Vista 

Open Dental runs well on Windows Vista.  But if you are having any troubles, the hints on this page can help.  Whenever you are installing using the Setup.exe, you should:

Right click, Run as Administrator

The same trick applies the first time that you launch Open Dental by clicking on the shortcut on the Desktop. You must do this even if you are logged in as the administrator.  If you do not Right click, Run as Administrator, then Open Dental will get as far as loading the gray screen, and then it will freeze.  This problem has been resolved in versions after approximately 5.2.

Other issues that have come up

* If you are using Vista as a server, sharing the AtoZ folder can be a little more difficult.  In addition to setting permission for the sharing, you must also set permissions for the folder itself.  You should also go to the Network setup, and uncheck the option to "Require passwords for sharing". If you are part of a Windows Domain instead of a simple Workgroup, then you might need the assistance of a network professional to properly configure your security settings.  The important thing is that Everyone have full control to read and write to the shared folder.

* If your 3D tooth chart seems slow or buggy, update the graphics driver for your video card. Also see the Graphics options.

* You might consider disabling User Access Control because it is annoying.  This is not really related to Open Dental, but is just a general suggestion.

* Not able to browse your network from your Vista computers?
See this Microsoft page for instructions on how to update all your Windows XP computers so they can be seen from your Vista computers http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4f01a31d-ee46-481e-ba11-37f485fa34ea&displaylang=en.

* If Vista is your server with the shared A-Z folder, and XP Home edition is a workstation, then you will not be able to browse to or use the shared A-Z folder from the XP Home edition computer unless the usernames AND passwords for the Windows logins are exactly the same on both computers.  This is a limitation of XP Home edition only.

* When you startup Open Dental, it searches for the A-Z folder.  If Open Dental has trouble accessing the A-Z folder due to permission issues, it will present the Edit Paths window on startup.  You would then probably be able to get through this window by browsing to the A-Z folder and entering your password.  But you certainly don't want to have to do this every time you restart your computer.   The usual way to avoid this problem in the first place is to relax your permissions on the A-Z folder, giving access to everyone.  You could also disable UAC on both computers.  Also, check the properties of the OpenDental.exe file. Make sure that the run as administrator box is unchecked. One user has created a batch file at startup that logs the computers to the central computer.  We don't mention this as a useful solution for everyone.  Most people would instead simply lower the permissions on the A-Z folder.  But a few power users might find this information useful.

Slow Printing
Print preview and printing might seem extremely slow from your Vista computer, taking many minutes just to show a preview of a report on the screen.  This can happen if the default printer for your Vista computer is a shared network printer rather than a locally installed printer. It is a flaw in Windows.  The solution is to install the printer as a local printer with a port of \\remotecomputer\printername.  You will also have to go to the website of the printer manufacturer to manually download and install the driver for the printer in question.  So...

1. Go to Control Panel, Printers.

2. Add Printer.

3. Select local printer, not network printer even though your printer is on a remote computer on the network.

4. Create a new port, local port.

5. Port name: Similar to \\computer\printer , but substitute the name of the other computer and the name of the shared printer on that computer. To make it easier, you can rename the shared printer to a shorter name.  You would do so on the other computer by right clicking on the printer and selecting Properties, Sharing, and changing the share name.

6. Once you finish step 5 above, the new printer port will be created.  You can stop the printer installation, and if you come back to it, you would select the existing port that was just created at step 5.

7. Select your printer from the list.  If it is not on the list, then download the driver:

8. If downloading the driver, find the website for the manufacturer of the printer.  Find their drivers, downloads, or support section.  Locate the driver for your specific model of printer and your version of Windows. Download it. Frequently, you can just directly run it to take you through the installation process.  It will let you pick the port you created at step 5.