Installing and updating Typefi plug-ins and actions

Typefi plug-ins (composed of actions) are web application archive (WAR) files available from Typefi Systems.  

Available files

Typefi plug-in files are commonly distributed by your Solutions Consultant. Generally available from the Typefi FTP system, the files are downloaded to any computer with internet access and then installed via one of the two methods described below.

Typefi plugins are updated routinely and their versions are independent of the Typefi 8 installations. Please check with your Solutions Consultant for available updates.

Installing and updating via Typefi console (recommended)

This process is safe to use for all updates.

1. Access your Typefi 8 Server console via a web browser (ie: https://yourserver.domain or http://yourserver.domain:8080)
2. Login as the superuser "admin".
3. Click on the Actions tab across the main navigation bar.
4. Although not required, you may perform an uninstall on any action you are replacing or no longer require. The Uninstall button is available next to each action.
5. Click the Add Plugin button on the System Tools bar.
6. Browse for the appropriate .WAR file you downloaded, and select it.
7. Wait. The installation process may take several minutes, especially when installing large plugins, so please be patient.
8. The screen will eventually refresh and display the plugin along with all available actions.  If it does not, click the Reload button on the bottom bar.
9. Verify that the actions you intend to use do not indicate "Unlicensed". If so, please contact support or sales. 

Installing and Updating directly within the file system

This process should be reserved for system administrators. It allows for quick installation of multiple plugins simultaneously. You should have a complete backup of the system available before you start.

1. Access your Typefi 8 Server webapps directory.   
   - Typefi 8 Desktop Server:  C:\ProgramData\Typefi\Server\webapps
   - Typefi 8 Workgroup Server: C:\Program Files (x86)\Typefi\Server\webapps or your custom directory.
2. Although not required, you may perform an uninstall of any/all actions by deleting the appropriate ".war" file(s). After deletion, the corresponding folders will be removed by the system.  Wait for the directory cleanup to complete before moving to the next step.
3. Paste the desired ".war" files in the webapps folder, wait briefly as the system deploys them.  Deployment is visible as corresponding directories are created for each of the plugins.
4. Access your Typefi 8 Server console via a web browser (ie: https://yourserver.domain or http://yourserver.domain:8080)
5. Login as the superuser "admin".
6. Click on the Actions tab across the main navigation bar.  
7. Click the Reload button on the bottom bar. This will cause the plugins to reload and refresh the system.  
8. Verify that the actions you intend to use do not indicate "Unlicensed". If so, please contact support or sales. 

Troubleshooting

Problems with improperly installed/uninstalled Plugins can be far-reaching and often difficult to diagnose directly. Generally, symptoms of deployment problems include:

• Actions with unexpected version numbers.
• Actions with correct version numbers, but unexpected field options.
• Actions with correct version numbers and no perceivable difference in presentation. 
• Actions missing the "UPGRADE" button if an action upgrade was expected.
• Miscellaneous failures running actions after an upgrade. 

The solution for all of these issues is a manual cleanup of the webapps directory (referenced above). The optimal running configuration is one exploded folder for each WAR file, and only one WAR file per plugin.  An example of a problem condition is supplied below. The example shows the "typefi-plugin-xsl" deployed twice for 10.0.41 and 10.0.42.  This is one of multiple variants of a condition which will lead to problems with actions.

To resolve this condition:

• Access your Typefi 8 Server webapps directory.   
  - Typefi 8 Desktop Server:  C:\ProgramData\Typefi\Server\webapps
  - Typefi 8 Workgroup Server: C:\Program Files (x86)\Typefi\Server\webapps or your custom directory.
• Confirm the issue exists by looking for multiple versions of a single plugin or multiple exploded folders (example below shows both cases in one).
• Stop the Typefi Server.
  • Desktop Server can be shut-down from the icon in the system tray.
  • Workgroup Server can be stopped via Services panel (look for Apache Tomcat for Typefi Workgroup).
• Delete all the folders linked to the problem plugin.  It is generally to delete any folder with the exception of "deltaxml" which should be backed up due to licensing concerns.
• Delete the unexpected WAR files. In the example below, the older 10.0.41 would be removed.  Only the most recent plugin WAR file should remain.
• Start the Typefi Server.
• Verify that the WAR file explodes into the folder.
• Access the Typefi Server Web UI (ie: http://localhost:8080)
• Log in as "admin".
• Click on Actions.
• Click the Reload button at the bottom of the page.

At this point additional procedures may be required to completely resolve the issue. In rare cases pre-built workflows suffer damage due to this condition. To remedy completely, the following steps may also be executed:

• Open C:\ProgramData\Typefi\typefi-actions (or /Library/Application Support/Typefi/typefi-actions on macOS)
• Make a copy of all contents of this folder. Custom workflows are stored here.
• Delete all files.
• Access the Typefi Server Web UI (ie: http://localhost:8080)
• Log in as "admin".
• Click on Actions.
• Click the Reload button at the bottom of the page.
• You can check the typefi-actions, it will re-populate. Custom workflows will not be re-created.

Example of a problematic configuration.

Example of the corrected condition: