Installing Smart

Before you proceed to install SMART yourself, please consider the alternatives below. SMART is a sophisticated and powerful system which is easy to use once set up and configured for your business, but self installation can be challenging.

If you wish to evaluate SMART.

We can provide an online demonstration of SMART which is tailored to your specific needs. Go here for details.
We can provide you with contact details for one or more of our customers, who can discuss their SMART experience from the user point of view.

If you wish to install SMART and get up to speed as quickly as possible.

We can install and configure your SMART system for you remotely. This ensures that you do not have to deal with network installation issues and that Smart is configured appropriately for your business. Remote installation is usuallly included as part of your rental or purchase proposal.

You will require some time, disk space, some basic computer skills, and preferably a fast internet connection. If any of these are in short supply we recommend you seek the assistance of a Skorpion representative to get Smart up and running. He or she will also be able to give you a guided tour which is tailored to your needs and interests.

You may install and use Smart for up to 30 days (your installation includes both a trial database containing data, and an empty database to which you can add your own information). After this trial period you will not be able to view but not add information unless you contact us to arrange purchase and/or an extension of time.

The total download is about 100Mb. Instead of downloading from this page, you can request a Smart on a CD by sending an email to sales@skorpion.com.au . You can also find out more about Smart by browsing our documentation pages, here.

You will require a minimum of about 150Mb of disk space on one PC (the 'server') to install and operate Smart. As your database grows additional space will be required. Other PCs which link to this PC require as little as 30Mb of disk space to run Smart. If you put Smart to full use you may require around a gigabyte of disk space for your database. By default, the Smart database will install on the C: drive on the server. Contact Smart support if you wish to install on another drive.

Overview

There are 3 steps to installing Smart

Installing the database system
Installing the databases
Installing Smart software

Once the software is installed and operating and you have reached the login screen, go to the Getting Started section for further instructions.

1. Installing the database system

Smart uses Microsoft SQL Server as a database engine. The purpose of a database engine is to store, manage, and serve your data in the most efficient and reliable way possible.

Microsoft SQL Express is a free version of SQL Server which provides satisfactory performance for up to about 6 simultaneous users. A Google search on SQL Express will provide a link to the current download page.

Depending on your server version and configuration you may also need to download additional components. You will be notified of these when you attempt to install SQL Server.

Important

Be sure to select 'mixed authentication' when asked. This means that SMART can be operated from other PCs without changes to your Windows security settings.
Go to Server Configuration and allow communication via TCP/IP.
Make sure the Server Browser is set to run automatically.

2. Installing the SMART software

Follow the instructions on this page to download and install the current version of SMART. Be sure to select Install SMART database from the Custom Setup page.

3. Running Smart

You should now be able to start and run Smart from the desktop shortcut or by using Windows Explorer.

If you see a message containing the words Communication Error, check to see that the database engine is running by going to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services, and looking for SQL Server in the list.
If you see a message like Unable to open table this indicates that the Smart databases have not been attached correctly. Repeat step 2. above.
If you receive any other errors, please contact Skorpion support, support@skorpion.com.au or 02 6628 2844, or your Smart representative.

If Smart has installed correctly, you will see a window asking you to specify the server name and database name.

Server: If Smart is running on the same PC as the database engine, you can use the term (local) as the server name. If you have installed an instance of the database engine, you must add the instance name, e.g. (local)\SQLExpress where SQLExpress is the instance name. Otherwise, you must use the unique network name assigned to the PC running the database engine (the 'server'). If the name of your server does not appear in the list, simply key it in.

Database: The above procedure installs a demonstration database, Smart, which contains some existing data for you to experiment with. If the name of your database doesn't appear in the list, simply key it in.

Once you have connected to the database, you will see the operator login screen/

When first installed, you can use the Operator name of Administrator and the password of Admin. You only need to type enough of the Operator Name to uniquely identify the operator, so in this case typing adm should be sufficient.

Depending on how Smart is set up, you may also be asked to select a control room and/or division. (NB the names 'control room' and 'division' are configurable).

Now that you have Smart running, go to the Getting Started section for further instructions.