Running FileConvert on a Server

When running FileConvert on a server, there are two issues to be aware of: resource usage and multiple logins.

Resource Usage

FileConvert doesn't require much RAM. However, two things can noticeably degrade system performance: scanning for new files and OCR.

If you have many hundreds or thousands of folders that FileConvert has to scan through to look for files, the disk activity can be taxing on the system. We recommend that you set the schedule to "Every n Minutes" and set the interval very high - as much as 999 minutes. This will ensure it only scans about once a day. Alternatively, set the schedule to "Manually" and re-run the job whenever the queue gets low.

Also be aware that OCR is very processor-intensive. For this reason, we often recommend running FileConvert on a dedicated workstation instead of a server.

Multiple Logins

If you install FileConvert on a server where multiple users log in, either at the terminal or remotely, it is critical that FileConvert only be installed under a single user account.

If you install FileConvert for All Users, you'll see undesirable side-effects. Each user that logs in will get their own instance of the FileConvert Agent, and those Agents will all start working on the same conversion jobs and conflict with each other. This will also degrade system performance terribly.

Proper Configuration

To ensure that FileConvert is only running under one user account, verify the following:

• The Windows Registry value at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\FileCenter\IsCurrentUser should be set to 1
• If the folder c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FileCenter exists, move it to the Application Data folder for the user who will be running FileConvert. For example, c:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\FileCenter. NOTE: For newer versions of Windows, you'll want to move the c:\ProgramData\FileCenter folder to c:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Filecenter.

IMPORTANT: If you have ever installed for "All Users" you will need to make those changes manually. Simply reinstalling for "Current User Only" will not be enough to remove the old preferences.

Once you're done configuring FileConvert for a single user, you'll need to log in as that user and stay logged on. We are in the process of making FileConvert run as a service, but in the meantime you'll have to maintain a login.