Other text template solutions only offer simple network file sharing as a "Networking feature". Such cheap implementation tolerates the risk of fatal data loss that can happen if multiple users edit a shared data file at the same time. This cannot happen with PhraseExpress as the Server service blocks editing for all other clients if one user is currently editing the phrases.

Your PhraseExpress benefits:

Multiple users can share common phrases in a corporate network.
Clients can simultaneously use individual and shared phrases.
Read and write access rights to individual phrase folders can be configured for each username, usergroup, workgroup or domain.
All personal phrases are tied to your Windows login user name. You will always have your personal set of phrases on whichever PC you are logging on ('roaming profiles').
You can seamlessly work on- and offline with PhraseExpress. If you disconnect your PC from the network, PhraseExpress automatically switches to a local cache file of the latest version of the network phrase file. If you reconnect to the network, the phrase file is automatically updated to the latest network phrase file again.
The phrase file contains all phrases of all users and is centrally stored. The PhraseExpress Server automatically creates multiple backups. There is no need to backup spread files.
The PhraseExpress network traffic and the phrase file itself is securely AES encrypted. You can optionally protect the access to the PhraseExpress Server with a password.
The Client Manager provides overview about the software version numbers of any installation.
The integrated license key management saves you from entering license keys on the local workstation. Licensing is done centrally in the Client Manager for your convenience.
The user interface can be restricted for individual users to prevent access to the workstation installation's program settings or editing phrases:

This securely prevents users from making mistakes, minimizes technical support and user training.

Client/Server Architecture

The PhraseExpress Network Edition is designed as a Client-/Server application and consists of three different programs:

Network topography

Explanation

PhraseExpress component

Purpose

Notes

Server

The PhraseExpress Server Service is sitting between the central phrase file and all connected clients and manages read/write access as well as many additional benefits.

The Server is running as a Windows Service on any computer that is networked to all workstation PCs.

Client Manager

The Client Manager is the control panel to configure the Server.
The licensing is also centrally managed by the Client Manager.

The Client Manager is a single program file, that can be executed from any computer which has access to the Server PC.

The Client Manager does not need access to the individual workstations but only to the Server PC .

Workstation installations

Provides the PhraseExpress functionality on the local workstations.

The workstation installation is identical to the regular free single-user version.

The only difference is the setting of the phrase file location, pointing to the Server PC IP address.

System requirements

PhraseExpress Server:

Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7 (including Terminal Server)
TCP/IP connection to all workstations

Client Manager:

Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7
Network connection to the computer where the PhraseExpress Server service is running
Temporary Internet connection for the license key authorization and optional check for software updates

Installation procedure

Install the PhraseExpress Server on the Server PC. This PC does not need to run a special special Windows Server operating system. It can be any regular OS that has network access to all desired workstations.
If you already have a phrase file (by default, it is named phrases.pxp), copy this file onto the Server PC. Important note: The Server PC must have local access to the phrase file. You cannot use a remote network path for the phrase file. If any single-user PhraseExpress installation is found, setup offers to use this file for the PhraseExpress Server.
Install and launch the Client Manager on a computer that has network access to the Server PC. This can also be the Server PC itself of course.
Copy the list of purchased license keys into the corresponding input field of the Client Manager. Otherwise, PhraseExpress Server runs in demo mode and will disconnect all workstation installation after a couple of hours.
If the Client Manager is not running on the Server PC, enter the computer name of the Server PC in the Client Manager or let the Client Manager search for the Server PC.

Client installations

Install the regular PhraseExpress single-user software (Download) without entering a license key on all desired workstation PCs.

Important notes

If a firewall warning appears, grant PhraseExpress access to the network.
Make sure that you have enabled the networking support on all client installations.
All client installations in the network must have the same version number.

More information about installing PhraseExpress on the workstation PCs in the PhraseExpress Client Manual.

Enterprise Deployment

To deploy PhraseExpress in a enterprise network, you can either use the MSI installer, or you can setup a reference installation, configure the settings as required, and distribute the program folder /programs/phraseexpress/*.* plus the config6.ini configuration file to any workstation.

All settings you make as a particular user are stored in the file config6.ini in your user(!) application data folder. This must be copied to the common(!) application data folder on the remote computers. Upon first program launch, PhraseExpress will automatically copies the configuration to the user's application data folder.

PhraseExpress does not store any user settings in the Windows registry but in the .ini file only.

Command line parameters for the PhraseExpress installation file

Command line parameter	Explanation
/SILENT /VERYSILENT	Instructs Setup to be silent or very silent. When Setup is silent the wizard and the background window are not displayed but the installation progress window is. When a setup is very silent this installation progress window is not displayed. Everything else is normal so for example error messages during installation are displayed. If a restart is necessary and the '/NORESTART' command isn't used (see below) and Setup is silent, it will display a Reboot now? message box. If it's very silent it will reboot without asking.
/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES	Instructs Setup to suppress message boxes. Only has an effect when combined with '/SILENT' and '/VERYSILENT'.
/SERVER=IP address:Port	When you intend to use PhraseExpress with the PhraseExpress Server, you can specify the server's IP address and port via command line. This command line option does also generally enable the networking feature in PhraseExpress like /NETWORK does.
/ServerUDPPort=port number	The Client tries to find the Server by sending UDP broadcast polls via a UDP 1037 by default. You can change this UDP port to a custom port: Example: /ServerUDPPort=1062
/ListenUDPPort=port number	After the Server received the broadcast poll by the Client, the Server answers back the TCP address and TCP port via a UDP 1036. You can change this UDP port to a custom port: Example: /ListenUDPPort=1035
/NoUDPPoll	If you do not wish that the Client sends out broadcast polls, you can disable it by adding this command-line parameter. If using this command-line parameter, we recommend to define a manual IP address using the command-line parameter /SERVER=... (see above). Otherwise, you will need to manually define the IP address in the settings of every workstation installation.
/license="XXXX"	You can optionally register the PhraseExpress workstation installation locally by passing the separate Pro Edition license key via the command-line parameter /license="XXXX" (whereas XXXX is a valid Pro Edition license key).. Make sure to use a dedicated Pro Edition license key. PhraseExpress Network Edition license keys will not work. This command-line parameter is useful if you would not use PhraseExpress with the PhraseExpress Network Edition but also as the Pro Edition without any network connection.
/NETWORK	Enables the networking functionality of the PhraseExpress client installation.
/NOSTATS	Disables the PhraseExpress statistics function
/IGNORECAPSLOCK	Enables the PhraseExpress to ignore accidentally hitting the CAPSLOCK key
/NOHOTKEYCHECK	Installs PhraseExpress with the hidden setting which disables the hotkey plausability check. This allows to define phrase hotkeys even with a single letter key (which is not recommended and only suitable for special requirements).
/NOTEXTPREDICTION	Installs PhraseExpress with the text prediction feature disabled..
/NOTEXTPREDICTION	Installs PhraseExpress with the text prediction feature disabled.
/NOCLIPBOARDCACHE	Installs PhraseExpress with the clipboard cache feature disabled.
/NOLASTUSED	Installs PhraseExpress with the Last Used folder deactivated.
/NOLAUNCH	Instructs Setup not to launch PhraseExpress after installation.
/LOG /LOG="filename"	Causes Setup to create a log file in the user's TEMP directory detailing file installation and actions taken during the installation process. This can be a helpful debugging aid. For example, if you suspect a file isn't being replaced when you believe it should be (or vice versa), the log file will tell you if the file was really skipped, and why. The log file is created with a unique name based on the current date. (It will not overwrite or append to existing files.). The information contained in the log file is technical in nature and therefore not intended to be understandable by end users. Nor is it designed to be machine-parseable; the format of the file is subject to change without notice.
/NOCANCEL	Prevents the user from cancelling during the installation process, by disabling the Cancel button and ignoring clicks on the close button. Useful along with '/SILENT'.
/NOCONFIG	Disables any configuration options in the Client before it connects to the PhraseExpress Server the first time.
/NORESTART	Instructs Setup not to reboot even if it's necessary.
/RESTARTEXITCODE=exit code	Specifies the custom exit code that Setup is to return when a restart is needed. Useful along with '/NORESTART' The Setup program may return one of the following exit codes: 0 Setup was successfully run to completion. 1 Setup failed to initialize. 2 The user clicked Cancel in the wizard before the actual installation started, or chose "No" on the opening "This will install..." message box. 3 A fatal error occurred while preparing to move to the next installation phase (for example, from displaying the pre-installation wizard pages to the actual installation process). This should never happen except under the most unusual of circumstances, such as running out of memory or Windows resources. 4 A fatal error occurred during the actual installation process. Note: Errors that cause an Abort-Retry-Ignore box to be displayed are not fatal errors. If the user chooses Abort at such a message box, exit code 5 will be returned. 5 The user clicked Cancel during the actual installation process, or chose Abort at an Abort-Retry-Ignore box. 6 The Setup process was forcefully terminated by the debugger (Run \| Terminate was used in the IDE). Before returning an exit code of 1, 3, or 4, an error message explaining the problem will normally be displayed.
/LOADINF="filename"	Instructs Setup to load the settings from the specified file after having checked the command line. This file can be prepared using the '/SAVEINF=' command as explained below. Don't forget to use quotes if the filename contains spaces.
/SAVEINF="filename"	Instructs Setup to save installation settings to the specified file. Don't forget to use quotes if the filename contains spaces.
/DIR="x:\dirname"	Overrides the default directory name displayed on the Select Destination Location wizard page. A fully qualified pathname must be specified.
/GROUP="folder name"	Overrides the default folder name displayed on the Select Start Menu Folder wizard page.
/TASKS="comma separated list of task names"	Specifies a list of tasks that should be initially selected or deselected. To deselect a task, prefix its name with a "!" character. Only the specified tasks (and their children) will be selected; the rest will be deselected. Example: Deselect all tasks, then select the "desktopicon" and "fileassoc" tasks: /TASKS="desktopicon".

Above command-line parameter apply to the installation setup file only. For command-line parameter for the program file, see here.

Network communication

After launching the PhraseExpress client on the workstation, it is searching for the Server via UDP Port 1036 and automatically connects to the first PhraseExpress Server found.

You can also manually enter the Server PC address if no server is found: Select Settings File Connect to Server Enter the Server PC's IP address.

If you intend to use many workstation installations, you may be interested in the command line parameters, which can be used for the workstation installations.

Server configuration

The PhraseExpress Server is always automatically launched with the Server PC launch. Windows applications running as a service generally do not have a user interface and are running invisible in the background by design.

The PhraseExpress Server is configured by the Client Manager. In the Client Manager you define all desired settings and then send the parameters to the Server service by clicking the Update button. All clients will be temporarily disconnected for a very short time and reconnected when changes take effect on the Server service. While the clients are disconnected, they cannot make any changes to the phrase file.

Fatal error messages are displayed in red colors in the Client Manager

It is not required to run the Server and the Client Manager on the same computer, but you may try this configuration to eliminate any risk of communication problems between the Server and the Client Manager.

Server Tab

The Server tab of the Client Manager allows you to define basic communication settings:

Client Manger server configuration

If the Client Manager is running on the same computer as the Server service then just keep the punctuation mark as the Server location. Otherwise enter the name of the computer where the PhraseExpress Server is running.

Define the TCP port that is used for the communication between the PhraseExpress Server and the workstation installations. Only change this setting if the default TCP port is already occupied by another application in your network.

Avoid using ports that are known to be used by other software (e.g. any port below 1025)

You may need to configure the firewalls on all workstations when changing the TCP port

Phrase file tab

Here you can enter the phrase file location:

Client Manger phrase file dialog

Important note

Never exchange the current phrase file on the Server PC on a file level by using the Windows Explorer!

The PhraseExpress Server service would not recognize such change and the new file would be overwritten by the previous file if any PhraseExpress client makes any change in the phrases.

Please do one of the following:

Stop the PhraseExpress server service by using the Windows Management console, exchange the old phrase file with the new one and restart the server service. The PhraseExpress Server will then update all clients with the new phrase file.
Or, copy the new phrase file to the Server PC and rename it if it has the same name as the old phrase file. Then click "Browse" in the tab "Phrase file" in above Client Manager dialog and choose the new phrase file in the file open dialog.

Only using any of above methods make the server aware of any change of the phrase file.

The server keeps backups of any phrase file change in the folder /PhraseExpress backup, located in the same folder as the main phrase file. You can define here, how many versions can be stored.

You can also decide whether any change of the phrase file shall be instantly updated on all workstations. If disabled, phrase file changes will take effect upon the next launch of the PhraseExpress client program on the workstation.

This option only takes affect on workstations with read-only rights to the phrase file. Clients with write access are always updated

Monitor tab

In the Monitor tab, all status information and connected workstations with their license key associations are displayed:

Text predition settings

Clients with a license key association, which are not currently connected with the server, are displayed in grey.

License keys associations can be removed by right-clicking the desired entry. Such clients will catch a new license keys on re-connection.

You can set write access rights ("W") for individual users or remove the menu option to access the configuration ("C") on the workstation installations. You can also change this settings for all users simultaneously by (de)selecting the check box in the title row and confirming with the Set button.

Columns can be hidden if you right-click the column title. If you hide both usage statistic-related columns then the usage statistic function will be disabled on all local workstation installations. This does not work with demo licenses.

The check boxes next to the Set buttons also define the default settings for clients who connect for the first time.

If you try to remove write access from a user who is currently editing phrases, you will receive a warning message. Please avoid removing write access while a user is working on the phrase file as it may confuse the user.

License keys tab

In order to register your PhraseExpress Network Edition installation with your list of purchased license keys, run the Client Manager and switch to the tab License keys

Client Manger license configuration

Please copy all purchased license keys into the Windows clipboard and paste it into the input area as shown in above screenshot. Then click the Update button to start the validation process.

An Internet connection is required as the license keys are validated online. If the PC has no internet connection, please install the Client Manager (without the Server service!) on any other PC within your network that has an internet connection, connect to the PhraseExpress Server and validate the license keys on that PC.

You can unregister license keys for use with another PhraseExpress Server installation at any time by removing them from the Client Manager license key input field and pressing the Update button.

Licensing

Whenever a PhraseExpress workstation installation connects to the Server, a license key from the pool of available license keys will be tied to the combination of workgroup/user name or workgroup/computer name/user name as defined in the settings.

Explanation:

Combination	Notes
Workgroup/User Name (default)	A user can use PhraseExpress on one PC only. PhraseExpress must be shut down before it can be used in any other simultaneous session.
Workgroup/Computer name/User Name	A user can use PhraseExpress simultaneously on multiple PCs. However, a separate license key is required for each such simultaneous session.

The license key association is permanent even if the client is not currently connected to the PhraseExpress Server. You can, however, remove any association in the Monitor of the Client Manager.

This licensing system assures that PhraseExpress provides each user his personal phrases independant of the computer he logs onto ('roaming profiles').

PhraseExpress adds the string "_TS" (without "") to the computer name if installed within a TerminalServer session. This allows you to use PhraseExpress in a TerminalServer session and on the host PC simultaneously.

You can install PhraseExpress on an unlimited number of computers in the network. The number of license keys defines the number of users that can simultaneously access the PhraseExpress Server. You can purchase and add additional license keys at any time.

Example license calculation:

You have 100 computers and 80 users, but only 70 users will use PhraseExpress. You can install PhraseExpress on all 100 computers and you would need only 70 licenses. The central PhraseExpress Server and the Client Manager is always included in your purchase.

Blocking individual users from automatically taking a license

You can block individual users from being recognized by the Client Manager. Create a plain text file block.txt in the same folder where you can find the PhraseExpress Server configuration file config.ini

Under Windows XP the path is C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Application Data\PhraseExpress Server

If using Windows Vista the path is C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Roaming\PhraseExpress Server

In text file, list all desired users (one per line!) corresponding to the licensing scheme, e.g. in the format Workgroup/User Name or Workgroup/Computer name/User Name.

You can always purchase license keys and add them at any time to the list of existing license keys in the Client Manager.
We offer a Concurrent User licensing model for 50+ licenses on request. Please note that the Network Cache feature is disabled for Clients that are connected using a 'Concurrent User' license keys.

Miscellaneous notes

If the workstation installation loses access to the Server PC, the user can continue to use PhraseExpress in read-only mode, but cannot alter or create new phrases until the connection is re-established ('network cache').
If certain users have no write access to the phrase file, all menu entries to create or alter phrases are automatically removed.
If certain users are not allowed to access the configuration, such menu entries are removed. This can be set by the administrator in the Client Manager.
If multiple users have write access rights and if one user is currently editing a phrase, all other users temporarily have no access to functions to alter phrases until the editing process is finalized.
Depending on the PhraseExpress Server configurations, changes to the phrase file may either be transmitted to all clients instantly or upon the next program launch on the workstation.

Data backup

PhraseExpress automatically creates backups of the phrase file each time you save changes to the phrase file. The backup file is located in the folder /PhraseExpress backup, located in the same folder as the main phrase file and has the file extension .bak. You can set the amount of backup file versions in the Client Manager. PhraseExpress automatically deletes the oldest backup file first.

If you would like to discard accidental changes to your phrase file or if the original phrase file cannot be read anymore, please do the following:

Close PhraseExpress
Delete the current phrase file with the file extension .pxp or move it to another folder
Remove the file extension .bak of the backup file. It should then have the .pxp extension
Launch PhraseExpress again and the backup file will now be used as the new main phrase file. A new backup file will automatically be created when you save any changes to your phrase file

Important Note

Frequently backup your phrase file to a different storage media to eliminate the slightest risk to loose your data in case of hard disk failure. Hard disks can break - And they do when you do not expect it!

Keeping PhraseExpress up-to-date

We continuously improve PhraseExpress and you can keep the program up-to-date with the built-in Internet update check.

To check manually for updates, connect your computer to the Internet and in the Client Manager select the tab Online Updates Check now

Client Manger update check

If a new version is available, stop the PhraseExpress Server Service and manually update all clients in the network. Then restart the PhraseExpress Server Service. PhraseExpress Clients must all have the same version number to avoid incompatibilities.

If the menu item is missing, please contact your system administrator, who may have disabled the option to avoid operating errors

The online update feature on the client installations is deactivated if they are connected to the PhraseExpress Server of the Network Edition

Uninstalling PhraseExpress

PhraseExpress can be uninstalled via Start Programs PhraseExpress Server Uninstall PhraseExpress Server

Please note that for data security reasons, the phrase file is not deleted when uninstalling the PhraseExpress Server. You can safely delete this file manually if you do not need your phrase file anymore.

Command-line parameters for Uninstallation file.

The uninstaller program located in the PhraseExpress Server and Client program folder (unins??.exe) accepts optional command line parameters. These can be useful to system administrators, and to other programs calling the uninstaller program.

Command-line parameter	Description
/SILENT, /VERYSILENT	When specified, the uninstaller will not ask the user for startup confirmation or display a message stating that uninstall is complete. Shared files that are no longer in use are deleted automatically without prompting. Any critical error messages will still be shown on the screen. When '/VERYSILENT' is specified, the uninstallation progress window is not displayed. If a restart is necessary and the '/NORESTART' command isn't used (see below) and '/VERYSILENT' is specified, the uninstaller will reboot without asking.
/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES	Instructs the uninstaller to suppress message boxes. Only has an effect when combined with '/SILENT' and '/VERYSILENT'.
/LOG	Causes Uninstall to create a log file in the user's TEMP directory detailing file uninstallation and [UninstallRun] actions taken during the uninstallation process. This can be a helpful debugging aid. The log file is created with a unique name based on the current date (It will not overwrite or append to existing files.). The information contained in the log file is technical in nature and therefore not intended to be understandable by end users. Nor is it designed to be machine-parseable; the format of the file is subject to change without notice.
/LOG="filename"	Same as /LOG, except it allows you to specify a fixed path/filename to use for the log file. If a file with the specified name already exists it will be overwritten. If the file cannot be created, Uninstall will abort with an error message.
/NORESTART	Instructs the uninstaller not to reboot even if it's necessary.