How to deploy your application

Now that you have created an HL7 solution using the EasyHL7 objects, you need to deploy them.  There are several ways to do this, and none of them are particularly difficult or tricky.  This section assumes that you are a developer and have experience with creating and deploying software of your own and that you've used third party components before.

The first step is to create a Runtime license file to ship with your application.  In the EasyHL7.exe program open the EasyHL7 Registration Information window.  From the file menu select 'Create Runtime License' and create a file called 'EHL7Runtime.lic'.  This file MUST be distributed with your application and placed in the folder where the EasyHL7 dll files are installed (typically c:\windows/system32).  For further info see Creating Runtime Licenses.

Including the DLLs in your setup program:

In the original installation folder, where EasyHL7.exe was installed, you will find a windows installer package called EasyHL7RuntimeDistribution.msi.  This file contains a complete setup for just the EasyHL7 dll files and also all of their required support files.  You can include this file with your application's setup and run the EasyHL7RuntimeDistribution.msi setup at your customers site (or have your installer automatically run it as part of your application's installation).  This will install the dlls only, nothing else into the users windows/system32 folder.

OR

You can manually include the dll files in your setup.  In the original ZIP file that you downloaded (or visit www.hermetechnz.com and download the components again) there is a folder called RuntimeDistributionSetup, this folder also contains the EasyHL7RuntimeDistribution.msi, it also contains a sub-folder called Support Files which has all of the EasyHL7 DLLs, and their required support dlls, etc.

Dependency Notes: Microsoft AcitveX Data Objects (MDAC_TYP.exe) version 2.7 or greater.

Common Question: Firstly, to address the most common query we receive from first-time users of these objects:  Sometimes, developers don't want to 'advertise' the fact that they have used third-party components in their software.  If you review the EasyHL7 API carefully, you will see that it is possible to design your applications in such a way that the use of the EasyHL7 components is completely invisible to the end-user of the applications that you create.  You can completely rebrand any applications you develop as your own.  Depending on what type of solution you are developing, this can be either easy or difficult.  What you cannot rebrand are the windows and dialog boxes used in the EHL7Interface dll.  So if you wish to do this, and your solution needs an HL7 file viewer, or definition reports, or definition viewing and table editing then you would have to recreate those windows using the low level API methods which could consume a lot of time.