Ascend Client Setup

For 64-bit Windows: If you are running Ascend on a 64-bit version of Windows, you will need to install a 32-bit version of Crystal Reports runtime in order to print from Ascend. Click here to download a 32-bit Crystal Reports runtime installation package.

Special Instructions: Users must have full rights to the Ascend shared directory on the server. Also, users must have permission to install new applications on the target workstation since program updates may install/update drivers. Several steps require the availability of an Ascend database. Therefore, installation of the database should probably occur before installing the first client workstation. 

Step 1: Copy and run this file on the workstation where you want to install Ascend.

Step 2: Start the Ascend application. The default location is under Start...All Programs...Ascend but may be in a different location depending on where you installed the application.

Step 3: Click the Setup button and configure the client to connect to MSDE or SQL Server. If you are unsure of the settings and have at least one working Ascend client, you can use the settings in the Setup screen from that computer as a reference.

Database Type: Select SQL for SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server or MSDE databases.

Server Path: Location of the Ascend server directory where the Update and Crystal directories exists. All users must have full rights to this directory otherwise errors will occur during the update process.

MS Access Path: Location of MSAccess.EXE for the Microsoft Access 2000 application. This is only required if you will be using the HIForms.MDB module.

The following fields only apply if you are connecting to SQL Server. These settings may need to be reviewed by your database/network administrator.

Server Name: Name or IP address of the SQL Server hosting the Ascend database. Please refer to your IT staff for this setting or copy the setting from another Ascend workstation that is already connected to the database. 

Provider: Defines which provider Ascend will use with ADO to connect to SQL Server. The SQL OLEDB Provider can be used as the default, unless Hann's On Software recommends using another provider.

Authentication: Depending on how the security of SQL Server is configured, you will need to use either Windows (integrated) Authentication or SQL Server Authentication. Windows Authentication means SQL Server will use computer users for security. SQL Server Authentication means the SQL Server will use its own list of users. For example, "sa" is the default SQL Server administrator but is not a Windows user. Using SQL Server Authentication you could log into SQL Server as "sa" but you could not log into Windows as "sa". This setting does not control the authentication method of SQL Server but controls how Ascend will connect to your server. Please refer to your IT staff for this setting or copy the setting from another Ascend workstation that is already connected to the database. 

DB User: If you are using SQL Server Authentication, then this is the name of the user Ascend will pass to SQL Server when connecting. When using Windows Authentication, the current Windows user's id is passed. Please refer to your IT staff for this setting or copy the setting from another Ascend workstation that is already connected to the database. 

DB Password: If you are using SQL Server Authentication, then this is the user's password Ascend will pass to SQL Server when connecting. When using Windows Authentication, the current Windows user's password is passed. Please refer to your IT staff for this setting or copy the setting from another Ascend workstation that is already connected to the database. 

Step 4: Restart the application and log in. If this is the first time you are logging into the program, the drop down list of users will be empty since it is refreshed each time you successfully log into the program. You can still log into the program, just enter a valid user name and password.