WTS.

Tested environments

The environment used for validation were set up in the following ways:

• The WTS environment used Remote Desktop Client version 6.0.2448.0, with Windows Server 2000 Service Pack 4 and Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition.

• Client operating systems tested were Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1, Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2, and Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4.

• A user account was set up using a Microsoft Active Directory domain user group.

Note: The Anonymous User profile was not tested.

• The user account was set up on the server with a restricted Common User profile, with Read, Read and Execute, and List Folder Contents permissions. These permissions enable the user to operate the computer and save documents; the user cannot install programs or make changes to the system files or settings.

• The server machine was running Microsoft Office XP Professional and Standard with Service Pack 2, Internet Explorer 6.0, Visio versions 2002 and 2003, Netscape Navigator

Installing Omniscope

1. Download and fully-install the latest version by going to www.visokio.com/download [15].

2. Once downloaded, double-click the installer and follow the instructions.
   It is important that you choose "Install for all users" and not "Install for current user"

3. Follow the the rest of the installer instructions and when prompted click Finish to complete the installation.

4. Please note that Omniscope activation is on a per machine, per account basis. This means that each account intending to use Omniscope will need to be activated separately. If concurrent use of the same machine is aniticapted, please see the discussi9on of setting maximum RAM limits per account here [17].

Accessing Omniscope from WTS client

1. Choose Start > Programs > Accessories > Communication > Remote Desktop Connection.

2. In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, type the name of the server you want to access in the Computer Name box, or select a server name from the list.

3. Click Connect.

4. Log into the server.

5. Open Omniscope from the Terminal Services-based server.

Basic acceptance tests for Omniscope

Please refer to test scripts [18] for further information.

Removing Omniscope 

1. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.
2. Select Omniscope in the Add/Remove list, and then click Add/Remove.

Troubleshooting

Please contact us [4],or use our support forums.
[7]

Citrix Installation

Installing Omniscope on Citrix

Many do it.... 

Although Omniscope is not officially supported on Citrix, many clients have been deploying Omniscope via Citrix without issues. Omniscope is a standard Windows application, so it should be possible to install and use Omniscope in these environments.

Activation 

Activation on Citrix environment is the same as non-Citrix environment (per account).

Known Issues:

Omniscope won't start (Citrix 4.5)

On Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 for Windows Server 2003 (32- and 64-bit), you may find after installing Omniscope successfully that Omniscope won't start.  You may get an error message indicating "Could not create the Java virtual Machine". This message can be seen when launching using "launch_debug.exe" in the installation folder.

This is due to a problem with Citrix 4.5 for which a hotfix is available.

Please see http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX115868 [19] for the hotfix, which should resolve this issue.

If you are unable to apply the hotfix, you can try reducing the memory allocated to Omniscope [17] to below 580MB, although this will limit Omniscope's capability.

Install Config File

Using the Omniscope installconfig.properties file

Advanced installation options are available 

Omniscope installs an optional installconfig.properties file containing advanced settings.  Normally, you do not need to make any changes to this file.  It is used to customise installations in advanced ways or to add diagnostics or fault-finding settings.

Corporate administrators may wish to use this file to tailor their rollout of Omniscope, for example, to support a centralised Java VM. This file is also used to re-direct Omniscope to use 64-bit Java installs [20], and to specify customised settings [21] to be available to installed Omniscope users. This file may also be used to assist in diagnosing problems starting or using the software (see below).

Editing the file

The installconfig.properties file contains plain text, editable by Notepad.  It is located within the installation folder, in one of the following locations, depending on your operating system and installation options:

• C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app   (AppData is hidden, so you may need to reveal hidden files first in Explorer options)
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Visokio Omniscope
• C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope

Within the file, comments are prefixed with a space and # symbol. See the description of all available properties in the example file, below.  Uncommented properties must have no leading space nor #.

# This is the installation configuration file.
# This is used to configure initial startup of the application.
#
# All properties are optional, and if defined, each line must not contain redundant whitespace
# To enable/disable a property, remove/add the # sign (# means comment)

# This is an optional manually-specified Java VM installation folder.
# It should contain bin\javaw.exe, and should be Java version 5+
# JVM_DIR=C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.5.0_14

# This is an optional manually-specified max memory cap for the Java VM, an integer specifying the
# megabytes to allow the JVM.  Must be at least 64.
# If unspecified, 75% of physical RAM will be used as the cap.
# MAX_MEMORY_MB=300

# Optional property specifying additional space-separated JVM options.  Default is blank.
# Example which enables "heap dump on out of memory", which generates files such as 
# "java_pid4972.hprof" in the program folder, for submitting to Visokio for analysis
# (requires Java 1.5.0_07+ or Java 6):
# ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError

# Optional property which if true causes output to be redirected to
# "Visokio_output_log.txt" in My Documents
# LOG_TO_MY_DOCUMENTS=true

# Optional property which, if true, disables the default heap tuning parameters
# which at time of writing are -Xms64M -XX:MinHeapFreeRatio=20 -XX:MaxHeapFreeRatio=30
# DISABLE_DEFAULT_HEAP_OPTIONS=true

Changing Java used by Omniscope

Omniscope includes its own copy of Java, which has been selected to work correctly with Omniscope, and which means your system does not have any Java-related requirements. 

In rare cases when fault-finding, you may be asked to use a different version of Java. You can specify a specific version of Java to use with Omniscope by editing installconfig.properties file's JVM_DIR property. Uncomment (by removing "#" at the start, and removing any leading spaces) JVM_DIR, and then specify the location of the Java installation folder, such as "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6".

Adding JVM arguments

For advanced users, Java and Omniscope can be customised using JVM arguments.  The installconfig.properties file's ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS property should be uncommented (by removing "#" at the start, and removing any leading spaces), and the arguments added after the "=" sign with spaces between them, as seen in the examples below. 

Increasing the stack size

For example, if you experience a "stack overflow" error, after reporting the error to Visokio, you may be able to resolve the error by increasing your Java stack size, by including the installconfig property, adjusting the 2000 value upwards if necessary:

ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-Xss2000k 

Specifying Corporate Fonts  

If you are running on Windows go to C:\Windows\Fonts and copy all the fonts you want to make available from Omniscope to another folder such as C:\our_fonts. Now edit the installconfig.properties file as explained above. Add a command line option to specify which fonts are available by uncommenting (removing the space & hash) at the front of the  #ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS line and provide the following: -DinstalledFontLocation=c:\our_fonts (case sensitive). Below is an example of how the modified installconfig.properties line would look:

ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-DinstalledFontLocation=c:\our_fonts

Note:it is important that to copy rather than move your fonts from the C:\Windows\Fonts location. Also note that onlyTrue Type Fonts (with .TTF extension) files can be included.

Heap dump on out-of-memory

To enable this, only when advised, ensure the ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS line is uncommented and includes the option "-XX+:HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError". For example:

ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError

This will cause a heap dump (*.hprof file) to be written to the install folder should you experience an out of memory situation. When this occurs, deliver this file to Visokio for diagnosis if you believe the error to be unwarranted. More information... [22]

Disable Free trial

You can disable free trial prompts on start-up and from the Help menu by following the steps below. If you are in a corporate environment it is recommended that you install Omniscope for all users, rather than for each individual user, otherwise you will need to carry the steps below by modifying each user account's installconfig.properties. 

Find this line in installconfig.properties 
#ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError

Replace with the following line:
ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-DdisableFreeTrial=true

If you have ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS property already enabled, add to the end 
" -DdisableFreeTrial=true" 

Disable automatic update check

Find this line in installconfig.properties 
#ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError

Replace with the following line:
ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-DCHECK_UPDATES_AUTOMATICALLY=false

If you have ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS property already enabled, add to the end 
" -DCHECK_UPDATES_AUTOMATICALLY=false"

Further information

See also:

• Generating a class load log [23] 
• Customising Omniscope memory allocation [17].
• System-wide database driver location settings [9]

Database driver locations

System-wide database driver location settings

Setting locations available to all users

When you first use a database connection, depending on the type of database, Omniscope may prompt you to download and locate the database JDBC driver. Omniscope tracks this location, so you don't need to enter it again.

However, if there are more than one user account running Omniscope on the same machine, then when running as a different user account, these settings won't be available and you or other users on the same machine will be prompted again on first use. This may be inconvenient if configuring a system for multiple user accounts, and can prevent a 'headless' Scheduler Server running as a Windows Service from working.

Configuring JDBC driver locations for all users (2.8 b1056+)

In the desktop application

Use this approach if you have multiple users launching Omniscope Desktop on the same system, and/or wish to push out a configuration centrally to many PCs.

1. Open configuration file: [path to Omniscope installation]\installconfig.properties [24].  You may need to run your text editor as Administrator.
   
   
2. Add/uncomment the ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS line so it looks like this:
   ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-DpropName="propValue" -Dprop2Name="prop2Value" -Dprop3Name="prop3Value"
   (etc. - see properties, below)
   
   For example:
   ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-DOracleThinDriverSearch_jarFile="C:\Oracle\product\11.2.0\Db_1\jdbc\lib\ojdbc5.jar"

In the Windows Service 

Use this approach if you're using the Windows Service to run the Omniscope Scheduler/Mobile Web Server without a logon session.

1. Open configuration file: [path to Omniscope installation]\service\wrapper.conf [10].  You may need to run your text editor as Administrator.
2. Find the "wrapper.java.additional.n" section, and add additional lines like this:
   wrapper.java.additional.2=-DpropName="propValue"
   wrapper.java.additional.3=-Dprop2Name="prop2Value"
   wrapper.java.additional.4=-Dprop3Name="prop3Value"
   (etc. - see properties, below)
   
   For example:
   wrapper.java.additional.2=-DOracleThinDriverSearch_jarFile="C:\Oracle\product\11.2.0\Db_1\jdbc\lib\ojdbc5.jar"
   
   

Properties

Class Load Logs

Generating a Class Load Log

1. Install Omniscope 2.2-pre b71 or later.
2. Edit C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope\installconfig.properties.(documented fully here [24])
3. Edit/Add the following properties (ensure that these properties do not appear elsewhere in the file unless they are preceded by "#"):
   
   ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-verbose:class -DtickLogEvery=500
   LOG_TO_MY_DOCUMENTS=true
   
4. Start Omniscope
5. Close Omniscope (and/or dismiss any dialogs, and close any console windows that may remain open)
6. Email the file Visokio_output_log.txt (saved in your My Documents folder) to support AT Visokio.com
7. Remove the changes you made in step 3 

Omniscope Server on Mac OSX

 

 

 

 

 

Custom fonts

Customising the Omniscope Application Font

Changing the default application font

By default, Omniscope uses Tahoma as the application-wide font face, unless customised. It is possible to change this font face throughout the Omniscope interface - both for interface elements such as menus, dialogs and buttons, and for data elements such as bar view labels. You may wish to do this to comply with your organisation's corporate font standards, or to enable Omniscope to support a different character set for a different language, in particular, non-Western languages.

The default Tahoma does not support some non-western languages such as Chinese and Japanese. Omniscope will automatically switch to another font such as Arial Unicode MS if the Omniscope Settings > Language is set to a language requiring such characters. For more information on changing fonts to fully support certain non-Western languages, see Using Omniscope with Non-Western Languages [36]. 

Customising your own application (and file-specific) font(s) using the Settings menu

You can use Omniscope itself to customise your own default font setting using the Settings menu. Use the Settings > Application font menu to choose the default font face for your own Omniscope installation. This application font will then be used regardless of which IOK file you have open, unless you have also further customised a file-specific font override using Settings > File font to choose a file-specific font to use in that file only.

Note that if you make the change this way, it willl only apply to your own installation, and cannot be shared with others because the changes will not be exported as part of your own shareable version of the branding folder (see below).

Customising your own application font manually

If your own branding folder is to be exported and shared or bundled for wider deployment, you must change your font settings by manually editing your own copies of the configuration properties files which will be exported with your own sharable branding folder. 

Windows PCs 

(If you are using Vista/Windows 7 or later, you should create and edit the file in a different location such as your desktop, then move the file into the installation folder afterwards)

1. Using text editor like Notepad, create a new file with just one line of text as follows:
   AppFontName=[the name of your font]
   Example for non-western languages:
   AppFontName=Arial Unicode MS
2. Save the file to your desktop, calling it "config.properties" (with no ".txt" extension).
3. Explore to the folder "C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope"
4. If it does not already exist, create a new subfolder called "branding"
5. Move your newly created "config.properties" file into this subfolder.
6. Restart Omniscope.  

1. Using TextEdit, create a new file with just one line of text as follows:
   AppFontName=[the name of your font]
   Example for non-western languages:
   AppFontName=Arial Unicode MS
2. From the Format menu, choose "Make plain text".
3. Save the file as plain text to your desktop, calling it "config.properties" (with no ".txt" extension).  You may have to rename it after saving.
4. Using Finder, browse to your Applications folder.
5. Locate Omniscope, right-click and choose "Show package contents"
6. Browse to Contents > Resources > Java
7. Create a new subfolder called "branding"
8. Move your newly created "config.properties" file into this subfolder.
9. Restart Omniscope.  

Deploying your custom font settings to other Omniscopes

Once you have edited your own 'model' installation files, you can create a distributable branding folder in Omniscope .ILF format that, when clicked by users with Omniscpe already installed, will update those existing installations such that your changes to fonts are automatically installed on all recipients' machines.

Settings > {Application-wide} Advanced > Tools  > Create distributable branding pack 

Note that if your recipients do not already have Omniscope installed, either they must install it first before they can click on .ILF files, or you have to create a bundled installer that includes your .ILF branding pack. For more information, see Bundling Installers

Restricting font choice to corporate fonts  

This allows you to create a folder of only certain fonts which will limit the fonts available from the Omniscope font menus. You would use this to ensure all your IOK files have a standard set of fonts, preventing your users from creating IOK files departing from your corporate style guidelines.

These instructions are for a Windows PC:

• Create a folder such as C:\our_fonts somewhere on the PC
• Explore to C:\Windows\Fonts
• Copy (not move) all the fonts you want to make available from Omniscope into the folder you have created. Note that onlyTrue Type Fonts (with .TTF extension) files can be included.
• Edit the installconfig.properties file in the Omniscope program folder using NotePad:
• Uncomment (by removing the space & hash) at the front of the  #ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS line
• Add/change to include -DinstalledFontLocation=c:\our_fonts
• Example:  ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-DinstalledFontLocation=c:\our_fonts 
• For more information see additional JVM arguments [24]. 

Non-Western data

Using Omniscope with Non-Western Languages

Setting Omniscope to use a font that fully supports your language and data

The default application-wide font used by Omniscope is Tahoma, which does not have the Unicode character set necessary to support non-western language text such as for Chinese and Japanese. However, you can easily configure Omniscope to use a different font that does support non-western text. There are three ways to do this, each of which is described below. The first two options are available on an installation by instalation or file-by-file basis. The last option can be used to share the change such that they persist across any number of installations from the time they are installed or updated (2.8+).

1. Change the default application font that is used whenever your Omnscope installation is used to open any/all files:

   Settings > {Application wide} Application font 

   Making the change this way cannot be shared with other installations.

2. Change a file specific font; changing this setting will mean only the particular file will have this font, any other files you open will use the application font setting. 

   Settings > {This file} File font 

   Making the change here will travel with the file, ensuring others open only this file with the same font). If the font is not available on a given recipient's machine, then the file will revert back to opening with their default application font.

3. Edit the default configuration file in the reference machine used to export shareable branding packages, as described here [35]. Then export the deployable branding pack from the reference machine and either distribute as an .ILF file to existing installations, or use the Bundled Installer [38].

Some non-Western font recommendations

For Japanese

The following fonts are recommended for Japanese

• Windows - MSPGothic recommended (you can also try: MS Mincho, MS Gothic, MSPMincho, MSUIGothic, Meiryo)

• Mac OS X - AquaKana, Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro W3,W4,W6,W8, Hiragino Pro W3,W6, Osaka, Osaka Mon

For Chinese and other non-western languages

For all other non-western languages "Arial Unicode MS" can be used. Other fonts can be used if they are available. However, "Arial Unicode MS" is known to work well and is included with Windows and Mac OS X10.5. For more information please refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287247 [39]

Branding folders

Creating Shareable Custom Branding folders (2.8+)

Create and deploy your own branding folder to change installation appearance and options

By default, all Omniscope installations, including free Viewers, are installed without a folder in the installation directory named "branding". In the absence of such a folder with specific contents (see below), the default Visokio screens and branding are displayed each time Omniscope install or opens. The branding folder on one specific reference installation can be customised to contain various custom images and text settings that, if present, take precedence over the default Omniscope settings.

Licensing permitting, Omniscope permits power users to create/test on their own installations, then share (or remotely deploy in a Bundled Installer) copies of their own branding folders, enabling them to change appearance and features available in other installations that install or includes their branding folder.

Beginning with version 2.8, branding folders can be deployed and periodically updated as installable .ILF files either on their own (to modify existing installations), or as part of a Bundled Installer  [38]that creates new, re-branded installations from a single click on the executable.

Download a sample bundling package as a starting point

To create a custom branding folder, first choose a reference machine installation and download this sample branding folder as a starting point:

Sample default branding folder [40] (.ZIP)

Examples of all the elements that can be rebranded on full Omniscope installs are available in this download. Add your branding to the images as necessary (some images are size sensitive) then edit the config.properties file appropriately as documented in the example file itself. 

If you have a bundler version  of Omniscope installed on the reference machine, you can also download and click on a sample .ILF branding package to have Omniscope install it automatically:

Bundler default branding package [42] (.ILF)

Windows OS:  Omniscope installed for all users (default): 

XP: C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope\branding
Vista/Win7/Win8 (32-bit): C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope\branding 
Vista/Win7/Win8 (64-bit): C:\Program Files (x86)\Visokio Omniscope\branding 
If Omniscope is installed for current user only, or if current user installs by clicking on .ILF branding package, the folder will be here:
XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Visokio Omniscope app\branding 
Vista/Win7/Win8: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\branding
Mac OS:  On Mac, right-click Omniscope and "Show package contents", then drop the "branding" folder in Contents/Resources/Java).   

Editing Branding Folder package contents 

The branding folder contains sub-folders and files that can be used to determine the behavior of all installations having the branding folder installed in the required location. Sub-folders include:

Category & Continuous DataColourPresets: These folders contain XML files that define the coloring menu options visible in the Omniscope menu under:

Style > Data Colours >  {Categories} and also {Continuous}.

Deleting one or more of these XML files will eliminate them from the Omniscope menu, and adding customised colour pallettes will add new, bundler-specific pallette options to the Omniscope menus. You can use tools available inside Omniscope to create and export customised colour pallattes in XML format ready to be copied into these sub-folders to add them to the menus available in the rebranded installations.

File library sub-folder and files: This sub-folder optionally contains at least one 'welcome' IOK file configured by the brander/bundler intended to open from the re-brander's desktop shortcut icon placed on the users' desktops by a Bundled Installer. A specified 'welcome' IOK file is usually configured to act as a starting point or 'index' with heavily styled Omniscope Opening and Closing screens, Web and Content Views (usually containing links to all the files in the File library sub-folder), Help screens and other network/web content links to provide Bundled installation users with an overview and next steps to take once they have installed Omniscope for the first time. Any number of files can be included in the File library sub-folder and can be linked to from links within the specified 'welcome' IOK file.

Images sub-folder and files: Report IOK file templates often contain many types of images which are not part of the data set, but are used throughout the file, and therefore need to be available for the creation of new files.  Standard versions of company logos, background images, Blank View images, banner ad images, etc. can all be distributed (so that they are always available to report authors) by saving the latest copies in the Images sub-folder of the branding folder, such that they become part of the exportable, shareable branding .ILF, and through that, part of all the bundled installers featuring that particular verion of the branding ILF.

Themes: This sub-folder contains the custom XML files that determine which pre-defined Application Style options are visible from Omniscope under:

Style > Application Styles .

The visible style list will also include any user-specific custom application styles to be added to the Omniscpe menu, for example corporate styles to be shared with all corporate users.  Additional Application Style files can also be shared on a user-by-user basis by exporting the modified styles as .ILF files and sending them to the users who need them. 

Application display images: The various start-up, welcome screen and other branding image files in the top level of the branding folder are documented within the folder itself using text files with the same name as each image file.  All of these image files can be replaced with custom images of the same size (in some cases), or of any size (in other cases) to create a re-branded installed version of the Omniscope.

LayoutModes XML file

This file should contain either the default, or the Style > Edit Style Presets custom settings. Use Tools > Export in the Edit Modes dialogue to save a copy of the customised settengs as an XML file.  Share this XML  file with others either by sending it to them for import, or by renaming the customised XML file to overwrite the default 'LayoutModes.xml' and saving it in the branding folder as shown above. This will ensure that all installations sharing the branding folder will dsisplay the customised presets, ensuring that chaging between Modes will not change any branding-specific styling or colour pallettes that have been established as standard.

Editing the branding folder config properties text file

Within the branding folder, many aspects of the installed application behavior can be customised by following the instructions inside the 'config' properties text file. Each option is documented within the 'config' properties file itself. You can comment/uncomment the changed 'config' properties text file using # characters. An example of the settings available in this file is shown here [43].

Corporate environment and bundled installers install Omniscope for all user accounts on the machine, rather than for each individual user account. If you are working on a Windows machine with a version later than Vista, you will need to work on files in the branding folder from an editable location such as My Documents, then drag the edited versions with Vista+ Windows UAC confirmation into the program branding folder when you want to see the results. This is only true if Omniscope has been installed for all users, as it will be for bundled installs by default. If you are working from a current user installation, you can edit the files in the branding folder directly. In Windows XP, you can edit the file directly in the program folder. 

To preview your results, install Omniscope normally and put the work-in-progress branding folder inside your Omniscope program folder, or click on a Branding ILF exported from a reference installation, then start Omniscope. Deleting the branding folder will return an installation to the default settings.

Some Advanced Re-branding Options 

(see full documentation of  the branding folder installation config.properties file here [43])

Disable Free trial - You can disable free trial prompts on start-up and from the Omniscope Help menu for custom installs by adding the following line in the config.properties file: 

DisableFreeTrial=true

Disable automatic update check - You can change the default Omniscope setting to always check for the latest updates by adding the following line:

CHECK_UPDATES_AUTOMATICALLY=false

=============================================================================

Please note that further customisations may be available other than those specified in this example of the config.properties file - contact us [4] for more information.  

Out of Memory

Managing out of Memory Errors

What to do if you get an Out of Memory Error?

You may have reached the data capacity limit on your computer. This is more often a problem with computers running 32-bit Windows, which limit data addressing space. Please consider using the 64-bit Windows and installing the 64-bit version of Omniscope. Both are available at no extra charge.  Machines with 64-bit Windows can access billions of times more data than machines running 32-bit Windows.

1) As a possible fix with existing Operating System and RAM, please push the maximum memory above the 75% default as instructed in this page [17].

It is recommended that if you are on a 32-bit PC with 2GB memory, that you push the limit up to 1750MB. In case you run multiple instances of Omniscope, they will all use the same settings, as configured in installconfig.properties, so you will have to decrease memory allocation and make sure MAX_MEMORY is adjusted so it leaves some memory for the OS (on a machine with 4GB of ram and 2 GB pagfile, with 4 Omniscope instances running - Xmx should be set to 2GB).

2) You can also try to increase the -Xms, in installconfig.properties, which is the initial memory allocated to Java.  Default of 64M might be too low and you can try 256M.  

 
For example, to set Xms to 256 use:

ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-Xms256M 

Note: there is dash before capital X, followed by 'ms' followed by a number and ending in a 'M' 

3)  Set DISABLE_DEFAULT_HEAP_OPTIONS=true in installconfig.properties . Turning this option on will disable Omniscope's default memory options and may have an impact on memory.

4) Add "-XX:+UseParallelGC" without the quotes to "Additional_jvm_args property in installconfig.properties.  This is useful diagnostic tool it helps us verify if the default Java memory management algorithm is causing the issue. Turning this option on effectively replaces the default with an another algorithm. The role of the memory mamangent algorithm is to go through and release memory so that when certain sections of memory are no longer required they are freed so that they can be used later. 

If any of the above has not solved your problem, contact us for further help.

Proxy Settings

Managing Proxy Settings

Connecting Omniscope to the Internet

If you are in a typical medium to large organisation, your PCs may access the Internet through a proxy server. Proxy servers are separate computers that act as gateways and are used to improve security and efficiency. 

Omniscope needs to be able to access the Visokio servers for various reasons including activation, automatic updates and sending bug reports. These servers are accessed via host services.visokio.com, port 80.

Also, some user-configured functionality requires Omniscope to retrieve data from user-configured sites on the internet - such as live price quotes and web services.  Note: that Omniscope only retrieves text and value data from websites configured by the user, and never retrieves executable content or data that may be considered a security risk.

Auto-detecting proxy settings 

Omniscope detects proxy settings automatically, out-of-the-box. You should not need to make any configuration changes to your Omniscope installation.

In rare cases this does not work with a particular organisation's proxy settings policy. You can tell when proxy settings are not working when Omniscope is unable to check for updates but your web browser is able to access the internet successfully.

If auto-detected proxy settings do not work, you can manually configure your proxy settings (below).  Alternatively, if you only wish to permit access specifically to the Visokio servers to support license activation, you may be able to reconfigure your proxy server and firewall to allow direct access specifically to services.visokio.com, port 80.

Configuring manually whilst activating

When activating Omniscope, if the proxy settings detected are not correct, Omniscope may ask you to enter these as part of the product activation dialog steps. If the Online activation failed dialog appears, click the Proxy settings button and enter the details, as described below.

• You will need to know the http/https proxy host and http/https proxy port of your proxy server
• From Omniscope go to Main Toolbar: Settings [Application-wide] > Advanced > HTTP/HTTPS proxy settings
• In the dialog, tick the Use HTTP proxy or Use HTTPS proxy radio button and enter the proxy host and port settings, then click OK

Diagnosing proxy settings issues

Remove any manually specified proxy settings you may have made and verify that the Internet is accessible, but that Omniscope does not work.  Install Omniscope from the full installer (which includes Java) on a clean PC and test. This will rule out a different Java VM and the possibility of any manual settings still taking effect.

Leave any manually specified proxy settings removed for the following tests.

Try passing the startup property "visokio.disableSystemProxies", by adding the line below to the installconfig.properties file in the installation folder, making sure this line does not already exist without a preceding "#":

ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-Dvisokio.disableSystemProxies=true

If this has no effect when you restart Omniscope, revert this change.

Also try the following: 

ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-Dvisokio.disableCustomProxySelector=true

If this has no effect when you restart Omniscope, revert this change.

Finally, try enabling the startup property "enableProxyDebug", by adding the line below (again, making sure this line does not already exist without a preceding "#":

ADDITIONAL_JVM_ARGS=-DenableProxyDebug=true

Restart Omniscope, verify the Internet is not available, and submit an error report from within Omniscope, which should be clearly labelled. You will need to email the saved report to us.  We may be able to determine from this whether there is a problem with Omniscope, or whether it is a fault with Java's detection of proxy settings.

Also use the debug launcher (Omniscope_debug.exe or launch_debug.exe in the installation folder) and send us screenshots of the dialogs that appear.

Configuring proxy settings at roll-out

If you are a system administrator and are deploying (rolling out) Omniscope to multiple PCs, you can simultaneously roll out proxy settings. This permits your deployed installations to be activated by your users based on your exact proxy configuration settings if they are unusual..

• Use a single test installation of Omniscope and configure the correct proxy settings as described above
• Open the folder:
  
  • {System drive}\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope - will set the proxy for all the users on the machine.
  • On Vista: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Visokio - will only set the proxy for that particular user.
  • On XP: C:\Users\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Visokio - will only set the proxy for that particular user.
• You will see the file proxy.txt which contains the proxy settings you have entered, which will be similar

for HTTP proxy to:

                   #Resource properties file
                   #Wed Feb 15 13:37:09 GMT 2006
                   http.proxyPort=80
                   http.proxyHost=proxy.visokio.com 

 for HTTPS proxy to: 

                   #Resource properties file
                   #Wed Feb 15 13:37:09 GMT 2006
                   https.proxyPort=80
                   https.proxyHost=proxy.visokio.com                    

• Deploy this file to the same folder in your deployed Omniscope installations

Firewall configuration

Memory fragmentation

Java memory fragmentation

A few PCs lack enough contiguous memory to start Java with the default memory

If the Java 'PVM' Bundled with Omniscope fails to start...

There is a known, machine-specific Java issue that affects less than 1% of PCs, which start with Java memory so fragmented that the contiguous block required for the Omniscope bundled Java PVM to start is not available. In other words, the 1100 MB default Java memory cap set in Java for Omniscope is too high relative to available contiguous memory on a few (mostly older) PCs, despite the PCs in question having 2 or even 4 GB of RAM memory. This condition is more common under XP but can affect Vista PCs as well. When Java fails to start because of memory fragmentation, the user will typically see messages like:

Error occurred during initialisation of VM

Could not reserve enough space for object heap

Could not create the Java virtual machine.

Why this can affect a machine...

A major reason why this problem occurs is because Windows loads DLLs into the same memory space as the one Java uses which causes memory to become fragmented. Unfortunately optimizations in Windows that minimize the relocation of DLLs during linking make it more likely you'll have a fragmented address space. Other files that are likely to take space include security software, CBT software, spyware and other forms of malware. Likely causes of the variances are different security patches, C runtime versions, etc. 

More information discussing the this problem can be found on the links below: 

• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/171205/java-maximum-memory-on-windows-xp [54] 
• http://forums.sun.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2715152#2715152 [55] 
• http://www.unixville.com/~moazam/ [56] 

Potential Solutions:

There are several possible solutions to resolve this problem:

1. Try reducing the default memory allocation till Java starts. If we were to reduce the default 1100 MB cap further to allow for such machine-specific conditions, we would be reducing the great majority of Omniscope users' data management capacity for the needs of the very few. If you have a machine with this problem, the current work-around is to manually reduce the specified Omniscope memory cap in stages (reduce to 1000 MB, then reduce to 900 MB, etc.) until Omniscope will starts on the affected PC. In some cases, the memory cap has to be reduced to around 650 MB. The process for changing memory allocation of Omniscope can be found here [17].

2. Change to a 64-bit operating system, which will generally resolve not only this issue, but will also provide lots other performance and data set capacity benefits as well, as explained here [20]

Hang Diagnosis

Hang Diagnosis Procedure

Please follow this procedure to report 'hangs'

In the event of the application hanging (freezing, so no user interaction is possible), please use the following procedure to send a hang diagnosis to Visokio (Windows PCs only). Although these steps may seem complex, this will help us greatly with what can be a difficult problem to diagnose. For assistance please contact us.

Creating and sending a hang diagnosis

1. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the program installation folder
   (usually "C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope")
2. Double-click "omniscope_console.exe"
3. In the black console window:
   1. Click on the black "C:\" icon in the left of the title bar.
   2. Choose Properties from the menu that appears.
   3. In the layout tab, ensure "Screen Buffer Size" has a large value such as 300 in the Height field.
   4. Click OK
4. In Omniscope, open the bug report dialog (triggering the hang)
5. Switch to the black console window
6. Press Ctrl+Break (diagnostic information will be generated)
7. Click on the black "C:\" icon again and choose "Select All" from the "Edit" submenu.
8. Click on the black "C:\" icon again and choose "Copy" from the "Edit" submenu
   (this will copy the diagnostic text to the clipboard)
9. Paste this into the "Detailed information" field in the Software Issue Report submission page [57]. Complete the other fields as indicated and click "Submit".

Forcing the application to quit (Windows)

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc (simultaneously). Task Manager will appear.
2. In the first tab ("Applications"), right-click the hung application. Be careful to make the correct selection.
3. In the menu that appears, choose "Go to process". An entry inside the "Processes" tab will be selected for you.
4. Click the "End Process" button.
5. Click "Yes" to confirm.

Java Issues

Known Java Issues and Options

Omniscope includes and runs a private version of Java

Java is freely downloadable, open-source software that provides a 'virtual machine' or VM that permits software like Omniscope to run on many different machines and operating systems. For more information on Java, see Wikipedia [58].  Visokio applications are pure Java applications that run 'on top' of a 'bundled' Java virtual machine which runs 'on top' of your machine's operating system. The Omniscope installer includes its own 'private' version of Java, not accessible to any other application for maximum security. Java is open-source software that is being continuously improved. Periodically, there is a new release of Java, and known issues in Java emerge which are relevant to installation and performance of Visokio applications.

You only need to worry about the shared, general-purpose version of Java installed on your or recipients' machines when you use the Web Start deployment option for your IOK files. But if you choose to deploy files using Omniscope Online (Web Start) instead of the fully-installed free Viewer, all the machine you plan to distribute to will need to have Java 5 or later.

Known Java Installation issues - Web Start deloyment option

In this section, we summarise known Java installation issues and implications of up-grading to the latest versions of Java. Other known issues with Java that do not affect installation, but can cause a hang with no Omniscope error messages are listed here. [59]

Java permissions and security issues

Java has security settings which may affect the treatment of images. If user settings restrict access to certain packages in particular the sun.awt.image package within Java then certain views can be affected. The following issue has been seen before:

java.security.AccessControlException {class java.security.AccessControlException "access denied (java.lang.RuntimePermission accessClassInPackage.sun.awt.image)"
at java.security.AccessControlContext.checkPermission(Unknown Source)
at java.security.AccessController.checkPermission(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.SecurityManager.checkPermission(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.SecurityManager.checkPackageAccess(Unknown Source)
at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(Unknown Source)

It is likely that your security policy is not letting you access to classes in java.awt.image packages.
Access to classes in AWT package, viz., and the java.awt.image packages are required.

In order to fix this problem you need to grant Omniscope users permission by adding the following statement

grant {
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission
"accessClassInPackage.sun.awt.image";
}

to any of the security policy files referred to by statements such as

policy.url.1=file:${java.home}/lib/security/java.policy
policy.url.2=file:${user.home}/.java.policy

in the Java security configuration file for your installation. This file should
be located at ${java.home}/lib/security/java.security.

${java.home} refers to where java is installed i.e. "C:\j2sdk1.4.2_14".
${user.home} refers to user home directory which on Windows is "C:\Documents and Settings\<user>" where
<user> refers to the user name. For example use named David, user.home would be "C:\Documents and Settings\David"

Known Java issues on Vista

The Windows Vista operating system is not fully supported in Java versions 1.4, Java 1.5 releases prior to build Java 1.5.0_11 (Java 1.5.0_11 or later supports Vista), or Java 6 original release or 1.6.0_01 (Java 1.6.0_02 or later supports Vista). If you are running a Java version not fully supported on Vista please update to the latest release of Java at http://www.java.com [60] or use the PVM version bundled with our applications (Java 1.5.0_11).

International fonts

Some fonts can crash earlier versions of Java and this has been fixed in latest releases of Java. Visokio applications have been modified to minimise the impact of this rare problem in the event you are running older versions of Java.

Java Daylight Savings Time (DST) Compliance

Omniscope is a Java application, so their compliance with DST (as recently updated) depends on the Java VM used.

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/timezones-137583.html [61] provides details on Java version DST status.