Networking


ShowPro can operate as a stand alone program where a single computer will be used to do the entire show or it can operate as either a host or a client in a network of computers. In a networked situation there will always be one host computer, usually the head secretary's, and one or more client computers that will either be ShowPro clients or ShowPro Exhibitors Terminal (Kiosk) clients. Important Points Wireless networking although fine for web browsing is inappropriate for networking ShowPro. We do not recommend it - data loss could result - don't do it. It is also less than half the speed of a wired network which is in itself sufficient reason to avoid it never mind the potential data loss. On the host computer you must share the files and make sure that Windows networking is configured correctly but never set a network path on the host - the host operates in local mode. On the clients you must set the network path but never on the host. Never try and set a network path on a new networking configuration before you have established that you can navigate to the files through Windows. If you can get there through Windows you will be able to get there with ShowPro. If there is something preventing you from getting there Windows has better diagnostics - ShowPro will simply display a failure message that will not be very helpful. If you have a fire wall on your host computer (you probably do, you may even have two) disable it until you get the networking functioning. A fire wall will stop your networking dead in its tracks and Windows will not tell you that it is the fire wall that is the problem. Once your networking is functioning there are ways to allow ShowPro through the fire wall that vary from one firewall to another and are beyond the scope of this guide. If you are not connected to the Internet you can leave the firewall disabled. If you have followed all the instructions in this guide and are still unable to network the odds are quite good that it is a firewall that is blocking you. Required Equipment To network two computers together requires what is called a network crossover cable. These cables are easy to obtain and are available in lengths from six foot to 25 foot, or longer. Simply connect the network ports of the two computers with this cable. You cannot use a standard patch cable to directly connect two computers, it must be a crossover cable which incidentally has two of it's wires crossed, this is what enables the direct connection. To connect more than two computers together requires a switch or router, and standard networking patch cables. Connect the network port of each computer to a port on the switch or router. Note: Even if you are only connecting two computers together you may want to get an inexpensive router. Routers enable you to use dynamic IP addresses which simplify your IP setup and allow you to use the same IP setup that you probably need to connect to the internet at home. Otherwise you will probably have to switch to dynamic IP addresses at home anyway to connect to the internet. You should use your most powerful system as the host computer, you will obviously get better performance. Gigabit networking components are now available at reasonable prices and provide a substantial increase in performance, if you will be connecting more than a few computers you should look into gigabit switches or routers, cables, and adaptors. Be aware that some editions of Windows limit the number of computers that can be connected to them. XP Home will only allow five connections for example. The Professional editions allow unlimited connections although Windows networking itself has a practical limitation that depends on the speed of your computers and your networking equipment. The Workgroup All computers on your network should be set to the same Workgroup, if you are not sure that they are you need to check them and set them if they are different. XP Right click on My Computer and select Properties. Click on the Computer Name Tab. The workgroup name will be displayed there, check this on all computers and make sure the names agree. If they don't agree decide on a name, WORKGROUP is the default and recommended. Click the Change button and edit the workgroup names of those computers that don't agree. You'll have to restart any computers that you change the work group name on. Windows 7/Vista Right click on Computer and select Properties. On the left click on Advanced System Settings Click on the Computer Name Tab. The workgroup name will be displayed there, check this on all computers and make sure the names agree. If they don't agree decide on a name, WORKGROUP is the default and recommended. Click the Change button and edit the workgroup names of those computers that don't agree. You'll have to restart any computers that you change the work group name on. Sharing The Files On The Host In order to use Windows® peer to peer networking with ShowPro you must first share the folder on the host computer where the files reside that you intend to use. The folder that you should share is the ShowPro folder which is in My Computer > Shared Documents on XP or Computer > Public > Public Documents on Windows 7/Vista. XP On the host computer go to My Computer > Shared Documents Right click on the ShowPro folder and select Properties from the pop up menu. Click on the Sharing Tab of the Properties dialog that appears. Click on the Shared As radio button. Windows will probably set the share name to ShowPro, this is fine or you may set it to something else. Check the box Allow network users to change my files. Click OK. Windows 7/Vista On the host computer go to Computer > Public > Public Documents Right click on the ShowPro folder and select Properties from the pop up menu. Click on the Sharing Tab. Click the Advanced Sharing button. Check the Share this folder box. Windows will probably set the share name to ShowPro, this is fine or you may set it to something else. Click the Permissions button With the Everyone Group selected check the Allow box for Full Control Click Ok IP Addresses If you have a router anywhere on your network you can use dynamic IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, if you only have a switch you must use static IP addresses. XP Right click on My Network Places and select Properties. Right click on Local Area Connection and select Properties. Left click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) - just select it, don't uncheck the box. Click the Properties button underneath. If you have a router on your network select "Obtain and IP address automatically" if it isn't already selected. If you only have a switch follow the directions below for setting a static IP address. Click Ok. WIndows 7/Vista Right click on Network and select Properties. On the left click on "Manage Network Connections". Right click on Local Area Connection and select Properties. If Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) is checked uncheck it, you don't need it and it is a known trouble source in Vista. Left click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) - just select it, don't uncheck the box. If you have a router on your network select "Obtain and IP address automatically" if it isn't already selected. If you only have a switch follow the directions below for setting a static IP address. Click Ok. Setting a Static IP Address IP addresses consist of 4 numbers separated by dots. The IP address of each computer must be unique on the network but it must also conform to a particular protocol. Set your IP addresses like this... Host: 192.168.0.1, Client #1: 192.168.0.2, Client #2: 192.168.0.3, Client #4: 192.168.0.4, etc. Notice that the addresses are the same except for the last segment which increases with each computer. After typing in the IP address, paying careful attention to where the dots are, click in the empty Subnet mask box, it will be filled in automatically for you. Setting The Network Path In ShowPro First and foremost establish that you can get to the files through Windows networking, if you can't get there through Windows you'll never get there through ShowPro.
In a ShowPro client, on the Start Screen, click on Networking, the following dialog box will be displayed...
			The dialog is indicating that you are in local mode, click the Browse button.
	Select the computer that is your host computer on the network. If you don't know which computer is your host see the discussion above about Workgroups, your computers name is displayed in the same place as the Workgroup. Double click on the hosts computer name to expand the tree....
	Now double click on the ShowPro Share to expand it.
	Now select the ShowData folder which is the folder that contains the database files. Click Ok.
		The networking dialog now indicates that the client will point at the hosts shared files. Click the Set Remote Folder button to complete the networking of the client computer.