Installing Vixen 1.1.11 -- Detailed Instructions

[JonnyMac]

Vixen doesn't come with a traditional installer so I'm going to walk you through the steps to get it up and running on your Windows PC.   First things first: Vixen is built using Microsoft's .NET technology and as such requires version 2.0 of the .NET framework to be installed.  Checking your system is easy: open the Control Panel, double-click on Add or Remove Programs, and then scroll down the list to verify that the framework is installed.  The image below shows that I do in fact have the correct framework on my PC.  If you don't, you can get the installer from Microsoft, and K.C. Oaks (Vixen's creator) has made our lives easy by providing a link to the .NET framework installer on his downloads page.



Once the .NET framework is installed you can download Vixen; as of this writing the current version is 1.1.11.  The program comes as a ZIP file that contains a custom install tool, the data files for the installer, and text file with release notes.  Unzip these files into a temporary folder (you can't run the installer from within the ZIP), open the folder where you placed the files, and then double-click on VixenInstall.exe. 

As I previously stated, this is a custom installer.  The first dialog you'll see will ask if this is a new install, or an upgrade from version 1.0.  I'm assuming that this is a new install so you will click on New (as shown below). 



The installer wants to place the operational files in a folder just below the current location – but this is probably not where you want them.  Even if this isn't a traditional installer (like the commercial programs we're all used to) we can still locate the program files appropriately.  On the Location dialog (below) you'll want to click on the Change This button.  You'll be presented with a Windows folder browser. 



I suggest that you locate the C:\Program Files folder, click on it, and then click on the Make New Folder button at the bottom of the dialog.  Enter Vixen as the folder name and click OK.  The Vixen location dialog should now show C:\Program Files\Vixen.  Click the Start button to install the program.



What you'll find on looking into the Vixen folder is that the program and several other folders have been installed.  What you won't find, however, is a shortcut on your desktop on in your Start menu.  Open the Vixen folder in Windows Explorer, find Vixen.exe, then right-click and drag the icon onto your desktop.  When you release the mouse button a context menu will allow you to create a shortcut.  Now you're ready to go.

With Vixen installed you can proceed to the Using Vixen as a Prop Programmer thread to learn how this cool little piece of freeware can simplify your Prop-1 and Prop-2 programming chores.

[shupe1]

Hi,

I'm trying to install and use Vixen on my Windows PC, but I seem to be having some problems....

I have the .NET Framework installed, but its version 4.  When I try to download and install version 2.0, I get an error.  It says that the 2.0 version can't be installed on a 64 bit machine....

I'm not really a PC guy, so any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Travis

[JonnyMac]

You know, we may need to get the programmer in on this one.  Please send a message to kc@vixenlights.com as this is very much above our abilities, too.