FAQ

Frequently asked questions


Does the software price include tax?

Yes, the price includes all appropriate UK taxes.

How is the software delivered?

The software is only available for download and must be activated on an internet connected computer on first use.

Can I download the help for viewing offline?

Yes, if you just want to update the help file or view it as a standalone file (without the application installed) then you can download a recent version from here.

Why can't I run the software in a Virtual Machine?

We are unable to support running the software in a virtual machine as this could in theory be used to bypass the licencing.

How to restore the ability to view help files after upgrading Windows to a more recent version.

Please note, this is now fixed in the most recent version of the software. This note applies to older version (pre version 10.0). After upgrading or installing a new version of Windows you may find the ability to view local Help Files has been removed by Microsoft as part of the upgrade process. This affects a lot of software that uses the standard HLP format (including CPO). However, this functionality can be restored quite easily by following the numbered steps below.

Steps to re-enable viewing of help files

  1. Download the zip file containing help file and installation script here.
  2. Locate the file you have downloaded (named help.zip) and unzip it.
  3. Where you have unzipped the files, find the Install.cmd file and right click it. From the popup menu, select 'Run as administrator'.
  4. You should now see the results of the installation with a prompt to press a key to finish. You can now view help files normally again.
These scripts were originally created by Komeil Bahmanpour and modified to handle Windows 10 using advice gleaned from Alan Copp.

I appear to have an old version of salflibc.dll, the run-time library file?

Search for all versions of salflibc.dll on your disk drives and delete them, then copy the latest version to your working cpo directory.

The latest version can be downloaded as a zip file here.

How is software licencing handled?

Previous versions of the software used hardware based dongles to ensure compliance with licencing. New versions now use internet based software licencing and require an active connection to the internet for installation.

How do I upgrade to a newer version from the hardware based copy protection?

If you wish to benefit from the lower cost upgrade licencing then you will need to return your original hardware dongle. If you do not wish to do so, then a new licence will have to be purchased at full value.

Problems with CPO3D graphics or with crashing at startup

The software has been tested on the most recent version of Windows so if possible, please try the newest version of Windows and ensure Windows Update has installed all pending updates.

It may be that the OpenGL version on your computer is out of date. As this is shipped with Windows it is not easy to update separately.

In this situation, please try setting the Compatibility Mode. If this fails to work contact CPO.

Problems with calling data files

If a CPO program crashes when you try to open a data file 2 possible causes are:

  1. You are running cpo2d and want to call test2d1.dat, say, but are attempting to call it from the folder c:\cpo\3d_data instead of c:\cpo\2d_data, or vice-versa.
  2. The file name has a space in it somewhere, such as c:\cpo\my file.dat, or c:\program files\name.dat.

Unfortunately we cannot create clean exits for these because they are outside our control.

Installing on multiple systems

The CPO software is licenced such that each key will enable one computer to run the software at a time. If you need to use the software on multiple computers with the same key then you have two options;

  1. Uninstall from the old system (this removes the key from use) and reinstall to the new computer with the original key.
  2. Keep the original installation intact and unregister it via a command line tool, then install CPO to the new computer with the original key. When you are finished using the 2nd computer you can then unregister that and register the 1st computer.

To unregister a licenced CPO installation run a command prompt (CMD.exe) and change to the installation directory (usually C:\CPO). At the command prompt type LicenceCheck Unregister. If this succeeds you will see the following text in the output App is not activated.

To register a CPO installation with a key run a command prompt (CMD.exe) and change to the installation directory. At the command prompt type LicenceCheck register [Your-product-key]. If all succeeds you will see the text Activated successfully in the output.

To check the status of the licence, type LicenceCheck at the command prompt without any additional parameters. The licence details will then be output to the console. You can also see some of this information from the Help->About menu in the application.

Help for new users

The easiest form of help is in the online /Help/index/step by step help/. Here is a copy of part of it.

Start by reducing the size of that Help page and putting it where it can be seen while you run the program.

Click on File and then on Open for running only.

Double click on 2d_data (assuming you are using cpo2d) and then on test2d01.dat.

After the messages click on Run, watch the program run, then click on OK.

Click on Zoom or Contours or View, and in each case experiment with all the options.

Click on Close.

Now experiment with changing some of the parameters of the model:

Click on File and then on Open data builder file.

Double click on /2d_data/test2d01.dat.

Click on File and then on SaveAs (data builder file).

Enter a name of your choice and then save.

Click on Databuilder and experiment with the options, running the program to see the effect of the changes.

Finally click on Close data builder, then Exit.

Updating help to the latest version

Occasionally we update the help file (hlp.chm in the installation directory).

You can always access the latest help by downloading the latest installer and reinstalling (make sure you back up your data first).

If you just want to update the help file or view it as a standalone file (without the application installed) then you can download a recent version from here.

After downloading this file you will need to unzip it to extract the hlp.chm which can be copied to your CPO installation directory, overwriting the existing version.

Microsoft Windows can be very cautious about file types with an extension of .zip or .chm so you may need to right click it, select properties from the popup menu and choose Unblock in order to access it.

Reinstalling the dongle drivers for older versions of the software

Versions of the software prior to 11.0 used hardware based licencing (dongles). From version 11.0 onwards a software scheme is used where activation is handled by a licence key.

If you need to delete existing DESkey (dongle) drivers, for example before loading a new version of CPO, then search for the files dk*.dll and delete them.

The DESKEY32.dll dynamically linked library is normally installed as part of the normal installation process. If it seems to be absent then it is possible to manually install the drivers that support the dongle by going to Deskey support site and downloading and installing the DK3 driver. This is the driver that is included in the CPO installation disk. You might also have to download the latest software if your operating system is updated or upgraded for example with security patches.

Can I see the End User Licence Agreement?

The licence agreement is shown when installing the software in both trial and full versions. It is copied below for completeness.

Copyright Notice. By downloading and/or using any of the software contained in this installation you signify that you abide by the conditions set out below:

The copyright of all the CPO programs and associated documents is owned by CPO Ltd, UK Registered Company Number 4012016

CPO Ltd gives no warranty that all errors have been removed from this or any related software or any documentation associated with the software, and neither the Company nor any of its employees, contractors or agents, nor the authors of the software give any warranty or representation as to the suitability or fitness of such software or any such program forany particular purpose nor shall be liable for any losses, whether they be direct, indirect, consequential, from damages, costs, expenses, claims or fees of any nature or kind resulting from any deficiencies, defects or errors in the software or the documentation or any related product.

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