Tecplot RS Support FAQ
The following FAQ provides information for Tecplot RS 2011, Tecplot RS 2010 and Tecplot RS 2009 for single-user and network licenses only. For questions about older versions of Tecplot RS or if you administer a site license, please contact technical support.
What new features does the latest version of Tecplot RS include?
To read about the new features in the latest version of Tecplot RS, see the Release Notes. For older versions, refer to the release.pdf file in the Tecplot RS installation folder.
What platforms does the latest version of Tecplot RS support?
To read about the supported platforms in the latest version of Tecplot RS, see the Installation Guide. For older versions, refer to the install.pdf file in the Tecplot RS installation folder.
What versions of Tecplot RS does Tecplot, Inc. currently support?
The supported versions of Tecplot RS are listed in our Support Policy.
Do I need a license key to run Tecplot RS?
Yes. Tecplot RS licenses require a license key file in order to run.
Do I need to install a license manager to run Tecplot RS?
Only Tecplot RS network licenses require a license manager installation. Single-user Tecplot RS licenses do not. For more information on license management for network licenses, refer to the Tecplot License Manager Support FAQ.
Do I need a new license key to upgrade from Tecplot RS 2010 to Tecplot RS 2011?
Yes, you will need to request a license key.
How can I get a license key?
The primary method for requesting a license key is through our automated Software Activation page, which is open to all customers with current Software Maintenance Service (SMS). In most cases, you will receive a license key immediately after requesting it, although it may take up to one business day.
If you do not have current SMS, you will need to contact technical support to request your license key.
When requesting your license key file, please include the following information:
- Your Tecplot RS license number. It is in the form RS####.
- Your myhostids.txt file (or its contents copied into the e-mail), which Tecplot RS creates in its installation folder when you install Tecplot RS. Use the myhostids.txt in this location for single-user licenses. For a network license key, include the myhostids.txt file from the license manager installation folder. Please specify whether the license key is for a laptop or a desktop computer.
I installed the demo version of Tecplot RS and now I want to install the purchased version. Do I need to uninstall the demo version first?
No, the installation of Tecplot RS remains the same regardless of the license type you choose. You only need to request a license key and replace the demo license key with it. The myhostids.txt file will be required to complete the license key request. If you cannot find your myhostids.txt file, you can create it by doing the following:
For single-user licenses on Windows platforms, run the gethostids.bat batch file (double-click on it). This file resides in the bin folder in the Tecplot RS installation folder. When you run the batch file, it will create a file called myhostids.txt in the same folder (for Tecplot RS 2009 R1) or in the main installation folder (for Tecplot RS 2009 Release 2 and Tecplot RS 2010 and Tecplot RS 2011).
For single-user licenses on Linux platforms, you must reinstall Tecplot RS and choose the single-user license type during the installation. The installation will create the myhostids.txt file and place it in the Tecplot RS installation directory.
For network licenses, install the license manager and use the myhostids.txt file located in the license manager directory.
I tried to request a license key for Tecplot RS version 2009 R2, 2010, or 2011 from the Tecplot Web site, but I was unable to complete my request. How can I request my license key?
It's possible that your myhostids.txt file has become corrupted. You can check it with the following steps.
Open your myhostids.txt file (in the Tecplot RS installation folder) in a plain text editor. The file should resemble the following:
<hostid>
<disk>00000000</disk>
<ether>000000000000</ether>
<internet>000.00.000.000</internet>
<user>aaaaaa</user>
<host>aaaaaaa</host>
</hostid>
If you find that any pair of the tags (in the form <tagname> and </tagname>) appear more than once in the file, you can remove the duplicate content and try your license key request again. If you find the file appears empty, make sure that Tecplot RS supports your operating system and verify that you installed the proper installation.
How do I install my license key after I receive it?
If you request your license key through our Web site, you should receive an e-mail with your license key file, named tecplotlm.lic, attached to it. If you requested a license key for a single-user license, place the license key file in your Tecplot RS installation folder, replacing the default tecplotlm.lic file. If you requested a network license key, place the tecplotlm.lic file in the license manager installation folder.
If you received your key file from our technical support team, you may receive an e-mail with the key file information embedded in it, instead of in an attached file. In that case, replace the contents of your tecplotlm.lic file (in your license manager installation folder for network licenses, or in your Tecplot RS installation folder for single-user licenses) with the text shown in the e-mail between the ** start ** and ** end ** markers.
I want to install Tecplot RS on a new computer. Do I need a new license key?
If you have a single-user license, you will need a new license key. Install Tecplot RS on the new computer and then request a license key (including the myhostids.txt file from the new computer's installation). If you have a network license, you will not need a new license key. Install Tecplot RS on the new computer, choose the network install mode, and include your license server name when prompted. Tecplot RS should run successfully, as long as your license manager is set up correctly.
Do I need a new license key to upgrade from Tecplot RS 2010 R2 to Tecplot RS 2011 R1?
If you already have a Tecplot RS 2010 R2 license key, it will not work with RS 2011 R1, so you will need to request a license key.
Can I run the 2010 and 2011 versions of Tecplot RS on the same computer?
Yes, both versions of the product can run on the same computer. Keep in mind that while a Tecplot RS 2011 license key file can be used with both Tecplot RS 2010 and 2009, a Tecplot RS 2010 license key cannot be used with Tecplot RS 2011.
Can I run Tecplot 360, Tecplot Focus, and/or Tecplot RS on the same computer?
Yes; the products can run on the same computer without conflicting with each other.
Can Tecplot RS run on a virtual machine?
You can run Tecplot RS on a virtual machine with a network license, but the single-user license key does not allow it. If you need to use Tecplot RS on a virtual machine with a single-user license, please contact us and explain the situation.
When installing Tecplot RS on a Windows platform, I receive a Windows system error message that halts the installation. How do I fix this?
A Windows system error (code 1935 or 1303) can occur when installing Tecplot RS on the Windows 7 or Windows Vista platforms. This can be resolved by right-clicking the .exe installer file and choosing "Run as Administrator" from the context menu.
When opening Tecplot RS on a Windows platform for the first time, I receive errors citing a missing configuration and/or font file. How do I fix this?
These errors indicate that Tecplot RS cannot find the configuration file, tecplot.cfg, and/or the font file, tecplot.fnt, in the Tecplot RS installation folder. This is usually resolved by restarting the computer.
If that doesn't work, Go to Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings and click on the Environment Variables button. Make sure there is an environment variable named TEC_RS_YEAR, where YEAR is the Tecplot RS product year. For example, the environment variable for Tecplot RS 2010 is TEC_RS_2010. Make sure the value of this environment variable is the full path to the installation folder. If the error still occurs, check this folder for the tecplot.cfg and tecplot.fnt files. If they do not exist, locate the files in the factorydefaults subfolder and copy them to the main installation folder.
When opening Tecplot RS on a Windows platform for the first time, I receive a "pythonutil.dll could not be loaded" error. How do I fix this?
This error indicates that Tecplot RS cannot find the proper build of Python 2.5.x installed on the computer. It is only an issue in Tecplot RS 2009. This is often caused by the existence of a 32-bit version of Python on the computer prior to installing the 64-bit version of Tecplot RS (or a 64-bit version of Python with a 32-bit version of Tecplot RS). If you uninstall Python 2.5.x and Tecplot RS and then reinstall Tecplot RS, the problem should be resolved. Alternatively, you can upgrade to Tecplot RS 2010, which embeds the Python install directly into Tecplot RS to avoid issues with standalone installations of Python.
How can I get started using Tecplot RS?
You can start using Tecplot RS by opening the application and loading sample files to see what a plot can look like.
After opening Tecplot RS, to load example files, click the Load XY Data or Load Grid Data button on the toolbar (or choose "Load XY Data" or "Load Grid Data" from the Project menu) to open a loading dialog.
In the Load XY Data or Load Grid Data dialog, you can click the Browse button and then navigate to the examples folder included in your installation (by default on Windows platforms for Tecplot RS 2010, this folder installs to C:\Program Files\Tecplot\TecRS 2010\examples\tecplotrs).
If you chose to load XY data, choose a unified summary file (*.unsmry), such as chelan.unsmry, to load. Tecplot RS will load that file as well as its related files.
If you chose to load grid data, choose a grid file (*.grid), such as chelan.grid, to load. Tecplot RS will load that file as well as its related files.
You can use the tools in the toolbar to experiment with the plot.
For questions and to learn how to use Tecplot RS to its fullest extent, we recommend referring to the Product Documentation, especially the Tecplot RS User's Manual. You can also view this information by choosing Tecplot RS Help from the Help menu.