Ciansoft - FAQ
Some common questions about Ciansoft products are answered on this page. The questions are grouped in various categories to make it easier to find the information you are looking for. Click on one of the links below to go directly to the question of interest, or scroll down the page to view all questions.
Commercial & Licensing
Can I distribute a Ciansoft ActiveX control freely with my own application?
What methods of payment does Ciansoft accept?
Can I buy using American Express?
Can I pay in another currency, instead of US Dollars?
Why am I having difficulties downloading the software I have purchased?
Can I upgrade my single user/server licence to a multiple user/server licence?
ActiveX Controls (General Questions)
Which licence type do I need to purchase for my application?
TwainControlX
What is WIA, and can TwainControlX be used with WIA?
PDFBuilderASP
How can a PDF file be displayed in the browser using PDFBuilderASP?
Why is the browser unable to display a PDF file sent using the BinaryWrite command?
Can I use PDFBuilderASP on a 64-bit operating system?
Visual Basic.NET
Windows Vista
Are Ciansoft products compatible with Windows Vista?
Why do I get a "Permission denied" error when trying to use an ActiveX control in Vista?
Delphi 2005/2006
How do I install an ActiveX control in Delphi 2005 or Delphi 2006?
Can I distribute a Ciansoft ActiveX control freely with my own application?
Yes. The licence agreement restricts the use of the control to one computer in the design environment. This would be the computer you are developing your application on. However, when you distribute your application for run-time use, the control (.ocx file) can be freely distributed. This is commonly referred to as a "royalty-free" licence.
What methods of payment does Ciansoft accept?
Our preferred method of payment is by credit or debit card. These transactions are handled securely for us by PayPal or by RBS WorldPay. For further information and the list of accepted cards, see any of our purchase pages. If you need to use an alternative method of payment, for example, bank transfer, please contact us for details and we can make special arrangements.
Can I buy using American Express?
We can accept payments using American Express through PayPal.
Can I pay in another currency, instead of US Dollars?
Ciansoft products are priced in US Dollars (USD), but we can accept payment in Pounds Sterling (GBP) or Euros (EUR) if the transaction is completed online through RBS WorldPay. Prices in these two currencies, calculated based on current exchange rates, will be available at the RBS WorldPay payment page. If you wish to use an alternative currency while paying through PayPal, please contact us and we can make arrangements for this.
I have purchased a Ciansoft product, but did not receive an email telling me how to download the software. What should I do?
If the download email has not arrived after a reasonable length of time, please check that it has not been removed by any junk mail filter operating on your mailbox. Some of these filters, e.g. the one used by Hotmail, are particularly aggressive and indiscriminate and will remove a lot of genuine mail if it appears to be from a commercial organisation. If you have a junk mail folder, check there. If you still cannot find the email, please contact us. If possible, offer us an alternative email address on which to contact you.
Why am I having difficulties downloading the software I have purchased?
If you are using any download management software this is likely to conflict with our download system and the download will not complete. This also applies to Firefox, which has an in-built download management feature which will conflict with our system. If you are having problems, use a different browser to complete the download. Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera are all suitable.
Can I upgrade my single user/server licence to a multiple user/server licence?
Yes. Upgrades are available for the price difference between the licence you previously purchased and the new licence you require. There are no additional charges. Please contact us with details of the upgrade you require and we will make arrangements for you to make your payment and receive the new file.
How many licences do I need for a web-based application that runs on one server but can be accessed by many clients?
A single user licence is sufficient for an application running on a single server. If the control is being used clientside, e.g., by using Javascript in a web page, the licence information can be downloaded from the server when needed. This page explains how to use a licence package file (.lpk) to access licence information on the server.
If you are maintaining a separate test environment for your application, in addition to the main server, you may need a 2 user licence instead.
I started developing an application using the trial version of a Ciansoft ActiveX control. Now I have purchased the full version. How do I upgrade my application?
Install the full version, without uninstalling the trial. The two versions of the control have different Program IDs (GUIDs) and can be installed together without affecting each other.
Next, go into the design environment of your application and add a new reference to the full version (for example, if you are using TwainControlX in Visual Basic, you would select Project/Components from the menu and check the box for "TwainControlX Library"). Now open the form where you are using the control, delete the instance of the trial control that you have been using previously and add a new instance of the full control. Make sure it has the same name and all your code will work exactly as before. Finally, you can remove the reference to the trial component, and uninstall it (this is good practice to avoid future confusion, but is not strictly necessary).
Which licence type do I need to purchase for my application?
The licensing of ActiveX controls can be confusing. If you are unsure which licence type is appropriate for your application, this page has a detailed explanation.
For WebTwainX our licensing is different from our other ActiveX controls. Refer to this page for an explanation.
My HP scanner does not respond correctly when I set the ImageLeft, ImageTop etc. properties to fix the size of the scanned image?
We have noticed this problem with several different models of HP Scanjet scanners. An additional procedure called SetImageLayout is provided in TwainControlX which allows all four size properties (ImageLeft, ImageTop, ImageRight and ImageBottom) to be set simultaneously. If SetImageLayout is used instead of the individual properties, everything works fine.
I am using TwainControlX in a web page to capture images on a client machine. How can I upload the images to the server?
To upload an image from TwainControlX the image must first be saved as a file on the local disk. An HTML <input type=file> tag can then be used to send the file to the server. A file upload component or a suitable script is required on the server to receive the data and save the file. This method cannot be automated and requires the user to browse for the file and then click a button to send the file.
An alternative approach is to use the csXImage control from Chestysoft which can capture the image using the same functionality as TwainControlX. This control has a PostImage function that can be used to send the image data to the server. This can be done without user intervention. Chestysoft also has a component (csASPUpload) which can be used on the server to receive the uploaded file. Visit the csXImage home page.
What is WIA, and can TwainControlX be used with WIA?
WIA stands for Windows Image Acquisition and is an alternative standard for acquiring images from scanners and cameras. It has been introduced by Microsoft and is available in Windows XP. WIA device drivers are able to communicate with applications that are TWAIN-complaint, such as TwainControlX, however these drivers usually exhibit limitations in their functionality. In particular, hiding the user interface of a scanner may appear to work, but often gives unreliable results.
We do not recommend the use of WIA drivers with TwainControlX. The standard, TWAIN-compliant drivers which are readily available for the vast majority of scanners should be used instead.
I get an error message "LoaderLock was detected" when trying to use TwainControlX in Visual Studio 2005. How can this error be prevented?
Versions of Visual Studio 2005 or later may raise an error "LoaderLock was detected" when attempting to run any TWAIN related functions. This is due to an external library (TWAIN_32.DLL) being accessed. To prevent this error go to the Debug menu in Visual Studio, select Debug/Exceptions, then under Managed Debugging Assistants, uncheck LoaderLock in the Thrown column.
How can a PDF file be displayed in the browser using PDFBuilderASP in ASP.NET?
The BinaryWrite function of PDFBuilderASP does not work with ASP.NET. The StreamData function must be used to create an array of bytes in memory containing the PDF file data. This can then be sent to the browser using Response.BinaryWrite. The necessary code can be found as the last six lines in this example.
Why is the browser unable to display a PDF file sent using the BinaryWrite command?
There are many possible reasons why a PDF will fail to display, but a common problem is that the Response.Write ASP command has been used in the same script that is used to generate the PDF. Response.Write must not be used. If a PDF is to be sent to the browser successfully, then the PDF file data must be the only data that is sent.
Can I use PDFBuilderASP on a 64-bit operating system?
Yes, but a different procedure is required to register and configure the component before use. A COM+ application must be configured for the component in Component Services. If you do not how to do this, this article on the Chestysoft web site explains the steps in detail. Note that it is important to check the "Allow IIS Intrinsic Properties" box, otherwise PDFBuilderASP will fail when using the BinaryWrite command.
Some of the documented properties are not available when I use the control in VB.NET. How can I access these properties?
Indexed properties, for example, the DeviceName property in TwainControlX, are not directly supported in VB.NET. These properties become hidden when the control is wrapped for use in the .NET environment. This problem is easily solved by prefixing the property name with either 'get_' or 'set_' depending whether the property is being read or written. For TwainControlX this is demonstrated in a sample project. Download the sample project and look at Sub Form1_Load.
When I deploy a VB.NET application using the control, I get an error message "You do not have a license to use this ActiveX control". How do I solve this problem?
This error is usually caused by adding the control dynamically in code instead of placing an instance of the control on a form at design time. If the control instance must be created dynamically, the licence information must be added in the code. The method for doing this is described in this Microsoft Knowledge Base Article.
Are Ciansoft products compatible with Windows Vista?
Yes, all Ciansoft products are fully compatible with Windows Vista. Click here for detailed information about specific issues when using Windows Vista and IIS 7.0.
Why do I get a "Permission denied" error when trying to use an ActiveX control in Vista?
In order to add a reference to the ActiveX control in your programming environment, the programming application must have Administrator rights. Even though you may be logged on as a user with Administrator rights, applications you use do not have these rights by default in Vista. To solve this problem you must set the application to run as an Administrator. Find the executable for your programming application, e.g., VB6.exe, right mouse click and select Properties. Select the Compatibility tab and check the box for "Run this program as an administrator".
How do I install an ActiveX control in Delphi 2005 or Delphi 2006?
In Borland Delphi 2005 or 2006, running the Import Component Wizard for an ActiveX control does not add the control to the Tool Palette. To solve this problem, it is necessary to first create a component package, then use the wizard to import the control into this package, and finally, install the package. We have documented the exact procedure to be followed here.
© Ciansoft 2012. | Ciansoft is a trading name of IC Technologies Ltd.
Follow Ciansoft on 