OnePager Express Read Me

Getting Started

OnePager Express is both a stand-alone desktop application and a COM Add-In for Microsoft Excel. Once OnePager has been successfully installed, its launch icon appears on the desktop and under All Programs\OnePager in the Start menu. In addition, its two launch buttons appear on the "Add-Ins" ribbon (MS Excel 2007 or later) or on the OnePager toolbar (MS Excel 2003). The simplest way to launch OnePager is to double-click on the OnePager icon on the desktop. Alternatively, to launch OnePager as an Add-In to Excel, open Excel and wait for it to show the OnePager launch buttons. Click on the leftmost button to make a OnePager project view (Gantt chart) from the current Excel file. Edit this Gantt chart in OnePager and then save it by going to File > Save. Output the Gantt chart by clicking the Copy button on the OnePager toolbar. Then paste it into PowerPoint or other Windows applications.

A template sets the starting properties and imported columns when a new project view is created. Changing a template does not affect a project view after it has been created, but is a handy way to standardize many project views to look the same. To edit or create a template, just double-click on any TAT file. You can find a set of TAT files in the folder MyDocuments\OnePager Express\Templates. Alternatively, click on the second COM Add-In OnePager button to bring up the template form.

Every project view is stored in a TAM file, and each template is stored in a TAT file. When you upgrade from version 5.1 or earlier, OnePager extracts all your project views and templates from the archive file UpgradeBackup.tad, and stores them as TAM and TAT files in folders in the working directory \My Documents\OnePager Express\ by default. You can also extract TAM and TAT files into these folders from any archive (TAD) file by navigating to Open > Browse and choosing "Archives (*.tad)" from the file-type dropdown.

Identifying the correct version of OnePager for your environment: If you install OnePager using the 'Smart Installer' (which is an EXE file with this icon ), you do not need to worry about this section at all, because the Smart Installer will figure everything out and install the correct version for you. If you need to package an MSI file for installation, you must choose the appropriate provided MSI file from a list like the one shown below, using the table given later in this section.



OnePager is available in both 64-bit and 32-bit versions, because the 32-bit version of Microsoft Excel requires 32-bit OnePager and the 64-bit version of Microsoft Excel requires 64-bit OnePager. This distinction arises in because Microsoft ships 64-bit versions of Microsoft Excel 2007 or later. It is the bitness of Microsoft Excel that counts, not the bitness of Microsoft Windows. Note that many computers have 32-bit Excel installed on 64-bit Windows. In this case, you need 32-bit OnePager, which matches the bitness of Excel rather than the bitness of Windows. You can determine the bitness of Excel by going to File > Help > About Microsoft Excel (Excel 2010 or 2007), or File > Account > About Excel (Excel 2013 and higher). Then you can choose the correct MSI file by going to the appropriate row in the table below.

The table below shows how to choose the correct MSI file from the ZIP file based on the bitness of Microsoft Excel. The bitness of Windows is irrelevant:

Supported platforms

OnePager requires Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Vista SP1, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows 11. It also requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or higher. If .NET 3.5 is not installed on the target computer, you can download it for free from Microsoft by browsing to www.microsoft.com/downloads and entering ".NET Framework 3.5" in the search box. This version of the Microsoft .NET Framework runs side-by-side with other versions of the .NET Framework, such as versions 1.1, 2.0, 4.0, 4.5, and 4.6, and is often directly supported by more recent versions of .NET.

As mentioned above, OnePager runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows, and with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Excel.

Installation

To install OnePager, double click on the 'Smart Installer' file, which is an EXE file with this icon . If you need to install explicitly from an MSI file, you can alternatively use a ZIP file that we provide on request. Extract the contents of the ZIP file, and run the correct OnePager MSI file by referring to the table in the previous section. Either the Smart Installer or an MSI file will install the OnePager program, its data files, and the registry keys that are required for it to work as a COM Add-In. The User Guide and other documents are also installed and are always available under the OnePager Help menu.

Per-User Installation

OnePager is installed by default on a per-user basis. This can be changed in the Windows Installer GUI, where a choice is given between installing for "Just me" (per user) or for "Everyone" (per machine). If installed per-user, it should be installed in the account of the individual end-user who intends to use OnePager, not into an admin account that only privileged users can access.

Per-Machine Installation

OnePager can also be installed on a per-machine basis in one of two ways. The first is by selecting "Everyone" on the third screen of the Windows Installer GUI. The second is by setting ALLUSERS=1 on the Windows Installer command line or in a Windows Installer transform. Per-machine installation is recommended for "no touch" deployments that are pushed out from a central location to the end-users' computers. To install per-machine via the command line, extract the correct MSI file from the zip file. (Note: edit the line below to put the actual name of the MSI file in place of the example opPkg.msi shown below.) Then execute the following command line on each target computer:

msiexec /i opPkg.msi /qb+ ALLUSERS=1

In a per-machine installation, we put data files in locations such as C:\Program Files (x86) and C:\ProgramData, and put registry keys in the local-machine registry hive (HKLM). During installation, writing to these file and registry locations generally requires elevated privileges. Once the installation is complete, the end user of OnePager needs only read/execute access to these locations.

Launch Options

The third screen of the Windows Installer GUI also gives you a choice of how you want to launch OnePager. The default is to allow OnePager to be launched either as a COM Add-In from Microsoft Excel or as a stand-alone application with its own desktop icon. If you prefer to launch OnePager only as a stand-alone application, choose the second radio button, which will prevent OnePager from appearing inside Microsoft Excel as an Add-In. To enable the Add-In option after choosing the desktop-only option at installation, see this FAQ.

Virtual Desktops

If you are installing OnePager into a virtual-desktop environment, you should do a per-machine installation on the master machine that will serve as the source image for the virtual desktops. If you are planning to have the virtual desktops access OnePager as a COM Add-In, it is recommended you launch Microsoft Excel once on the master machine to confirm the transfer of OnePager registry keys, data files, and binaries to a user account. You can confirm this by observing that the OnePager tutorial launches and that the OnePager launch buttons appear in Microsoft Excel.

Verifying Correct Installation

For any type of installation technique, here is how to verify that all components were correctly placed on the target computer:

1. Login to the user's account and confirm that OnePager Express appears in the list of installed programs in the Control Panel, on the user's desktop as an icon, and in the Start menu under All Programs > OnePager. If you have chosen to have OnePager also launch as an Add-In to Microsoft Excel, the OnePager buttons should appear on the Add-Ins tab of the ribbon (MS Excel 2007 or later) or on the toolbar (MS Excel 2003). If not, this guide on our website gives steps to resolve the problem. Normally the OnePager tutorial will appear the first time that the OnePager buttons appear in Microsoft Excel. Clicking through the first 3 steps of this tutorial gives a good validation that the installation has completed correctly by building a sample output from a sample Excel file.
2. For verifying stand-alone launch of OnePager, simply double-click the OnePager icon on the desktop. For verifying Add-In launch, press the "OnePager" button on the Microsoft Excel ribbon/toolbar to launch OnePager. If an error occurs in either case, make sure that the OnePager database file (DefaultDB*.t_d) is installed in the OnePager data folder referenced in the current-user hive of the registry for the user who is running OnePager:
   
   HKCU\Software\Chronicle Graphics\OnePager Express\CGDataPath

Upgrading

Installing OnePager per-user causes an older per-user version to be to be automatically removed before the new version is installed. Likewise, installing OnePager per-machine causes an older per-machine version to be automatically removed before the new version is installed. Alternatively, you can remove the older version by running the msi file in uninstall mode or by specifying the product code of the older version to be removed. When installing per-machine over an older per-user installation or when installing per-user over an older per-machine installation, it is recommended that the older version be removed manually before installing the newer version.

The user's license key is automatically migrated from old version to new version.

There is no support in Windows for automatic downgrade from a newer version to an older version, so the newer version will need to be removed manually before installing the older version. In downgrading, the older version will not be able to read any TAM or TAT files that were created or edited in the newer version, unless they were explicitly saved in the older version's format.

Uninstalling

To remove OnePager Express, go to the Windows Control Panel and select "Programs and Features". Find OnePager Express in the list and click the Remove button. For removing OnePager Express in a "no touch" environment, you can execute the following Windows Installer command on each target computer:

Msiexec /x opPkg.msi

Licensing

There are three types of OnePager licenses, and one type of license can be converted into another type without reinstalling OnePager.

1. Time-limited trial license, which last 15 days from first use. This free trial (or grace period) is automatically provided to you the first time you install and use OnePager. We can also extend the duration of these temporary keys after installation if you need extra time in your purchase evaluation. If you need assistance with these keys, please send your name, company name, email address, and phone number to us at [email protected]
2. Standard single-user license, valid for unlimited time for a user on a single computer. After purchasing OnePager, you can convert your trial license into a standard license, with no need to reinstall OnePager. To get your license key, launch OnePager, and from the OnePager Start form, press the yellow HELP button, then "Get Standard License", and finally click "Request License Key" button on the licensing form. This takes you to our website, where you can complete your request by providing your name, email, and purchase information. We will look up your purchase and email your key within 4 business hours.
   
   When your receive your license key email from us, return to the licensing form that contained "Request License Key", copy/paste the license key into the text box, and press the "Activate License" button. You will then see confirmation that you have a valid license key that will remain in force as long as you are on that computer.
3. Enterprise license, valid for multiple users on multiple computers in an organization. Companies that purchase an enterprise license will receive a company-specific enterprise license key that works for more than one user on their internal network. You can distribute an enterprise key in "no touch" fashion to all entitled users by supplying the CGKEY parameter on the Windows installer command line or transform. In the example below, the (fictitious) enterprise license key "abcdefg==" is distributed to all entitled users in the organization during a per-machine installation from a central location:
   
   msiexec /i opPkg.msi /qb+ ALLUSERS=1 CGKEY=abcdefg==
   
   When the entitled user launches OnePager the first time after CGKEY has been pushed to his computer, the license activation process requires that the computer be on the network. After this activation has succeeded, subsequent launches of OnePager will not require network connectivity.
   
   If you prefer not to push CGKEY to entitled users at installation time, each entitled user can enter the enterprise key and activate his license in the same way as standard single-user licenses (see above).

Changing versions of Excel

OnePager does not need to be reinstalled if you change to a different version of Microsoft Excel or if you need to reinstall Excel, unless you switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Excel or vice-versa as a part of that process, in which case, OnePager Express will need to be reinstalled. None of the OnePager data is stored in Excel folders, so it persists across all configuration changes to Excel.

Re-imaging or replacing a computer

If you re-image a user's computer or migrate her to a new computer, make sure you preserve the OnePager project views and templates that she has created. These files are stored as ordinary files under the root working folder, which is \My Documents\OnePager Express\ by default. Just make sure that this working folder and its contents are transferred from the old machine to the new/re-imaged machine. If you want to put these files in a different directory, you can change where OnePager looks for these files by launching OnePager and going to File > Options.

To change the root of the working folders at install time, just specify a different folder in the Windows Installer GUI or execute the command line below, specifying WORKINGDIR:

msiexec /i opPKG.msi WORKINGDIR=c:\myData\OPXWorkingDir\

Registry keys and values

When OnePager is installed as a COM Add-In, it is vital that Excel find the OnePager program when Excel starts up. Otherwise the buttons that launch OnePager will not appear on the ribbon. Excel discovers OnePager by using the following key, where CG_XL_Addin.OnePagerXL is known as the COM programmatic id (ProgID) for OnePager:

HIVE\Software\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins\CG_XL_Addin.OnePagerXL

Here HIVE=HKCU for a per-user installation and HIVE=HKLM for a per-machine installations.

This key is placed in the registry during the OnePager installation process. Under this key, LoadBehavior=3 causes the OnePager buttons to appear every time Excel is launched. LoadBehavior=2 means either that the user has temporarily disabled OnePager or that an error has occurred when Excel attempted to load OnePager.

Turning OnePager Add-In Off Without Uninstalling It

You can turn the OnePager Add-In off and on again so that it is there only when you need it. To turn it off, go to the COM Addins form following these instructions, uncheck the checkbox next to OnePager, and press OK. To turn it on again, go to the same COM Add-Ins dialog box, re-check the OnePager checkbox, and press OK.

Troubleshooting

If the OnePager buttons do not appear in Microsoft Excel, check our support website for troubleshooting tips. Sometimes Microsoft Excel disables OnePager, and this can be easily addressed by re-enabling OnePager. For details look at this FAQ.

More Support

For all other questions, contact [email protected] or call +1.303.779.0344, Option 2.

Last Updated: September 17, 2021