Typefi Workgroup Server and InDesign Server installation example

This article guides system administrators and IT professionals through the first-time installation and configuration of Typefi Workgroup Server and InDesign Server. Command Prompt familiarity is expected.

Upgrading an existing Typefi Workgroup Server? See Upgrade Typefi Workgroup.

In this guide

Please allow for 1.5 to 2 hours to complete the installation.

The information in this guide is organised as follows:

1. Prep: This section describes the preliminary steps and system requirements before starting the installation process.
2. Download files: This section details how to access files needed for the installation.
3. Install Adobe InDesign Server: This section describes how to install and license Adobe InDesign server, configure the service and load optional fonts and presets.
4. Install Typefi Workgroup: This section explains how to install and license Typefi Workgroup, configure the service, load Typefi workflow plug-ins and configure your first engine.
5. Provision key features: This section describes how to change the superuser password, change the location of the Filestore, and configure LDAP.
6. Verify things are running: This section explains how to verify the installation is successful and create a test workflow.
7. Install client machines: This section explains how to install components on client machines.

1. Prep ↩

 Adobe InDesign Server installation package installs the latest version. This install requires internet access and JavaScript and may be affected by security controls. The20## in file paths should be replaced with the version of Adobe InDesign Server you are installing.

Task	Description
Check the system requirements	Check the system requirements for the latest versions of Typefi Workgroup and InDesign Server available during installation.   Note: Adobe InDesign Server 2019 (or later) does not support installation on Windows Server 2012/R2.
Make sure you have admin privileges	Create a local administrator or a domain user account with local admin rights.
Local or service account?	Create an administrative account with 'log on as a service' rights if you plan to install: Typefitter Server movemen MathTools for InDesign Server This account will serve as the service account for Typefi and InDesign, known as ServiceAdmin in Typefi configurations. For instructions, see Microsoft's article, Add the Log on as a service right to an account.
User Account Control	Change User Account Control on Windows to Never notify. Then, restart the computer.
Prepare for a Typefi Workgroup license	Let your Solutions Consultant know your installation plan and verify the Typefi Workgroup license recipient, typically your organisation's designated tech rep. Note: The Typefi license is tied to the network's MAC address (port ID).
Typefi workflow plug-ins	Check with your Solutions Consultant to confirm which workflow plug-ins your organisation has purchased.
Internet access or air-gapped?	Determine whether your Typefi Server environment will work with internet access (recommended) or if it requires an air-gapped setup. Note: Follow the additional steps for installing InDesign Server in an air-gapped instance.

Obtain the Adobe InDesign Server installer and license

If you purchased the Adobe InDesign Server license through Typefi:

Contact your Solutions Consultant to let them know you want to upgrade, and provide them with the following details:

• The hostname (computer name) of the computer that hosts Adobe InDesign Server
• Does the server have access to the internet, or is offline activation required?
  • If offline activation is required, additional information will be requested
• What is your installation timeline?

Your Typefi team will also provide you with the following:

• A custom Adobe Licensing Toolkit—including an .exe and .json file—will be available on the Typefi FTP located in \yourOrganisation\AdobeLicensing folder.
• A URL to the Adobe InDesign Server installer (zip archive).

If your Adobe InDesign Server license was not purchased through Typefi:

Check with your internal team or external vendor about obtaining the installer and the Adobe Licensing Toolkit.

Note: An air-gapped installation requires additional steps to generate the installer.

2. Download files ↩

1. Sign in to the Typefi FTP and download the latest versions:
   • Typefi Workgroup Server (Typefi__Server for Workgroupfolder)
   • Typefi Designer Server (Typefi__Designer Serverfolder)
   • Typefi Typefitter Server (if required,Typefi__Typefitterfolder)
2. Next, download licensed workflow plug-ins (Typefi__Server Pluginsfolder). See Typefi latest releases for a list of workflow plug-ins and filenames on the FTP.
3. Then, download the client software:
   • Typefi Designer (Typefi__Designerfolder)
   • Typefi Writer: (Typefi_Writer folder)
   • Typefitter: (Typefi_Typefitter folder)
4. Download any required fonts and PDF presets from your organisation's resources.
5. Finally, if required, download movemen MathTools from their website.

3. Install Adobe InDesign Server ↩

3.1 Run the Creative Cloud Installer 

1. Right-click the Adobe InDesign Server .zip file and choose Properties.
   1. If needed, under Attributes, click the checkbox to Unblock and click OK.
2. Extract the ZIP.
3. Open the Build folder.
4. Double-click setup, which will launch the Creative Cloud Installer.
   • When complete, a dialog will appear stating: Installation successful.
   • Adobe InDesign Server is now installed.
5. Restart the computer.
6. Launch Command Prompt as administrator.
   1. Type cmd in Windows Search.
   2. In the search results, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator.
7. Within the Command Prompt, change directories to the Adobe InDesign Server 20## installation folder. For a default installation, the location is C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign Server 20XX
8. Run indesignserverservice.exe /install.
9. When completed, you should receive a message: The transacted install has completed.
10. Keep the Command Prompt open for the next step.

3.2 License Adobe InDesign Server

1. Right-click the .zip file containing your IDS license to verify it is not blocked after downloading. Unblock if needed.
2. Extract the .zip to a convenient location.
3. Use the Command Prompt, running as administrator, to change directories to the location you extracted the IDS license to in step 3.2.2.
   • If you closed the Command Prompt between steps, make sure to launch it as administrator as described in step 3.1.6
4. Run the following command:
   

   adobe-licensing-toolkit.exe --precondition --install --filePath ngl-preconditioning-data.json

5. When completed, you should receive a message: Operation Successfully Completed
6. Keep the Command Prompt open for the next step.

3.3 Register the InDesignServerMMC service

1. Use the Command Prompt to change directories to the Adobe InDesign Server 20## installation folder.
   • If you closed the Command Prompt between steps, make sure to launch it as administrator as described in step 3.1.6.
2. Run this command: regsvr32 InDesignServerMMC64.dll.
   A Windows dialog should open that states:mmc DllRegisterServer in InDesignServerMMC64.dll succeeded.
3. Keep the Command Prompt open for the next step.

3.3 Add InDesignServerService to the Management Console

1.  Type mmc in the Command Prompt to launch the Windows Management Console.
   • If you closed the Command Prompt in between steps, make sure to launch it as administrator as described in step 3.1.6.
2. Click File → Add/Remove Snap-In.
3. Locate the InDesignServerService snap-in from the Available snap-ins column.
4. Select it and click Add, then OK.
5. Right-click InDesignServerService under Console Root in the left column and choose New → New IndesignServer instance.The instance will appear immediately but will have no port defined.
6. Double-click InDesignServerService in the middle column where it says no port to edit the properties and assign a port to the service; the default port is 8470.
   Use the same port(s) you noted in your prep steps.
7. Click OK.
8. If you run a multi-instance version of InDesign, InDesignServerService will be running on multiple ports. Repeat steps 5-7 for every instance you are entitled to. Once the first instance has a port defined, every new instance you create will automatically increment the port number for that instance.
9. Once the InDesignServerService ports have been defined, you can close the Management Console. You do not need to save anything when asked.

If you cannot find the InDesignServerService snap-in in the list, you did not run the Command Prompt as administrator for step 3.3 Register the InDesignServerMMC service.

1. Close the Management console and don't save anything.
2. In the command line, type regsvr32 indesignservermmc64.dll /u to unregister the snap-in.
3. Quit the command line, then re-open it, making sure to right-click and choose Run as administrator.
4. Run this command again: regsvr32 InDesignServerMMC64.dll.
5. Try steps 3.3.1-3.3.4 again.

3.4 Verify Adobe InDesign Server installation

1. Use the Command Prompt to type InDesignServer.com and press Enter
   This step requires internet connectivity.
   
   • If you closed the Command Prompt in between steps, make sure to launch it as administrator as described in step 3.1.6 and navigate to the Adobe InDesign Server 20## installation folder.
2. It will start InDesign Server; if successful, you'll see a Server Running message, above two Javascript Info messages.
3. If this happens and there are no errors, press Ctrl + C to quit InDesign Server.

3.5 Configure as a local account or as a service

During Prep, you determined if you were going to configure as a local account or as a service

Configure as a Local account

1. Use Windows search to launch the Services app.
2. Locate InDesignServerService and edit properties.
3. Make sure Allow service to interact with desktop is checked.
4. Click OK.
5. Change the startup from Manual to Automatic.

Configure as a Service

1. Use Windows search to launch the Services app.
2. Locate InDesignServerService x64 and edit properties.
3. Switch to the Log On tab.
4. Change the setting from Local System account to This account.
5. Click Browse to find the account you noted in your Prep.
6. Enter the password for this account that you noted in your Prep.
7. Click OK.
8. Change the startup from Manual to Automatic.

Do not start the service yet.

3.6 Install InDesign Plug-ins ↩

1. Run the Typefi Designer Server installer. If Adobe InDesign Sever was not installed in the default location, update the path accordingly.
   1. Upon completion, open a File Explorer window and navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign Server 20XX (if you chose the default installation location earlier).
   2. Open the \Plug-Ins folder.
   3. Verify that a folder named Typefi was created, and contains a folder named Designer Server.
   4. Close the File Explorer window.
2. Install and license Typefitter Server (if required).
3. Install and license any other third-party plug-ins like MathTools (if required).

3.7 Load Fonts and PDF presets (if needed)

If your prep shows that there were Fonts or PDF presets that needed to be installed, complete the following steps:

1. Copy any fonts into C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign Server 20##\Fonts.
2. Copy any .joboption files into C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign Server 20##\Resources\Adobe PDF\settings\mul.

4. Install Typefi Workgroup Server ↩

4.1 Run the installer

Run the Typefi Workgroup Server installer. The contents of this package include Apache Tomcat and Typefi Server Console files.

4.2 Configure as a local account or as a service

During Prep, you decided whether to configure as a local account or as a service

Configure as a Local account

1. Use Windows search to launch the Services app.
2. Locate Typefi Workgroup Server and edit properties.
3. Make sure Allow service to interact with desktop is checked.
4. Click OK.
5. Change the startup from Manual to Automatic.

Configure as a Service

1. Use Windows search to launch the Services app.
2. Locate Typefi Workgroup Server and edit properties.
3. Switch to the Log On tab.
4. Change the setting from Local System account to This account.
5. Click Browse to find the account you noted in your Prep.
6. Enter the password for this account you noted in your Prep.
7. Click OK.
8. Change the startup from Manual to Automatic.

Restart the computer after configuring the service.

4.3 License Typefi Workgroup server

1. Open your web browser and go to http://localhost:8080 to load the Typefi sign-in page.
   • If it doesn't load, check that no security settings block access to port 8080.
2. Sign in with the default Superuser credentials: username admin and password admin.
3. Go to Admin → Licenses.
4. Click Add / Update at the bottom of the screen.
5. A new dialog will open, and an Installation Code starting with TYP- will be sent to the tech rep.
6. Enter the Installation Code and click Request License.
7. The tech rep will get a second email that contains the license key.
8. Follow the instructions in the email and copy and paste the license key exactly as it's written.
9. Your Typefi Workgroup Server is now licensed.

Offline activation

1. Access the http://localhost:8080/license page on the Typefi Workgroup Server.
2. Click Add and enter the installation ID.
3. Then, click Request License. A new tab or window will open and fail to connect to our servers.
4. Copy the URL from the address bar and paste it into a browser on a system with internet access. This will result in the license key being mailed to the tech rep.

Alternatively, access the Typefi Server web interface from a different computer connected to the internet. Then, proceed with the standard activation steps.

4.4 Install Typefi workflow plug-ins

With your browser open, navigate to your Typefi Server using the URL http://localhost:8080.

1. Sign in with the superuser credentials as described in step 4.3.2.
2. Click Admin → Plug-ins.
3. Click Add plug-in at the bottom of the screen.
4. Navigate to the location where you downloaded the plug-ins with the .war extension.
   • Please be patient; installation may take several minutes, especially when installing larger plug-ins. The screen will eventually refresh and display the plug-in along with all available actions. 
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for all other plug-ins licensed to you.

Troubleshooting

If you do not see the .war files uploading, a local security setting on the server might be affecting the system.

As a workaround:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Typefi\Server\webapps
3. Drag and drop (or cut and paste) the .war files into this folder. The files will be unpacked, creating folders with matching names.

Plug-ins are now installed. If you want to add plug-ins from the browser, adjust your local security settings to allow uploads.

4.5 Configure an InDesign engine

With your browser open, navigate to your Typefi Server using the URL http://localhost:8080.

1. Go to Admin → Add-ins
2. Click InDesign.
3. Click New Engine.
4. Configure the engine. A sample configuration is:
   1. Name: somename
   2. Host: Leave as localhost
   3. Port: Use the port that you defined in step 3.3 Add InDesignServerService to the Management Console. The default port is 8470.
   4. Filestore:
      • If the filestore is installed on the same drive as the Typefi Workgroup server, the filestore path is automatically filled when you click the Refresh button.
      • If the Filestore is on a different drive, enter the path.
   5. Click Save and then click the Refresh button. This will load PDF Presets.
   6. If you have a multi-instance license, repeat steps 3 and 4 for every instance of an Adobe InDesign Server.

Unless running multiple InDesign Server versions on the same computer, use generic names for your engines (for example, ids1 or ids2). This simplifies future upgrades because you won't need to update the generic name references in your workflows.

4.6 Restart

Restart the server before proceeding to the next step.

5. Provision key features ↩

At this point, you have successfully installed Adobe InDesign Server and Typefi Workgroup Server. Next, review and make decisions on key areas.

5.1 Modify Filestore location

By default, the Filestore is configured to be located in the same place as Typefi Server in C:\ProgramData\Typefi\Filestore. However, it's not uncommon for server setups to separate the OS from the data so that the Filestore may be moved to a separate hard drive.

1. Navigate to http://localhost:8080 and sign in.
2. Go to Admin → Filestore.
3. Change the path

   • The directory path for your Typefi Filestore folder must be an absolute local path to an external drive. For example, D:/path/to/Filestore.

   • Shared network paths are not supported.

   • If you make a change, ensure the directory exists and that the service account has full rights.

4. Restart Typefi Workgroup
   1. Use Windows search to launch the Services app.
   2. Find Typefi Workgroup Server in the list.
   3. Right-click and select Restart.

5.2 Configure LDAP

You can create local users under Admin → Users; however, LDAP configuration is preferred for most customers with larger installations.

1. Navigate to http://localhost:8080 and sign in.
2. Go to Admin → LDAP.

You can configure LDAP in different ways, and you'll need basic knowledge of LDAP search query syntax. Here's a typical LDAP configuration example:

1. 1. Server URL: ldap://yourservername.YourDomain.YourSuffix
   2. Username: userwithdelegatedrightstodirectory
   3. Password: password
   4. Search Base: OU=Users,DC=YourDomain,DC=YourSuffix
   5. Additional Search Filter: Can be left as-is, or changed. In this example we use the "OR" logic to allow users from two groups: (|(memberOf=CN=Typefi-Users-Group1,OU=Typefi Groups,DC=YourDomain,DC=YourSuffix)(memberOf=CN=Typefi-Users-Group2,OU=Typefi Groups,DC=YourDomain,DC=YourSuffix))
   6. Username Attribute: userPrincipalName. You will find samAccountName is most often the typical field, while sometimes mail is preferred.
   7. Display Name: cn
   8. Idle Session Timeout: Leave blank (unless you require advanced security).
   9. Click Save.

Due to internal security features, Typefi blocks passwords with < or > or &. If your users have those characters inside their passwords, they will not be able to sign in.

5.3 Change the Superuser password

Change the Superuser password (if required by your internal security policies).

1. Navigate to http://localhost:8080 and sign in.
2. Go to Admin → Superuser.
3. Enter a new password.
4. Confirm the new password.
5. Click Save.
6. Document the password internally for future updates.

6. Verify things are running ↩

6.1 Verify InDesign Server is running

1. Use Windows search to launch the Services app.
2. Verify InDesignServerService x64 is shown as Running.
3. Close Services.
4. Use Windows search to launch the Task Manager. You may need to set it to Advanced.
5. There should be two processes running:
   1. One or more variations of InDesignServer if you are running multi-instance InDesign.
      
   2. InDesignServerService

6.2 Verify Typefi Server is running

1. Use Windows search to launch the Services app.
2. Verify Typefi Workgroup Server is shown as Running.
3. Close Services.
4. Open a browser and navigate to the Typefi Server using the URL http://localhost:8080.
5. Sign in using your credentials and verify the version number (bottom left) matches the installed version of Typefi Workgroup.

6.3 Run a test job

1. Build a test workflow using the steps in this help article to ensure your Typefi Server is configured correctly and that InDesign Server produces output.

7. Install client machines ↩

1. If needed, install Typefi Designer or Typefi Writer on your client machines, (downloaded during Prep).
2. Run the installer on each machine, or use the instructions for unattended installation.

If you run into issues installing Typefi Workgroup Server, please contact us. We're here to help.

Otherwise, congratulations, you are all done!