Applies To
Express 2000 Software Manager version 4.0 with Resource Toolkit 4.0.2
Express Software Manager version 4.0 with Resource Toolkit 4.0.2

Summary
This technical note explains how Express Software Manager version 4.0 recognizes applications and describes how you can identify the applications that are not recognized. This note also helps you determine which applications to support.

Note: If you are using Express Software Manager version 4.5, see Technical Note 1328 for more specific information about recognizing files and applications.

Compliance
Express 2000 provides data based on available information from various software and hardware vendors. Express Metrix has not independently confirmed any compliance information with the applicable third party vendor(s), and it is your obligation to do so. EXPRESS METRIX IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHICH MAY RESULT FROM USE OF THIS DATA OR THIS PRODUCT.

Recognizing Applications
Express Software Manager provides tools to identify files by name, size, and location. Express Software Manager recognizes the application to which files belong by comparing the files to information in the Express Knowledgebase. The detected files and the proposed knowledgebase match are displayed in the Application Wizard. You must configure each application -- by accepting or changing entries in the Application Wizard -- so that Express Software Manager can correctly display the information in reports.

As an administrator, you do not need to configure every file that the Express client detects. Instead, focus on the important applications in you environment and configure the files associated with each critical application.

How Applications are Recognized
Express Software Manager is designed to recognize applications by matching the exact name and size of a file detected by the Express client to a file defined in the Express Knowledgebase. The Application Wizard in Express Console displays each detected file with the associated confidence level:

High	The application’s main executable file is matched.
Medium	Two unique support files are matched.
Low	One unique support file is matched.
Unknown	The main executable name matches and the size is within 20% of a matched size.

If an exact match is not made, the file is not recognized, and it is added to the Additional Executable Files list in the Application Wizard.

Identifying Unrecognized Files by Installation Path
To associate the unrecognized files with the correct application, use the installation path detected by the Express client. The installation path can help you identify unrecognized files because each application is typically associated with a unique directory or subdirectory structure (the default path).

Note: If an application was installed to a non-default path, the application can be identified by the subdirectory structure, which typically remains the same.

Use the following procedures to sort the additional executable files by installation path. To view all of the options recommended below, use Express Console version 4.0.2 or higher. (To upgrade from version 4.0, contact your Express Metrix sales representative or Business Partner.)

Using the Application Wizard

1. In Express Console, open a library. The Application Wizard automatically opens when you open a library that contains unconfigured applications. (Or, you can point to Application on the Tools menu and click Application Wizard.)

2. In the Application Wizard, click the Next button until you reach the dialog box entitled Application Wizard: Configure Additional Executable Files.

3. Click the View Options button.

4. In the list of Display Columns, select Install path and Company name. Click Apply and OK.

5. In the sorting bar, click Install path to sort the files by location.

6. Note the files that are located in the same folder with the same manufacturer. You may want to write down the path because you will need to locate it on a workstation.

7. Look at the path information to determine which application is installed in each folder. For example, C:\Program Files\Atguard is the location for WRQ's Atguard program. The main executable and support files are installed in this folder.

1. Return to the open library in Express Console. (You need to close the Application Wizard.)

2. Expand the Files folder.

3. Right-click one of the unrecognized file names from your list and click Properties.

4. Click the Locations tab, and choose one of the workstations.

5. On that workstation, navigate to and open the install path folder. This path was displayed in the Application Wizard, as described in the previous section.

6. In Windows Explorer, click Type on the sorting bar to group the .EXE, .COM, and .DLL files. Determine which application is installed at this location. (Open an executable file if you are note sure.) Note the main executable and the support files.

7. If this application needs to be supported by your IT staff (for Year 2000 compliance or license compliance), configure the main executable files (or unique support files) in the Application Wizard. If you are not sure whether the application needs to be supported, refer to the section, Determining Which Applications to Support, below.

Note: For metering and inventory recognition, you need to configure only the main executable file (or unique support files). It is not necessary to configure every support file.

1. On the Tools menu in Express Console, point to Application and click Application Wizard.

2. Click Next until you reach the dialog box, Application Wizard: Configure Additional Executable Files.

3. Click Install Path on the sort bar to group files by location. Highlight one of the files that you verified in the previous section.

4. If the file is the main executable, add it as an application. To add it as a support file, select the Add as Support File tab, and select the appropriate application from the drop-down list.

1. On the Tools menu in Express Console, point to Application and click Application Wizard.

2. Click Next until you reach the Configure Additional Executable Files dialog box.

3. Click the View Options button.

4. In the list of Display Columns, select Launches. Click Apply and OK.

5. On the sorting bar, click Launches to sort the files by usage.

Other Unrecognized Files
After you identify and configure the applications that you need to support, the Application Wizard will still display the files that have not been configured. Some of the files may belong to downloaded or international applications.

Shareware and Downloaded Files
Many of the files not recognized in the Application Wizard belong to shareware or downloaded software, which you do not need to support. These shared files are typically located in a few specific directories:

Download
I386
Recycle Bin
Setup
Temp
Win NT
Windows\System
<folder for network drivers>

International Applications
Localized versions (French, German, Dutch) of an application frequently have the same name and file size as the US version. In these instances, the Application Wizard identifies the application as the US version--with its associated Year 2000 compliance information--in the list of Auto-added applications.

If you are using a localized version and know the Year 2000 compliance information, you can enter comments in the Application Properties. See the Express Software Manager documentation for details.

Contributing to the Express Knowledgebase
If you would like Express Metrix to consider adding your newly-configured applications to the Express Knowledgebase, see Technical Note 1207 for information about how to download and run an Express Metrix utility called AppScanner. Run AppScanner and send the resulting file to Express Metrix. (The data is collected in a research format.)

The Express Metrix Knowledgebase research team decides which applications to add to the knowledgebase updates.

Related Technical Notes

1207	Contributing to the Express Knowledgebase
1328	Identifying Unrecognized Applications in Express Software Manager 4.5 through 5.x
9991	Express Software Manager Technical Notes (5.x or lower)