INFO: Atalasoft DotImage Installation Guide

Version: 11.5.0.10

Date: 2025-12-22

Table of Contents

© 2025 Tungsten Automation. All rights reserved. Tungsten and Tungsten Automation are trademarks of Tungsten Automation Corporation, registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of Tungsten Automation

Preface

The Atalasoft DotImage Installation Guide contains information about how to install this product.

Back to Top

Related documentation

In addition to this guide, the Atalasoft DotImage documentation set includes the following:

• API Reference: Gives the complete Atalasoft DotImage class library in online help format.
• API Reference (.chm file): Gives the complete Atalasoft DotImage class library for offline use.
• Atalasoft DotImage Release Notes: Contains late-breaking product information not included in this guide. You can download the release notes from the Atalasoft Web site at www.atalasoft.com. View the release notes from the Support pages.
• Atalasoft DotImage Sample Applications: A basic starting point for sample apps
• Current Demos KB Article: A more comprehensive set of useful demos and snippets.

Tutorials and Whitepapers

• INFO: WebDocumentViewer Whitepaper - Getting Started With Web Viewing: Getting started with Web Document Viewer (our modern HTML 5 Web Viewer) - .NET Framework
• INFO: WingScan Whitepaper - Getting Started with Web Scanning (in .NET Framework): Getting started with Web Capture (a.k.a. WingScan: our modern HTML 5 Web Scanning Components) - .NET Framework
• INFO: WDV (and WebCapture) In .NET 8 Whitepaper - Getting Started: Getting started with Web Capture (a.k.a. WingScan: our modern HTML 5 Web Scanning Components) - .NET 8+

Back to Top

Getting help with Atalasoft products

The Atalasoft Knowledge Portal repository contains articles that are updated on a regular basis to keep you informed about Atalasoft products. We encourage you to use the Knowledge Portal to obtain answers to your product questions.

[!info] The Atalasoft Knowledge Portal is optimized for use with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge.

The Atalasoft Knowledge Portal provides:

• Powerful search capabilities to help you quickly locate the information you need. Type your search terms or phrase into the Search box, and then click the search icon.
• Product information, configuration details and documentation, including release news.

To locate articles, go to the Knowledge Portal home page and select the applicable Solution Family for your product, or click the View All Products button.

From the Knowledge Portal home page, you can:

• Access the Atalasoft Community (for all customers). On the Resources menu, click the Community link.
• Access the Atalasoft Customer Portal where you can Open a Support Case.

Back to Top

Chapter 1: Atalasoft DotImage

Atalasoft DotImage is a suite of .NET assemblies to use in projects to acquire, read, write, display, annotate or process images. Atalasoft DotImage assemblies can be used in desktop and ASP.NET projects and the various objects and methods are accessible from any .NET-compliant language including C# and Managed C++.

Atalasoft DotImage WebForms controls include innovative AJAX controls for scanning, displaying and manipulating images and documents, all with a minimal or no client-side footprint.

Images used in Atalasoft DotImage controls or objects can come from files or databases, as well as from scanners or cameras. In addition to standard objects, Atalasoft DotImage includes .NET controls you can add to WinForms, WPF, and WebForms projects. These controls make it easy to create applications that display or edit images.

Back to Top

Chapter 2: Licensing

In order to use this product, you must have a valid license.

Licensing Atalasoft DotImage

Before you can use a Atalasoft DotImage Toolkit, you need to obtain the appropriate license. Select one of the following:

• SDK/Developer Build Licenses
• Server Licenses These licenses can be purchased directly from the Atalasoft DotImage website or by contacting sales. See the License Agreement for more details.

SDK/Developer build licenses

Each Atalasoft DotImage developer must have his or her own developer build license. A single developer build license can be used to develop an unlimited number of single-user client applications deployed to an unlimited number of client desktop computers as long as the licenses are still under maintenance.

[!info] If a developer requires the ability to compile an application with Atalasoft DotImage, even if the developer is not programming with Atalasoft DotImage, that developer must obtain a developer build license.

Server licenses

Each server that uses Atalasoft DotImage in a ASP.NET / WebForms environment must have a separate server license. A single Server license is required for each set of two CPUs. Activation is required for each server using Atalasoft DotImage. If you need a large number of server licenses, contact sales for an OEM agreement which does not require server activation.

Serial numbers

Every toolkit has its own serial number and therefore its own license file. Some modules including Advanced Document Cleanup, Advanced Photo Effects, OCR Engines, and PDF Translator are included as flags in their parent license file. For that reason they do not require their own license file.

The first four characters of every serial number is a code that identifies the product the serial number enables. The following table provides a mapping of the current products to their four letter codes.

Back to Top

Embedding License in an EXE (Licenses.licx file)

The licenses.licx file is a text file located in a .NET project that notifies Visual Studio to compile a license file into an executable's resource. This enables EXE applications to be deployed to a machine without an SDK installed. Internally, Visual Studio uses lc.exe to link the license files to the resource based on the list of assemblies and types in the licenses.licx file. Visual Studio hides this file from the solution unless you choose to "Show All Files" in the solution explorer. The licenses.licx should be an embedded resource.

Visual Studio generates the licenses.licx file for you when dropping a component or control onto a form. However for Console applications, classes that are not a component, or for manually generating the licenses.licx, the following information might be useful.

Example

Visual Studio automatically creates a line in the licenses.licx file similar to that shown below:

Atalasoft.Imaging.WinControls.WorkspaceViewer, Atalasoft.dotImage.WinControls, Version=2.1.1962.28178, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=2b02b46f7326f73b

Visual Studio generates the Type, Assembly, Version, Culture, and PublicKeyToken automatically, but only the Type and Assembly are required. For example, if you are licensing the Pdf Codec and Atalasoft DotImage in a console application, the licenses.licx file should look like:

Atalasoft.Imaging.AtalaImage, Atalasoft.dotImage
Atalasoft.Imaging.Codec.Pdf.PdfDecoder, Atalasoft.dotImage.PdfReader

[!info] Licenses can only be embedded in EXE's. For DLL's and ASP.NET applications, the licenses.licx file is ignored when compiling.

If:

• a license file cannot be found
• there is an assembly version mismatch
• a signature fails in the license file
• or, any other licensing problem occurs

attempting to compile will result in an error message similar to that shown here:

Could not transform licenses file 'licenses.licx' into a binary resource. (1) : error LC0004 : Exception occurred creating type 'Atalasoft.Imaging.AtalasoftLicenseException'

If you remove the licenses.licx file (or temporarily rename it) your project will compile and you will see a more relevant error message when running the application.

Back to Top

Licensing FAQ

What are the basic Atalasoft DotImage license types?

Broadly speaking, there are two types of Atalasoft DotImage licenses: developer and deployment. Anyone who develops applications (EXEs) with the Atalasoft DotImage Toolkit needs a developer license. Deployment licenses are required whenever you incorporate Atalasoft DotImage code into an application you develop, unless that code is designated as runtime royalty free.

What is meant by runtime royalty free?

Code that is runtime royalty free can be incorporated into an executable and distributed without incurring a charge. Put differently, if you are using code that is runtime royalty free, you do not need a deployment license to distribute executables (EXEs) created using that code.

What is a developer license?

A developer license allows on person to incorporate code from the Atalasoft DotImage SDK into a software executable he or she is developing.

What is a deployment license?

Roughly speaking, a deployment license gives your company the right to distribute applications that incorporate Atalasoft DotImage code. To learn more, see How to: Compile a License into an EXE. There are three different types of deployment licenses: ASP.NET WebForm, WinForm Control, and assembly tied. The latter is, by far, the least common. Contact Atalasoft DotImage Sales for more information.

Does Atalasoft DotImage offer evaluation licenses?

Yes. All Atalasoft DotImage products are available with a 30-day evaluation license. For more information see Requesting an Evaluation License .

How does an evaluation license differ from a paid license?

The only difference is that an evaluation license has an expiration date.

I just purchased Atalasoft DotImage and received a serial number. What is its purpose?

After purchasing Atalasoft DotImage or related toolkits, you are provided with a serial number. That serial number belongs only to you and must be kept in a safe place. The serial number is needed when you request your license. The process of going from a serial number to a license is known as activating a license. For more information, see Activating a Serial Number .

I have been working with an evaluation license but recently purchased Atalasoft DotImage. How do I update my license?

To update your license, you need to activate your serial number. See Activating a Serial Number for more information.

I am distributing an application that references Atalasoft DotImage. How do I properly license these applications on my client's computers?

To activate a serial number, such as after purchasing or replacing existing evaluation license files, your Visual Studio Project must be restarted and fully rebuilt (using rebuild, not build) to update the resources. Otherwise, the project does not recompile the resource and continues to use the old license.

I have a developer license. What rights does that grant me?

Developer licenses grant one person the right to build software using the Atalasoft DotImage SDK and to create executables that include code from that SDK. The Atalasoft DotImage SDK is runtime royalty free as are some but not all Atalasoft DotImage add-ons. Note: You may only create new deployments of your application if your licenses are under maintenance.

Which Atalasoft DotImage Add-ons are not runtime royalty free?

Some OCR engines, the searchable PDF OCR Module, Atalasoft DotImage ISIS, and Advanced Document Cleanup (ADC) all require deployment licenses; None of these are runtime royalty free. Consult the Atalasoft DotImage License Agreement for full details. For information on deployment licenses, contact Atalasoft DotImage Sales.

I am a licensed Atalasoft DotImage developer. Can I use my SDK license on a laptop as well as a desktop machine?

Atalasoft DotImage developer licenses are per developer. You can use your license are multiple machine so long as you are the person doing the development work.

The computer on which I was developing with Atalasoft DotImage was lost, damaged, destroyed, upgraded or is otherwise is no longer in use. How can I transfer my license to my new computer?

Developer licenses are tied to a specific machine. If for any reason you wish to develop on an alternate machine, you must inform Atalasoft DotImage Technical Support. Your old machine will be deactivated enabling you to activate your new machine.

Deployment licenses (that were embedded into an exe) are not machine specific so changing to a new computer is not an issue for those licenses.

Server licenses also require deactivation / reactivation on the new machine

Back to Top

Chapter 3: Installing Atalasoft DotImage

This chapter includes the information you need to install Atalasoft DotImage.

Atalasoft DotImage downloads are available when you click the Downloads link on the Atalasoft web site at www.atalasoft.com. Locate the DotImage SDK Download link. Legacy versions of Atalasoft DotImage are also available for download from the downloads page.

You must have a supported version of Visual Studio on your system to use the Atalasoft DotImage SDK. For more information about supported versions of Visual Studio and other third-party software components used with this product, see the Atalasoft DotImage Technical Reference.

Back to Top

Download the files

If you are not logged in, once you click the Downloads button, you are prompted to enter the information required to create an account. You must have an account to download the SDK.

The website will walk you through the process of creating an account.

[!info] Atalasoft does not sell, rent, or reveal your personal information in any way to a third party. For more information on the privacy policy, visit Atalasoft web site at www.atalasoft.com.

If you are logged in, you are taken directly to the download page.

1. Click the .NET SDK DOWNLOAD link.
2. If you receive a File Download - Security Warning dialog box, select Save.
3. When the download is complete, click Run to start the installation, and then follow the on-screen instructions.
4. When the installation is complete, use the Activate button in the installer to start the Activation Wizard, which guides you through the process of activating a serial number or evaluation license for your Atalasoft DotImage toolkit.

Back to Top

Activate a serial number

After you install Atalasoft DotImage, you are prompted to activate your serial number. The activation process varies, based on your situation.

• If you have not yet purchased Atalasoft DotImage, select Request 30-day Evaluation, and follow the instructions in Requesting an Evaluation License.
• If you have purchased Atalasoft DotImage or related toolkits, you need your serial number to continue with the activation process.

[!info] Your Atalasoft DotImage serial number belongs only to you and must be kept in a safe place. You need your serial number to request license files.

• Navigate to the Atalasoft DotImage program folder and select Activate Atalasoft DotImage. Then follow the on-screen instructions to activate your serial number.
• The activation wizard generates your license files (.lic) in the Application Data folder, which is typically located here: C:\Users\[USER_NAME]\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage 11.5 where [USER_NAME] is the name of the user who runs the activation wizard.
• The AppData folder may be hidden in Windows Explorer. In this case, you can access it by entering the path manually in the address bar at the top of the window.

Back to Top

Request an evaluation license

All Atalasoft DotImage products are available to download for a 30-day evaluation. These downloads are the full product versions; the licensed versions and evaluation versions are the same.

Navigate to the Atalasoft DotImage program folder and select Atalasoft DotImage Activate. When the Toolkit Activation Wizard appears, follow the on-screen instructions to obtain and activate your evaluation license.

[!info] If questions arise during your evaluation period, contact the Atalasoft DotImage support team.

Back to Top

Activate the SDK license

Use this procedure to activate the SDK license.

1. On the Start menu, navigate to Atalasoft DotImage 11.5 > Activate DotImage 11.5. The Activation Wizard appears.
2. Click Next.
3. Select Activate an SDK serial number for use on this machine, or a server license option and click Next.
4. Enter your serial numbers, including dashes. Each serial number must appear on a separate line. When all serial numbers are entered, click Next to continue.
5. Enter the email address and password for a valid Atalasoft DotImage user account. If you do not have an account, click Create Account. Click Next.
6. When prompted to back up existing license files, click Yes.

If the license numbers and account information are valid, a screen appears with a notification.

If there are any errors, the screen will provide more information - such as "serial belongs to another user" or "invalid serial number". If this happens, take note of the message and contact support.

If it says "unable to contact licensing Service" and offers to save an offline activation file please follow the "Activate the SDK license without Internet access" section below.

The account used to activate a serial number for the first time becomes the "owner" of that serial number. No other account is allowed to activate that serial number.

Back to Top

Activate the SDK license without internet access

Use this procedure to activate the SDK license when Internet access is not available.

1. On the Start menu, navigate to Atalasoft DotImage 11.5 > Activate DotImage 11.5. The Activation Wizard detects that no Internet connection is available. 2.Follow the on-screen instructions to create and save the required activation files, and make a note of the URL displayed at the end. Each activation file is an XML file.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<AtalasoftOfflineActivationFile>
    <ActivationVersion>2.2</ActivationVersion>
    <Email>xxx@atalasoft.com</Email>
    <EncPassword>x</EncPassword>
    <SerialNumber>xxx</SerialNumber>
    <MachineID>xxx</MachineID>
    <MachineName>xxx</MachineName>
    <UserName>xxx</UserName>
    <Version>xxx</Version>
</AtalasoftOfflineActivationFile>

3. Do one of the following:

• If you have an Atalasoft DotImage toolkit installed on an Internet-connected computer, see Activating from an Atalasoft DotImage Installation.
• If you do not have an Atalasoft DotImage toolkit installed on an Internet-connected computer, see Activating on the Internet.

Activating from an Atalasoft DotImage installation

1. Copy the activation files you saved earlier to the machine with the Internet connection and Atalasoft DotImage toolkit installed.
2. On the Start menu, navigate to Atalasoft DotImage 11.5 > Activate DotImage 11.5.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate a serial number from an activation file.
4. Repeat the preceding steps for each license you need to activate.
5. Copy the entire contents of the licenses folder to: C:\Users\[USER_NAME]\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage 11.5

Activating on the internet

Use this procedure if you do not have Atalasoft DotImage installed on a computer with Internet connectivity.

1. Move any offline activation files to a computer with an Internet connection.
2. Open a browser and go to the website URL noted earlier in the Activation Wizard.
3. Follow the instructions on the website for each offline activation file, and save each generated license file in a folder.
4. When all of the necessary licenses are generated, move the license files back to the computer with your Atalasoft DotImage installation, and copy them to the following location: C:\Users\[USER_NAME]\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage 11.5
5. You can now use the Atalasoft DotImage licenses.

Back to Top

Activate the server license

Use this procedure to activate the server license.

A server serial number is easily identified because it contains an X in the first group of digits. For example, a server license might start with DIDX. If a serial number lacks the X, it is for a Development SDK license.

When installing a server license, you have two options. Consider these carefully and make the appropriate choice before continuing.

• Bind the license to the Machine ID (or MAC address): This is the simplest option. Select this option if you anticipate a changing IP address, but always expect to use the license on the same physical machine.
• Bind the license to the Server's IP address: Select this option if you anticipate changing the physical machine more frequently than the IP address. You may have more than one possible IP address to use. Your choice must take into account the fact that the license must be registered to the IP address that your application runs from.
  • If the application is thin client, the license should be bound to the IP address visible to the server (the local or internal IP).
  • If the application is a thick or heavy client, the license should be bound to the IP address visible to the client (the external IP).

It is not necessary to install Atalasoft DotImage on the server to register the license. If you opt to bind the license to the Machine ID, you need to copy the Activation Wizard executable to the server from the Atalasoft DotImage install directory on a development machine. Once copied to the server, run it.

If you bind the license to the server's IP address, you can run the utility on any computer with an Internet connection, and copy the license file to the server afterwards.

1. On the Start menu, navigate to Atalasoft DotImage 11.5 > Activate DotImage 11.5. The Activation Wizard appears.
2. Click Next.
3. Select Activate an SDK serial number for use on this machine, or a server license option and click Next.
4. Enter your serial numbers, including dashes. Each serial number must appear on a separate line. When all serial numbers are entered, click Next to continue.
5. Select one of the following license type options:
   • I am running server-side: Select if you are running Atalasoft DotImage components on the server. For example, select this option if you are using Atalasoft DotImage WebControls in ASP.NET applications.
   • I am running client-side: DO NOT USE - this is a leftover vestige of retired Silverlight controls
6. Do one of the following, and then click Next:
   • If you selected the server-side option in the previous step, you must enter information about the production server you intend to use to run Atalasoft DotImage. Select one of the following options, and then click Next:
     • Bind license to IP address: Select if you anticipate changing the physical machine more frequently than the IP address.
     • Bind license to machine ID: Select if you anticipate a changing IP address, but always expect to use the license on the same physical machine.
   • If you selected the client-side option in the previous step (you did read the part where we said, DO NOT right?) , you must enter a server IP address or DNS. The server name option is not available.
7. When prompted for login information, enter it and click Next.
8. On the next screen, you are prompted to specify a location to save the license file. Once the desired directory is selected, click OK to continue. Later, you must copy this license file to the output directories for each project you create that references Atalasoft DotImage.
9. When the Atalasoft DotImage Document Image Server Activation screen appears, click Finish to close the wizard.

Activate the server license without internet access

Use this procedure if you do not have Atalasoft DotImage installed on a computer with Internet connectivity.

1. Run the activation toolkit on a server that has the SDK installed and an active Internet connection.
2. When prompted, enter your server license key.
3. When prompted, enter the IP address of your server. If your server has two IP addresses, press the spacebar after you enter the first one.

   [!info] The IP addresses entered must match the IP addresses on the server when you run the Ipconfig utility from the Command Prompt window.

4. Follow the instructions on the screen and save the .lic file.
5. Move the .lic file to the server running the Atalasoft DotImage software, and copy it to your application's bin directory.

Back to Top

Appendix 1: Change the amount of shared memory (WebCaptureService)

You can change the amount of shared memory used by WCS-based applications by increasing the appropriate parameter to the desired value. For example, you may need to increase shared memory to save large files using the LocalFile.fromBase64String method. Follow these steps.

1. Create or update the WebCaptureService.conf file in the%PROGRAMDATA%\Kofax\WebCapture folder.
2. Add the following strings to the file

   [Common]
   SharedMemorySize=10      #Size of shared memory in MB
   ExtraSharedMemorySize=60 #Size of extra shared memory in MB (default: 30)
                            #Set it to the desired value depending on saved file
                            #sizes.

3. Restart the Atalasoft DotImage service.

Back to Top

Appendix 2: Update Atalasoft DotImage

The Atalasoft DotImage 11.5 installer will not upgrade existing Atalasoft DotImage 11.X installations, because several versions (such as 11.0 through 11.5) can coexist on the same machine.

When we release an update or HotFix to Atalasoft DotImage, you are free to use one of the following approaches to distribute the update to your clients.

• Rebuild Atalasoft DotImage with an update.
• Install an assembly redirect configuration file.

Rebuilding Atalasoft DotImage with an Update

To rebuild Atalasoft DotImage with an Update, follow this procedure:

1. Install the updated SDK.
2. Verify that you are referencing the updated assemblies in your project references.
3. Rebuild your project.
4. Distribute the new build of your EXE and the updated Atalasoft DotImage assemblies.

For a more thorough discussion of how to upgrade please see HOWTO: Upgrade / Update DotImage - Including Web Apps Using WebDocumentViewer and/or WebCapture

Back to Top

Last Update

This was updated on 2025-12-23 - TD

Back to Top