WSCAD SUITE / ELECTRIX 64Bit and Microsoft Office

Preliminary notes

1. Since the ELECTRIX release, WSCAD now only supports operation in 64Bit.
2. We also recommend running your WSCAD SUITE in 64Bit mode because it allows you to process large projects with voluminous project pages faster and more reliably due to the higher memory load of 64Bit applications.
3. In the WSCAD software, you can use the main menu command Help | Info to check whether the WSCAD SUITE is started in 32Bit or 64Bit mode.
4. During the installation of WSCAD SUITE, the installation routine checks whether Microsoft Office is installed and in which operation mode (32bit or 64bit).
   The installation routine then installs the Access Database Engine 2010 (up to WSCAD SUITE X) or the Access Database Engine 2016 (for WSCAD SUITE X PLUS) in the same operation mode as your Microsoft Office package.
5. If Microsoft Office is not installed in 64Bit, the installation routine of ELECTRIX always installs the Access Database Engine 2016 in 64Bit, because an operation of ELECTRIX with 32Bit is not possible.
6. If Microsoft Office is not installed, you can choose the operation mode in which the Access Database Engine will be installed during WSCAD SUITE installation.
7. Under Windows 10 in 32Bit, the WSCAD SUITE can only be started in 32Bit mode.
8. Under Windows 10 in 32Bit, ELECTRIX cannot be used.
9. If data is shared in the network from several workstations, access problems may occur for the shared Access databases (e.g. project management) if the workstations run in different 32Bit/64Bit operation modes. Thus, in a network, all WSCAD workstations must be started in the same operation mode.
10. You can query the operation mode of the installed Microsoft Office as follows:
    1. Start Word or Excel and create a blank document.
    2. Click on File | Account in the menu.
    3. Click on About Excel or About Word. The first line of the dialog shows you the bit version.

Based on the installed operation mode (32Bit or 64Bit) of your MS Office, there are different requirements for running the WSCAD software in 64Bit.

WSCAD system requirements when using 64Bit Office Click-2-Run

ELECTRIX:
When using MS Office 2019 (except volume licenses), 2021 or 365 in 64Bit, ELECTRIX does not require any additional Office / Access components!
When using MS Office 2013 or 2016, an additional Access Database Engine or Runtime is required.

SUITE:
An Access Database Engine or Runtime is always required.

WSCAD system requirements when using 64Bit Office as MSI installation

An Access Database Engine or Runtime is only required if MS Office does not include Access.

WSCAD system requirements when using 32Bit-Office

ELECTRIX and/or SUITE in 64Bit:
An Access Database Engine or Runtime in 64Bit is always required.

Microsoft and WSCAD recommend to install Office in 64Bit.
Choose between the 64Bit or 32Bit version of Office

Switch Microsoft Office from 32Bit to 64Bit
First uninstall all installed components of the Microsoft Office family, including Project, Visio, Microsoft Access Database Engine, Microsoft Access Runtime.

Then reinstall Office in 64Bit:
Download and install or reinstall Microsoft Office on a PC or Mac

Installing components required for WSCAD

If you need an Access component according to the system requirements listed above, please install one of the following components, taking into account the conflicts listed here:

• Microsoft Access Runtime 2013 in 64Bit
  Do not install in parallel with Microsoft Office 2013!
  Download-Link
  End of support on April 11, 2023
• Microsoft Access Runtime or Database Engine 2016 in 64Bit
  Do not install in parallel with Microsoft Office 2016/2019/2021 or 365!
  Download-Link Runtime 2016
  Download-Link Database Engine 2016
• Microsoft Access Runtime or Database Engine 2010 in 64Bit
  Do not install in parallel with MS Office 2010!
  Download-Link Runtime 2010
  Download-Link Database Engine 2010
  End of support on October 13, 2020

You can also find the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 in 32Bit and 64Bit (recognizable by the file name ending “_x64”) in the REDIST directory of a WSCAD installation / a WSCAD installation archive (.zip) at
REDIST\Acess2010

If you are using SUITE X PLUS the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 can be found under
REDIST\Acess2016

The Microsoft Access Database Engine 2007 (32Bit only) can be found in the directory
REDIST

You absolutely need the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 or 2007 in 32Bit, if you still want to use WSCAD SUITE 2018 (or older) for importing WSCAD 5.x projects or to use WSCAD 5.x itself. In these cases, select another Database Engine or Runtime in 64Bit for use in newer SUITE or ELECTRIX versions.

If a third party software you are using also requires one of the above components in 32Bit, please check if this software can be switched to 64Bit or run on another system.
If both is not possible, select another component for WSCAD, because the same components or several components with the same version may not be installed at the same time in 64Bit and 32Bit!

Fluke DMS is a third-party software frequently used by our customers and requires a 32Bit component:

• Fluke DMS 1.9 and higher requires Access Runtime 2013 in 32Bit with Microsoft Office in 64Bit.
• Fluke DMS 1.8 and older requires Access Runtime 2010 in 32Bit with Microsoft Office in 64Bit

First eliminate any conflicts detected on the basis of the table above, e.g. by uninstalling Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 if Microsoft Office 2016/2019/2021 or 365 is installed at the same time.

Then first install the runtime selected according to the scheme above. In case of multiple runtimes, install the newer one first.

Then install the Access Database Engine(s) selected according to the scheme above, starting with the newest ones.

If you have previously installed Microsoft Office and Access Runtimes in mixed mode 32Bit & 64Bit, you must install the selected Access Database Engine(s) via the command line as described below.

Installation of an Access Database Engine via command line

1. Click on the Windows logo in the taskbar and start typing “Command Prompt”. The input field will not appear until you start typing.
   Once the “Command Prompt” is displayed, right-click on it and select “Run as administrator”.
   
2. In the command prompt, first change to the directory where the Access Database Engine(s) were downloaded with “CD /D”, e.g.
   CD /D C:\Users\WSCAD-User\Downloads
3. Start typing “acc”. By pressing the tab key ↹ you can now scroll through the files in the directory until the complete name of the downloaded installation program appears in the input line.
4. Add a space and then the command line switch “/quiet”, e.g.
   accessdatabaseengine_X64.exe /quiet
5. Your input should look like this::
   
6. Start the installation by pressing the enter key.

Start the WSCAD SUITE / ELECTRIX in 64-bit mode

Desktop-Symbol

1. On your desktop, right-click on the existing WSCAD SUITE / ELECTRIX icon and select the Properties menu item.
2. Click on the Shortcut tab.
3. In the Target field, add the suffix -64 (with a space before the suffix), e.g., C:\WSCAD\WSCAD SUITE\2019\STARTSUITE.exe –s -64

Shortcut in the Start menu (Programs/Apps)

1. Click on the Windows logo in the start bar.
2. Type “WSCAD” to filter for WSCAD shortcuts.
3. Right-click on the shortcut you want to change and select “Open file location…”.
   An explorer window opens with the location of the shortcut, e.g., C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\WSCAD SUITE X
4. In this new window, right-click again on the shortcut you want to change and select the Properties menu item.
5. Click on the Shortcut tab.
6. In the Target field, add the suffix -64 (with a space before the suffix), e.g., C:\WSCAD\WSCAD SUITE\2019\STARTSUITE.exe –s -64

Shortcut in the start menu (pinned apps) or in the taskbar

1. Right-click on the existing WSCAD shortcut in Start or in the taskbar.
2. Click on “Unpin from Start” or on “Unpin from Taskbar“.
3. Right-click on an already modified WSCAD shortcut on the desktop or in the Start menu and then left-click on “Pin to Start” or “Pin to Taskbar”.

Fixing problems in the Access driver

Microsoft updates can cause damage to the Access drivers installed in the system, especially if the conflicts mentioned in the component list have not been taken into account.

Such problems can appear as follows:

• You receive an error message at startup similar to the following
  
• You cannot change manufacturers or suppliers in the part management.
• You receive messages such as “The object reference was not set to an object instance”.
• Components cannot be placed or deleted, especially connected components like contacts of coils, terminals, parent and child elements e.g. PLCs

Usually you can solve these problems by performing a quick repair of all installed Access components:

1. In the Windows settings (accessible by pressing the Windows key and I), call up Apps and then Installed Apps.
2. Filter for “365”.
3. Click on the three-dot button and select Change.
4. Now select the respective option for the “Quick Repair” and perform the repair by clicking Repair or Continue.
   
5. Repeat step 2 for the search terms “Office” and “Access“.

Note: The quick repair is not available if Office components are installed in mixed mode 64Bit and 32Bit.
Starting with WSCAD ELECTRIX, you will find the “WSCAD Toolbox” in the installation directory under “Tools | WSCAD Toolbox”, e.g.
C:\WSCAD\ELECTRIX\Tools\WSCAD-Toolbox
Start the Toolbox by double-clicking on it.
By clicking on “Quickfix”, the WSCAD Toolbox can perform the quick repair of all found components automatically, even in mixed mode.
If you already have the toolbox from a previous support contact, the toolbox can also be used to fix the mentioned problems for WSCAD SUITE.