Periodically, updates for PM8 are released. This article discusses the installation process on your server and workstations.
Updates to PM8 are always delivered as a setup program called PM8Update.exe.
PM8Update is run on your server to install new files and to update the database.
Each workstation needs to run PM8 elevated then allow the update to be applied to the workstation.
PM8Update is a cumulative update, meaning that is contains all the information necessary to update from any version of PM8 to the latest version. You do not need to apply successive versions of PM8Update between the version of PM8 that you are running to the latest version.
PM8Update.exe is run only on your PM8 server (or in the case of a stand-alone installation, then it is run on that machine).
When you are updating PM8, all users must log out of PM8 and close PM8. It is important than no user tries to log into PM8 during the update process.
When you run PM8Update it will:
You must step through the Database Upgrade Wizard to apply the necessary changes to your PM8 database. This requires that you enter your PM8 admin password.
The installation will complete after you finish the steps required by the Database Upgrade Wizard.
If your installation has multiple databases then you must perform some additional steps.
Run PM8, then for each additional database:
Tools menu select Database upgrade...Environment to upgrade and enter the corresponding admin password.Database Upgrade Wizard.The version of PM8 running on your workstations must match the version expected by the database. This section discusses how the new version is updated on your workstation and how Windows permissions affect this.
On the workstation, when you log into PM8 and it needs to be upgraded, you will see this message:
Login was unsuccessful.
Your product version is older than that expected by the database.
Do you want to upgrade your computer to the version expected by the database?
If you choose not to continue then you will be logged out from PM8.
If you continue, PM8 will attempt to update itself.
PM8 is installed under the
Program files (x86)folder which is a location protected by Windows from being changed. To write to this folder PM8 needs to be run with elevated permissions.
If PM8 is unable to write to the folder, you will see this message:
The product upgrade cannot proceed because you do not have permissions to write to the program folder
If you get that message, close PM8, run PM8 elevated (Run as administrator), log into PM8 again and allow the upgrade to proceed.
The mechanism for running a program elevated (Run as administrator) varies depending on the version of Windows, and also where the program icon is located (Desktop, Start menu, Task bar).
Here is some guidance for Windows 10:
Right click on the icon then from the menu choose Run as administrator.
Right click on the icon then from the menu choose More and from the next menu choose Run as administrator.
Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, right click on the icon then from the menu choose Run as administrator.
There is a difference between being an administrator on your computer and a program actually running with elevated permissions. When you have administrator permissions on a computer, programs still run as you with normal user permissions. This is done by Windows and is an important part of protecting your computer from undesirable changes.
To run a program with elevated permissions (in this case PM8) you must specifically start it by choosing the program icon and choosing Run as administrator.
It is also OK to use the option "Run as different user" and enter the user credentials for a user with administrative permissions.
Do not change the PM8 icon run as administrator permanently.
Run as administrator must be used only for upgrade purposes.
Running elevated (as administrator) for daily use presents a security flaw on your computer and also stops certain functions from operating as expected.