InheriTax on Networks

Caution is recommended when installing InheriTax on a shared drive.

InheriTax is not a network application

InheriTax is a runtime application where the executable and the data are bound to the same directory and, regardless of whether the files are shared to other users or not, the program still only permits a single user to access the data at  any one time.  It is built on the FileMaker 5.5 Runtime engine.  

Putting the "Lackner Software" folder onto a shared volume can be performed by simply moving that  folder to a network volume that has been mapped with a drive letter after having been installed in the default location, 'C:\Users\UsernName\Documents\Lackner Software\InheriTax'.  Although the program will run when shared by a UNC pathway, it cannot be successfully updated over a UNC pathway.  Updates can only be successfully installed when the program is available by a mapped drive letter.

Since the default installation creates a shortcut on the user's desktop, the shortcuts will need to be modified to point to the new, shared location. For example: [DriveLetter]:\Lackner Software\InheriTax\PA_ITax.exe 

Disk Space

5GB of space is reccomended as a generous allotment for InheriTax.  A new installation of InheriTax takes up less than 30MB.  Over time, the folder can grow in excess of 150MB.  The factors that impact folder size are:  

1. Updates.  When updates are run, a backup of the database files is made in a sub-folder starting with '!Bak...'.  Over time, these can accumulate.
2. Estate data.  While each estate record is relatively small, over time they add up.  

Permissions

Any user profile that will be accessing the "Lackner Software" folder by way of a drive letter, can also  potentially update the program.  To prevent unintended import complications during the update process, each profile accessing the "Lackner Software" directory must be assigned Full Privileges to that directory and all of the child objects.

Planning for Updates

When applying any updates to the program having moved the "Lackner Software" from its default installed location, it is important that all future updates be pointed to the new location.  If the update is  not pointing to the new location, the process will attempt to locate and install the update to the last  known default location.  If this doesn't function for some reason, add a string value to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\LGI\PA InheriTax\MRUpgPath, where 'MRUpgPath' is the name of the entry, and the new location of PA_ITax.exe, for example:  '[MappedDriveLetter]:\Lackner Software\InheriTax'.


 

File Persistence

Communication to the computer accessing the data and the volume holding the data must be in a peristent state.  Loss of connection from power outages or network connections going into power save  mode will cause the application to close and any data cached locally will risk being lost.  For this  reason, if the application is going to be shared over the network, each level of the network should be protected by an uninterrupted power supply.  Additionally, the folder must always have 100% of the files available at all times.  Space-saving mechanisms that offload less frequently used files to the cloud, for example, create major problems for database apps like InheriTax.

VPNs and WAN Performance

VPNs and other access over a wide area network will be met with extreme latency and possible file corruption.  Access outside of a local area network should only be through a remote desktop application to a computer located on the same LAN as the "Lackner Software" folder.

Remote Desktop

The latest versions of RDP are no longer supported for InheriTax.  The program simply doesn't load.  If this kind of configuration is requred, we reccomend moving to our flagship product, 6-in-1.

True Multi-User / Hosted Environments

Because InheriTax is NOT a true networkable / multi-user / hosted application, we reccomend moving to our flagship product, 6-in-1 if this kind of use case is necessary.  6-in-1 has a different user interface, but has and vastly extends feature-parity.