Installation in a Citrix environment

Installation in a Citrix environment

BIMcollab ZOOM, as well as the BCF Managers, are protected with an easy to use licensing and activation system, developed with the following goals in mind:
  1. Free to use
  2. Easy for individual end users to sign on
  3. Easy for administrators to distribute over networks
In return, we ask end users to register themselves for a free BIMcollab ID.

Users added to a paid space are automatically registered. For a network administrator, it is also possible to deploy the BIMcollab ZOOM or BCF Manager installation on a roaming profile system such as Citrix.

What a network administrator needs to know

License File

On activation, the licensing system creates a license file which is saved in the following location:
C:\ProgramData\KUBUS\BIMcollab\BIMcollabID.lic

This license file is shared by all users on the system and all BIMcollab applications (BCF Managers and ZOOM).

In order for the system to work, all users need:
  • to have read/write permissions to the license file
  • to have access to the internet

Settings

Each user’s personal settings are saved in their roaming profile:
in the registry:  HKCU\Software\KUBUS\BCF Manager
to C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Kubus\BCF Manager\BCF Manager2.0.ini (Archicad)
to C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Kubus\BIMcollab Zoom\setting.xml (ZOOM)

Cache

To increase performance, some data is cached. The cache files can be found in:
C:\ProgramData\KUBUS\

These files can be deleted from the system at any time without impacting the functionality of the BIMcollab software.

How to distribute BIMcollab software

An administrator can follow the following steps in order to distribute BIMcollab ZOOM and/or the BCF managers over a Citrix/Roaming profile system:

Step 1: Install

Download and install the needed BIMcollab applications on all systems. This can be done with a silent installation, as explained in the article  How to silently install BIMcollab ZOOM.

Step 2: Register

To activate BIMcollab applications, you will be asked to enter the credentials of a BIMcollab ID. 
Find more information on how to create a BIMcollab ID in the article  My BIMcollab ID.

Step 3: Activate the applications

There are two methods to activate the applications of all of your users:
  1. Method 1
    This method is recommended when all users have their own BIMcollab ID, for example when they are part of a private BIMcollab Cloud space as separate users.
    Activate the BIMcollab applications by letting all users login with their own BIMcollab ID, the first time they use it. Consult the article Activate BIMcollab ZOOM (Free) for more information on how to activate the application.

  2. Method 2
    Activate any BIMcollab application on any system using a BIMcollab ID that was created in step 2. Consult the article Activate BIMcollab ZOOM (Free) for more information on how to activate the application.
    The activation will result in a license file being created in:
    C:\ProgramData\KUBUS\BIMcollab\BIMcollabID.lic

    Copy this file and place it in the same folder on all of the systems in your pool.

Step 4: Silent activation (only method 2)

When a user starts a BCF Manager or BIMcollab ZOOM, a silent activation will be performed and the license file will be written/updated on their system.

Versions 5.2.20.24 (ZOOM), 5.5.83 (BCF Managers), and older

For the activation of version 5.2.20.24 and older, an activation key is required to activate the applications. Activation keys are personal and do not expire. Every user with a BIMcollab ID receives an activation key. This will allow users to activate BIMcollab applications on up to 10 systems. This number can be increased on request by contacting BIMcollab support at  support@bimcollab.com.

Step 1: Install

Download and install the needed BIMcollab applications on all systems. This can be done with a silent installation, as explained in the article  How to silently install BIMcollab ZOOM.

Step 2: Register

To start with you will need an activation key which can be used as your company wide key. 
This can be any user’s existing key or you can request a new one here:  www.bimcollab.com/activationkey

Step 3: Increase activations

Contact BIMcollab support to request additional licenses on your activation key for the number of machines in your pool. Please make sure you specify that this is for use on a Citrix/Roaming profile system. You can contact us via  support@bimcollab.com.

Step 4: Distribute the license

There are two methods to distribute the license to all of your users:
  1. Method 1
    Distribute the activation key you received in step 2, to every user’s registry:

    RegKey:         HKCU\Software\KUBUS\BCF Manager
    Value name:  ActivationKey
    Value type:    REG_SZ

    Enter the value data without any spaces or underscores (e.g. 123456789012345678901234)
  2. Method 2
    Activate any BIMcollab application on any system using the activation key you received in step 2. This will result in a license file being created in:
    C:\ProgramData\KUBUS\BIMcollab\BIMcollab.lic

    Copy this file and place it in the same folder on all of the systems in your pool.

Step 5: Silent activation 

When a user starts a BCF Manager or BIMcollab ZOOM a silent activation will be performed and the license file will be written/updated.

Step 6: Provide personal info

When a user starts a BCF Manager or BIMcollab ZOOM for the first time, they will be requested to enter their personal information so that they can be uniquely identified by the licensing system. This information will be saved in the settings and will be used to log actions on issue in BCF files or when connected to a BIMcollab space.



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