Hi. We just installed the beta 5.14.5 because we wanted to use the new web interface. The issue we have is that we run Pingplotter on a server so our team can use the web interface for easy troubleshooting. Our old version ran as a server service so this wasn't an issue, the beta does not, so we have to leave a profile logged into the server and the program actively running in order to access the web interface. Are there plans to add server service capability to the beta or is this something only found in production releases?

Thanks

Hi there Chris,

Thanks for getting in touch with us - and thanks for trying out the new Beta!

Both the PingPlotter Beta and older versions of the program offer the option to install with the Windows Service. This process is performed when installing/modifying Pingplotter:

Running PingPlotter as a Service

In order to set up your current instance of the Beta to run with the Windows Service, you'll need to modify the installation:

1. Open Add or Remove Programs
2. Search for PingPlotter 5 - click to select
3. Click Modify
4. Select Yes -> Next -> Modify
5. Click the dropdown for Collect data in the background and choose Will be installed on the local hard drive
6. Click **Next -> Install -> Finish**

Once that's done, feel free to make any changes to your web server settings in Edit -> Options and fire up your new web interface!

If you have any other questions or concerns, please let me know.

Cheers,

**Austin Berner**
**Software Support Technician | Pingman Tools**
**support@pingman.com | (208) 345-0030**

Hi,
That did the trick, thanks a lot for the fast response on this. I completely blew by that option when I was performing the original install.

Austin, thank you for the quick reply, both on this site to Chris and to me via e-mail!

Considering that most users of PingPlotter will be IT users, I would humbly suggest that the old label of "Install as Windows Service" used during installation is more familiar and intuitive than "Collect data in the background," although I understand that might be more intuitive for non-IT users.

While Chris installed the beta for us, I also would have opted not to enable the "Collect data..." option, incorrectly assuming that it was giving permission for PingPlotter to collect anonymous data from the use of its software to better improve it, etc.

It's also useful to note that, before we installed the beta as a service, we had a licensing issue where only Chris's user account could access a licensed version of the beta, while anyone else logged into the server (including me) would get a warning that it was using a trial license.

After he reinstalled the beta as a service, it showed appropriate licensing information no matter who logged into the server, which is what we expected from the start.

Hi John,

Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!

I can definitely see how the "Collect data in the background" could be interpreted in a way that speaks "any data". In fact, I believe that the current installer is going through a renovation at the moment and this dialogue should change for the better quite soon.

The licensing behavior with the Application instance is to be expected. When installed without the service, the registry updates the license key only at the User level. Changing the installation to use the Windows Service updates the registry at the server level.

If you have any more feedback, feel free to reach out to us at support@pingplotter.com!

All the best,
-Austin