Installing MERLIC Under Windows

On Windows systems, MERLIC can be installed online via the MVTec Software Manager (SOM), an installation manager for software packages. It starts a local web server and provides access to a remote catalog of products, among others, the SOM package for MERLIC 5.7.1. Basically, you can start SOM, select the desired MERLIC version and components, and SOM takes over the installation process.

Software packages can be installed only for yourself or for all users of the system. If a new maintenance release is available for your MERLIC installation, SOM enables you to update your current installation. For more information on running SOM, see the internal documentation of SOM.

Requirements

For the installation process of MERLIC, the following requirements are necessary:

• To download or modify products in SOM, you need to log in with your "MVLogin" account. If you have no account yet, please register.
• During the installation of MERLIC, administrator privileges are highly recommended to make sure that it is installed with all required components and firewall settings.

It is still possible to install MERLIC without administrator rights. However, please see to the information in the section Consequence of Installing MERLIC without Administrator Rights before installing MERLIC without administrator rights.

Starting the Installation Process

1. Start the MVTec Software Manager (SOM). If SOM is not installed on your system, download it from the following website: www.mvtec.com/downloads/software-manager.
2. Open the page "AVAILABLE". It shows the list of available MERLIC versions.
3. Click on the "INSTALL" button of the MERLIC version you want to install. If you want to install MERLIC for all users, use the respective installation option for all users in the drop-down menu of the button.
4. Select the type of the installation:
   • "Easy Installation": Quick and easy installation of the default set of MERLIC packages.
   • "Advanced Installation": Fully customizable installation of a user-defined set of MERLIC packages. If you choose this installation type, you can select the individual SOM packages you want to install for MERLIC 5.7. For more information, see the section MERLIC SOM Packages.

   You can install additional packages at a later time by starting SOM again and selecting the desired package for your MERLIC version.

5. Check the configuration for the installation, for example, if a desktop shortcut should be created or if the installation should be activated.
6. Read and confirm the license agreement. The installation of MERLIC will then start.

After the installation, the new version will be shown on the "INSTALLED" page with all installed MERLIC packages. Here, you can start the individual MERLIC components or access the documentation when selecting the new MERLIC version.

Keep in mind to activate your MERLIC license to use the full functionality of MERLIC without the restrictions of a trial version. For more information about the license activation, see Activating a MERLIC License.

For more information about the installed file structure of MERLIC, see the topic Installed File Structure.

MERLIC SOM Packages

The following table gives an overview of the available MERLIC packages for the installation. When choosing the "Easy Installation", the MERLIC packages of the default set will be installed. If "Advanced Installation" is applied, you can select or deselect packages for the installation.

Package	Description	Default Set
Basic Fileset	Contains all example files, the help, and all auxiliary files required by other packages. This package is mandatory for each MERLIC installation. Therefore, it cannot be deselected during the installation.	✔
EULA	Contains the license agreement for MERLIC. This package is mandatory for each MERLIC installation. Therefore, it cannot be deselected during the installation.	✔
Frontend	Contains the MERLIC Frontend. This package can be installed separately.	✔
Runtime and Development	Contains the files required for MERLIC Creator including the Frontend Designer and the MERLIC Runtime Environment (MERLIC RTE). In addition, the files for collecting support information are contained. This package can be installed separately.	✔
Runtime Environment Setup	Contains the MERLIC Runtime Environment Setup (MERLIC RTE Setup). This package can be installed separately.	✔
TCP Socket Plug-in	Contains the communication plug-in for the communication via TCP sockets including the documentation of the plug-in. This package is not part of the default set but it can be installed in addition to the other packages.	✘

Installation Directory of MERLIC

All files, including example applications and images, will be installed in the same installation directory. The default installation directory depends on whether you are installing MERLIC just for the current user or for all users.

Installation type	Default installation directory
Current user	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\MVTec\MERLIC-5.7
All users	%PROGRAMFILES%\MVTec\MERLIC-5.7

Changing the MERLIC Installation Directory

If you want to install MERLIC in a different directory, you can change the installation directory as follows:

1. Open the SOM settings in the menu on the top right of the SOM start page.
2. Open the "Installations" tab.
3. Specify the directory for the installation at the entry "Install path (programs)".

   MERLIC must not be installed in directories that contain characters from more than one character set. Also on Windows systems the characters \ / : * ? " < > |are not allowed. Keep in mind that you require read and write permissions for the specified directory and make sure that you have started SOM in the mode (either user or system mode) in which you have the required rights for the directory.

4. Save your changes and start the installation of MERLIC.

Further Information on the Installation

Installation of the MVTec GigE Vision Streaming Filter

During the installation of MERLIC, the MVTec GigE Vision Streaming Filter will be automatically installed. The filter driver improves performance and robustness when using GigE Vision compliant cameras in MERLIC.

Association of MVApp Files

When opening MERLIC Vision Apps (MVApps) by double-clicking the respective .mvapp files, they will be opened automatically in the associated MERLIC installation. If there is only one MERLIC installation on your system, it is automatically associated to MERLIC files such as MVApps (.mvapp) and files for the user management (.mudb). If there are multiple MERLIC installations on your system, for example, of different MERLIC versions, you can define which MERLIC installation is associated to the MERLIC files by activating the desired installation.

By default, MERLIC is activated during the installation. However, if the desired MERLIC installation is not active, you can activate it via SOM.

1. Start SOM and open the "INSTALLED" page.
2. Select the desired MERLIC installation.
3. On the right, activate the selected installation via the toggle.

Environment Variables

When installing MERLIC via SOM, no environment variables will be set.

Multiple MERLIC Versions

You can install multiple versions of MERLIC on your system. When installing a new MERLIC version, it will be automatically activated. This means, the new version is associated to files with file ending .mvapp and MVApps will be opened in the newest installation when double-clicking on .mvapp files in the file explorer. You can activate a previous MERLIC version in SOM if you want to open MVApps in a different MERLIC version by default. However, if you only want to open an MVApp once in a different version, you can use the context menu:

1. Right-click on the respective .mvapp file to open the context menu.
2. Click on "Open with" and select the desired MERLIC version. The MVApp will be opened in the selected version.

Alternatively, you can first open the desired MERLIC version via the Windows start menu and then open the MVApp from the MERLIC Creator. The Windows start menu provides entries for all MERLIC versions that are installed.

Consequences of Installing MERLIC Without Administrator Rights

When starting the MERLIC installation process in the user mode of SOM, you will be asked to provide the administrator credentials. If you enter them, the MERLIC installation will proceed and all settings will be set accordingly.

If you do not enter your administrator credentials and close the dialog, the MERLIC installation will also proceed. However, in this case, some of the MERLIC settings, for example, firewall rules, will not be set. In addition, the CodeMeter software that is required for licensing will not be installed. This may have some serious consequences, which are described in the following sections.

If CodeMeter is not yet installed on your system:

• You cannot activate your MERLIC license because CodeMeter is required to activate the license on the respective system.
• MERLIC will not start because the licensing failed. Even the MERLIC trial version cannot be started because it also requires CodeMeter to install the trial license on the system.
• No firewall rules have been set. Thus, some configurations will not work, e.g., configuration on remote systems.

Possible solutions:

• In this case, you can install CodeMeter separately and then activate your license. However, it is still not possible to use the trial version of MERLIC.
• Regarding the firewall settings, you can manually enter your administrator credentials for the firewall rules when you are asked again while working with MERLIC. The respective firewall rule will be set for the respective MERLIC executable file, but only for the current port that is being used.
• Re-install MERLIC with administrator rights. Then CodeMeter will be part of the MERLIC installation, all firewall rules will be set, and you can immediately activate your license and use MERLIC.

If CodeMeter is still available on your system (e.g., from a previous installation):

• You can activate your license and start MERLIC.
• No firewall rules have been set. Thus, some configurations will not work, e.g., configuration on remote systems.

Possible solutions:

• You can manually enter your administrator credentials for the firewall rules when you are asked again while working with MERLIC. The respective firewall rule will be set for the respective MERLIC executable file but only for the current port that is being used.
• Re-install MERLIC with administrator rights. Then, all firewall rules will be set and you do not have to set any firewall rules manually.