Add-In Manager

21 minute read Last updated on May 23, 2023

When you first open up the Add-In Manager, all nodes/packages that can be uninstalled are listed. You can also click on various items on the left-hand side of the window to either view and install updates or install new optional nodes.

When downloading/installing updates and/or new nodes, note the following:

You can minimize the Add-In Manager. You can minimize the Add-In Manager window when downloading, installing, or updating. An icon will appear in your system tray; you can double-click on it to see the progress of the operation.
Add-In Manager offers multi-select capabilities. You can multi-select items listed in the Add-In Manager to install or uninstall them all at once.

To open the Add-In Manager, browse all programs from your Windows Start menu until you find the Add-In Manager sub folder underneath the Konica Minolta folder. Once you click on the Add-In Manager folder, you will see the online help file for the Add-In Manager and the Add-In Manager’s executable file. Click on the executable file to launch Add-In Manager.

Running as Administrator

To perform any updates, uninstalls, or installs, you must have administrative permissions. However, any user can download updates.

Do one of the following:

On the Add-In Manager, select the Run as administrator button.
From the Windows program list, right-click on the Add-In Manager and then select Run as administrator from the context menu that appears. With this procedure, the Run as administrator button will not appear on the Add-In Manager.

You will receive a UAC prompt. Click on the Yes button to continue. Administrative permissions will be granted until you close the Add-In Manager.

When Downloading Updates In Background

If Add-In Manager begins by downloading updates in the background, an Install window will appear when it is time to install. In this case, click the Install button to be automatically granted administrative privileges and continue with the installation:

Download

Key Features

Version Info

To view a list of all packages currently installed on your system, along with their version numbers, select Version Info… from the Tools pull-down menu in the Add-In Manager. The Add-In Manager Report window will open, as in the following illustration:

Report

To narrow the list of packages displayed, use the Search field on the upper right hand side of the window. To remove the filtered results, simply delete the phrase in the field or click on the X to clear the field.

Note: Press the forward slash key to bring immediate focus to the Search field.

To save the report as a PDF file, select the Save As PDF button. A Windows Save As dialog box will appear, allowing you to save the file (with a default name of AIM Report.pdf) in the appropriate location. Once saved, the PDF will be generated and automatically open.

To close the Add-In Manager Report, click the Cancel button.

Note: This window can also be opened from Dispatcher Phoenix’s License Manager and About box.

Options

To specify package repository preferences, copy the web repository to local media, and configuring the view of the Add-In Manager, select Options… from the Tools pull-down menu in the Add-In Manager.

The Options window resembles the following illustration:

Package Repository Default Preferences

You can choose which package repository locations will be available for you to choose when updating or installing packages by selecting one of the following options from the Select behavior for updates and Add-In option installs options:

Display Web and all local repositories – This is the default setting. With this option enabled, Add-In Manager will auto-detect and then list the available package repository locations for you to choose from when multiple repository locations are detected (Web, CD/DVD, USB drive, etc.) If a network share or local drive has been specified, it will be listed also.
When checking for updates in the application, the user will receive a message with the package repositories listed, as in the following illustration:

When accessing Add-In Manager directly from the Windows Programs menu, the available package repository locations will be listed on the left-hand side of the window, as in the following illustration:
Display local repositories only (CD/DVD, USB drive, etc.) – When this option is enabled, Add-In Manager will automatically attempt to use local media, such as a CD/DVD or USB drive, as the source location for the package repositories to be installed/updated. If multiple local repositories are auto-detected, the user will be prompted to choose one. If a network share or local drive has been specified, it will be listed also.

When accessing Add-In Manager directly from the Windows Programs menu, only those local source locations that include package repositories will be listed on the left-hand side of the window.

If no local repositories are detected, a warning message will appear.
Use Web repository only – When this option is enabled, Add-In Manager will automatically download packages from the Internet (as indicated in the Default Web repository field).

When accessing Add-In Manager directly from the Windows Programs menu, "Web" will be listed on the left-hand side of the window.
You can also specify another local repository (i.e., network share or local drive) to be listed as an available source location for package repositories by adding a path location to the Specify optional local repository field. You can use the Browse button to search for and find the repository.

Downloads

To modify the default temporary folder where cached download files are saved, click the Browse button… next to the Download files to: field.
- By default, downloaded files that were installed or updated will be automatically deleted after install/update has completed. To disable this feature, uncheck the Delete cached downloads after successful install or update box.
- To automatically install packages after they have been downloaded, check the Automatically install after download complete box.
- To clear ALL cached files, click on the Clear Cache button.
To download the web repository to a local media, such as USB drive, click the Copy Web Repository button. This is useful when you are preparing to install updates in a location with limited or no Internet connection.

Note: With this option, Add-In Manager will only check for and download new or updated packages. For this reason, make sure that the Delete cached downloads after successful install or update option is disabled when cloning remote repositories.
To clone the full installer files, click the Copy Full Offline Installer. This will download all installer files and create a complete layout of an ISO to the selected media. An ISO is an image file that contains the data of an optical disc. This does not create a single ISO file, but instead downloads all files in an ISO structure. This allows you to use the installer directly from the media, instead of burning a DVD or mounting an ISO. If you do want to create an ISO, you can use any ISO image creation tool to create an ISO image from the downloaded installer files.

Add-In Manager Default View

To configure the appearance of the Add-In Manager, do one of the following: Compact - The default view shows a progress bar along with a product feature slideshow Detailed - This view displays detailed progress messages along with the progress bar.

Restoring Defaults

At any time, you can switch your settings back to their default settings by clicking on the Restore Defaults button.

Downloading
All updates and new packages are downloaded first before they are installed. Installation can occur either manually or automatically after the download has completed. The following illustration is an example of the Download window. Note that it has additional fields and buttons:
- Pause - You can suspend the download process at any time by clicking on the Pause button. If you pause a download, you can resume it at the same point in the download process at a later time by clicking the Resume button.

Different Views

For downloads, uninstallations, and installations, you have the choice of two views:

Progress bar along with a product feature slideshow (default view)
Progress bar along with detailed installation messages (displayed once the Show Details option is enabled)

Uninstall Link

The Uninstall link on the left-hand side of the Add-In Manager window displays a list of all packages that are currently installed on your system. Each item includes a brief description underneath it. To view more details about a specific package, click on an item in the list. A list of its dependencies will appear on the right-hand side of the window.

To uninstall a specific component, select the Uninstall button. When you uninstall a component, its dependencies will be uninstalled as well. A confirmation message will appear to make sure that you want to uninstall that package.
Before the uninstall operation begins, Add-In Manager will look for any running packages. If there are any issues found, the progress bar will turn red and a message will appear the bottom of the window. The following illustration displays the error that occurs if the Dispatcher Phoenix application is open:

Select Updates From Link

Select Updates from Link

The Select Updates From link on the left-hand side of the Add-In Manager window displays how many updated packages are currently available to be installed (depending on the specific location that is selected). The package repository locations are dynamically detected. To change the type of locations that are listed in this area (Web + Local Repositories, Local Repositories only, or Web only), use the Options window.

Select the Install Updates button to begin the installation process. A confirmation message will appear to make sure that you want to install updates. Before the update operation begins, Add-In Manager will look for any running packages. If there are any issues found, the progress bar will turn red and a message will appear the bottom of the window.

To view more details about a specific component, click on an item in the list. A list of its dependencies will appear on the right-hand side of the window.

Select Add-Ins From Link

Select Add-Ins from Link

The Select Add-Ins From link on the left-hand side of the Add-In Manager window displays the new packages that are currently available to be installed (depending on the specific location that is selected). The package repository locations are dynamically detected. To change the type of locations that are listed in this area (Web + Local Repositories, Local Repositories only, or Web only, use the Options window.

Select a package (or use the Shift + Click to select multiple packages); then select the Install button to begin the installation process. A confirmation message will appear to make sure that you want to install new packages. Before the install operation begins, Add-In Manager will look for any running packages. If there are any issues found, the progress bar will turn red and a message will appear the bottom of the window.

To view more details about a specific component, click on an item in the list. A list of its dependencies will appear on the right-hand side of the window.

Important! Before installing new packages, all updates must be installed first.

The following illustration is an example of the “detailed” view of Add-In Manager installing a new node:

Detailed View

License Requirements

If the add-in module has NOT been registered yet, the License Required window will appear, listing the name, package, and version for all the add-ins that you have selected to install or update. For example, in the following illustration, the user has attempted to install the Color Route add-in module without registering it first:

License Requirements

On this window, you can do the following:

Select the Close button to close the License Required window and return to the Add-In Manager.
Select the License Manager button to launch the License Manager window to register the add-in node.

Install Updates Without Internet Connection

If you need to install or update Dispatcher Phoenix at a site that has either no or limited Internet connection, do the following:

Copy the Web repository.
Install updates from that downloaded repository.

Note: For fresh installs of Dispatcher Phoenix, this process will only work if all of the Dispatcher Phoenix prerequisites (Microsoft .Net Framework 4.8, etc.) are installed.

Copy Web Repository

Open the Add-In Manager.
Select the Options button.
On the Options window, click on the Copy Web Repository button.
The Choose a destination to copy the Web repository window will open. Select some external media (e.g., USB drive) to save the repository in; then click on the Select Folder button.

Note: Make sure you copy the web repository to the media’s root directory or any first-level directory; otherwise, Add-In Manager will not be able to auto-detect the local repository.

Choose Destination

The powershell.exe window appears and begins downloading the web repository to the specified location. See the following illustration for an example:

Install Updates From Downloaded Repository

To install updates using the repository that you just downloaded to some external media, do one of the following:

Make sure that the media on which you downloaded the web repository is connected to the system that you are trying to update.
Do one of the following:
- From Dispatcher Phoenix, do the following:
  - Choose the Check for Updates option from the Help pull-down menu.
  - The Select a package repository window will appear.
  - Select the source location that contains your downloaded repository.
  - Add-In Manager will launch and begin downloading/installing files from that location.
- From Add-In Manager, do the following:
  - Click on the Select Updates From: link on the left-hand side of the window.
  - Select the source location that contains your downloaded repository.
  - Select the Install Updates button.

Downloading updates for each license may be time-consuming if a business has multiple licenses of Dispatcher Phoenix. As a solution, Add-In Manager can be configured to install all updates from a network share. To set this up, do the following:

Copy the web repository.
Copy the downloaded repository to a network share.
Open Add-In Manager.
Select the Options button.
Select the Local Repository Path Browse button to find and select the packages.xml on the network share that contains the downloaded repository. See the following illustration:
Select the Save button to save your changes and close the Add-In Manager.
Under the Select Updates From: link in the Add-In Manager, select the network share that is listed.

Running as Administrator

To perform any updates, uninstalls, or installs, you must have administrative permissions. However, any user can download updates.

Do one of the following:

Select the Run as administrator button on the Add-In Manager. Or,
Right-click on the Add-In Manager from the Windows program list and then select Run as administrator from the context menu that appears. With this procedure, the Run as administrator button will not appear on the Add-In Manager.

You will receive a UAC prompt. Click on the Yes button to continue. Administrative permissions will be granted until you close the Add-In Manager.