0.010/29/2019

FAQ-1503: 64-Bit Support in PlanetPress

Description

Does PlanetPress Suite support 64 bit operating system (x64)?

Contents

PlanetPress Suite is supported under 64bit OS since version 7.1.0. However, all parts within PlanetPress Suite remain 32-bit software which does have its limitations even while running in the 64 bit environment.

For older versions previous to 7.1.0, 64 bit operating systems are not supported. Though PlanetPress may work, we make no attempt at "repairing" these versions in the case where something does not. Note that technical support staff may require you to try your workflow/process/document on a 32-bit OS in the event where any trouble occurs on a 64-bit one.

Memory allocation and usage

As PlanetPress Suite is still a 32-bit software, it is still limited to an effective maximum of 3.5GB of RAM. However, since some parts of PlanetPress are multithreading (Image and Workflow with self-replicating processes for example), each thread can use RAM up to this limit. On a 64-bit OS with more than 4GB of RAM, this will enhance performances.

Adding the 32-bit printer drivers to Windows Server 2008 64-bit

The following guide is used to add the 32-bit version of the Objectif Lune Printer driver directly into a 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008. This is useful when in an environment that mixes 32-bit and 64-bit computers, so that the 32-bit machines may install the driver directly from the server instead of manually. This can help resolve the error "The selected driver must be installed remotely from an x86 computer using Type 3 (User mode) drivers."

Click here to download the PDF containing these instructions.

ODBC Databases (Design, Workflow, Capture)

PlanetPress cannot communicate with 64-bit ODBC drivers and connections. Since the "ODBC" icon in the control panel of your operating system is the 64-bit one, creating a connection here will not work for use in PlanetPress. In order to create ODBC connections, you will need to access the 32-bit legacy version of the ODBC Connections application, located in C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe .

This limitation affects all parts of the Suite where database connectivity is possible. This includes PlanetPress Design (database-driven sample data file), PlanetPress Workflow (Database input) and PlanetPress Capture (Capture Database).

Windows Scripting Host (Workflow)

Both Javascript and VBScript languages are available by default to 32-bit applications in a 64-bit operating system. However, when installing ActivePerl and ActivePython to add support for these languages, you must install the 32-bit version or PlanetPress Workflow will not be able to run scripts in these languages.

As a side-note, both ActivePython and ActivePerl 2.5.X must be used, as the 2.6 and 2.7 versions have a documented limitation in Windows which may cause your scripts to fail.

Registry Location

In 64-bit versions of Windows, the registry for 32-bit software is located in a subfolder named "WoW6432Node". Any reference to registry locations need to reflect this, such as : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Objectif Lune\PlanetSuite.