Code Search (Find, Follow), Analysis (Metrics, Static, Dynamic, Bugs) and Change (Modernization, Migration, Generation, Optimization, Rearchitecting)

Software Support

This page describes the various kinds of software support provided by SD, provides support information for common installation/startup problems, and how you can get support.

Support Policies

• Software Assurance option, purchased with SD product
  • Valid for 1 year from date of purchase, renewable annually
  • Telephone access to SD technical support
  • 1 business-day response to Support email
  • Product updates as they become available
  • Ability to move a registered product to another computer (self-service)
    with SD support in event of registration failure.
• Standard Support included with SD product purchase
  • Valid for 1 year from date of purchase
  • Email-only support with 3 business-day response
  • Product patches or upgrades on submission of valid bug report
  • Ability to move a registered product to another computer (self-service).
    with SD support in event of registration failure.
• Evaluation, Beta products and products outside of support period
  • As-available response to Support email. No response time guarantee. As we are always interested in improving our products, you are more likely to get better response if you submit a bug report for a recent product or Beta.
  • Only self-service support for moving registered product to another computer.

Installation and Startup Problems

Installation Issues

If you can't install the software, be sure we want to help. Send a detailed description of your installation issue to support@semanticdesigns.com.

Different operating systems sometimes have unusual rules about where software and documentation are placed. If you can't find the product or the documentation after installation, you can see where your SD tool is placed on your OS (InstallDir)

Product-specific environment variables are usually automatically configured properly by the installer. Sometimes these settings may not take affect immediately; this is solved by logging out, and then logging back in again.

Product Registration and Deactivation

Most licensed SD products must be registered to a user and a computer, to provide full functionality. Directions on initial registration and moving/re-registering the product to another another computer is found in
InstallDir/DMS/About/Registration.html.

Registration of the product in a VM works, but only if the VM is registered with a Windows domain controller.

To move the product, you must deactivate it on the old machine first; then you can re-register. If the computer dies, or you upgrade the OS without doing this, you will not be able to deactivate the product, and you will then not be able to move the product. Plan ahead. (After an upgrade to Windows 10, it is claimed that you can downgrade to your earlier OS, which might let you then deregister and re-upgrade. This may work but frankly doesn't sound like fun.)

Evaluation versions typically do not require registration, but offer only limited functionality of the product.

Incompatibility with "newest" operating systems

Everybody wants the latest OS on their machine. As much as we try, we are not clairvoyant, and we cannot gaurantee that a particular product revision works with operating system versions that are released after you purchased the product. The OS vendors are fickle and change dark-corner APIs. We usually fix later revisions of the product. In any case, pay attention to re-registration issues, above.

Character Sets

In today's international world, character sets ("encodings") affect how source files are interpreted and vary across countries, operating systems and development environments. SD products are delivered configured to operate with widely used encodings. For proper operation, you may have to configure the product for the encodings your source code uses, by setting product-specific environment variables; consult the documentation for names of these environment variables. You can learn more about available encodings at
InstallDir/DMS/Domains/PARLANSE/Library/Streams/Documentation/StreamEncodings.html

Source Code Preprocessing Configuration

Post-installation Technical Support

Check the documentation first!

Before asking for help, be sure you've checked the documentation carefully.

Note that documentation sections often have hyperlinks to other relevant documents. Check all the links carefully. If the documentation isn't adequate, we would very much like to have you submit a bug report so we can fix it.

Help via Telephone

If you have purchased software assurance, you can call for telephone support on your product to

Help via Email

General queries may be submitted via email to support@semanticdesigns.com. The more information you provide about what problem you are trying to solve, the more effective our response will be.

Submitting Problem or Bug Reports

For bug reports, please provide the following information by email:

• Subject Line mentioning product and brief problem characterization
• Purchaser A clear indication of the product purchaser, or if you are evaluating a product. A return email address is fine if it is accurate. Email from parties that are not clearly customers may be delayed.
• Phone Number if you ask for telephone response
• Product Product Name, Version and Revision Number
• Registration Code if registered software, or your approximate date of purchase
• Problem Description A concise description of what you are attempting to do, and the symptom of the problem you see. We welcome reasonable speculation as the the problem cause.
• Problem Reproduction Data These would be attached files and scripts that SD can use to reproduce the problem. The smallest complete example you can provide will help minimize your turnaround time. If you must submit a proprietary file, be assured that SD will use what you submit only for diagnosing the problem, and that file will then be destroyed.