Forms Designer Install / Upgrade Guide

Forms Designer Install / Upgrade Guide

Installing Forms Designer

  1. Log in to the Field2Base Portal and navigate to the Downloads page.
  2. Download the current version of Forms Designer.
  3. Run the Forms_Designer.exe file. Right click and select Run as administrator.
  4. Click Next on the welcome screen.
  5. Select the I accept the terms in the License Agreement option on the EULA screen.
  6. Click Next to continue.
  7. Click Next on the Installation Folder screen.
  8. Click Install on the Ready to Install screen.
  9. Click Finish on Installation Complete screen.
 

Additional Components

Ghostscript
If you plan to import backgrounds from PDFs or MS Office documents, an additional component is required for Forms Designer to perform the conversion to image files. The first time you import a background that needs to be converted to an image, Forms Designer will ask your permission to install Ghostscript to enable this conversion process. 


A folder named "gs" will be created in the Forms Designer folder on your computer (typically in C:\Program Files (x86)\Forms Designer\gs). If you have any issues installing Ghostscript, it may be getting blocked by your computer's security settings. Please contact your security team to assist you with the installation. 
 
Microsoft Office Access Database Engine
If you plan to use SQL Datasource Regions in your forms, an additional component is required for Forms Designer to properly display data being fed from Microsoft Access databases and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Forms Designer will ask for your permission to install this component the first time you use a SQL Datasource Region in a Form.
 
.NET Framework 4.7.2
If you already have .NET Framework 4.7.2 installed, you can skip this section. Here is the Microsoft Downloads page to download the installer or to find more details: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4054531/microsoft-net-framework-4-7-2-web-installer-for-windows
  1. Run NDP472-KB4054531-Web.exe.
  2. Right click and select Run as administrator.
  3. Select the I have read and accept the license terms option on the EULA screen.
  4. Click the Install button.
  5. Click the Finish button.
 

Anti-Virus Software Exclusion Recommendation

Now that you have Forms Designer installed on your PC, Field2Base recommends that you take the precautionary step to exclude the Forms Designer application from your Anti-Virus scanning and any other security software that may alter the installation.
The reason we recommend the exclusion is that Field2Base protects the code of our software using a process called obfuscation (which essentially encrypts the code) and malware creators will often use a similar method to make their viruses harder to combat. Anti-Virus and Security Companies will flag the same obfuscation profile of our software and it results in our software being incorrectly identified as a security threat.
Since there are so many different Anti-Virus scanners and security software out there, we cannot provide the exact steps on how to exclude the software, but from our experience, it is typically found in the Settings for the software. You will then need to exclude one of the following folders depending on the Operating System (OS) version:
  1. 32 Bit OS: C:\Program Files\Forms Designer
  2. 64 Bit OS: C:\Program Files (x86)\Forms Designer

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