Version Support, FAQ, and Troubleshooting
Description
Find solutions to frequently asked questions, tips for troubleshooting issues, and more.
Operating System Support Schedule for Alpha Anywhere
In order to keep Alpha Anywhere current with new technology, we periodically end of support for older versions of Windows and Windows Server. Alpha Anywhere is supported on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Support for other versions of Windows is detailed below. All operating systems must be kept up-to-date.
Supported Operating Systems
Operating System | Support Ends | Microsoft Mainstream Support Ends |
Windows 10 | July 1, 2026; Must be kept up-to-date | October 14, 2025 |
Windows 11 | Must be kept up-to-date | TBD |
Windows Server 2019 | July 1, 2024 | January 9, 2024 |
Windows Server 2022 | July 1, 2027 | October 13, 2026 |
Support for future operating systems will be determined after their release.
Unsupported Operating Systems
Operating System | Support Ends | Microsoft Mainstream Support Ends |
Windows XP, Windows 8, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2012 | Not Supported | Already Ended |
Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 | January 1, 2021 | January 14, 2020 |
Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2 | July 1, 2021 | October 9, 2018 |
Windows Server 2016 | July 1, 2022 | January 11, 2022 |
Alpha Anywhere Version Support
Users are encouraged to use the latest release of Alpha Anywhere. Support for older versions of Alpha Anywhere is generally limited to stable versions released within the last 12 months. If you request support and are using a version of Alpha Anywhere that is not the current release, you will be asked to test your application using the current release or nightly build before the issue will be investigated.
Alpha Five Version 11 and Older Support
Alpha Software no longer supports Alpha Five Version 11 and prior. This includes license activation requests. We can no longer activate older versions. Support for Alpha Five Version 11 and older ended on March 31, 2020.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Name
- Description
- Checking Your Subscription Status
Your Alpha Anywhere subscription status can be checked using your license number.
- How to Change the Favicon for a Web Application
How to add and display a Favicon in a web project.
- Installing an Alpha Anywhere Hotfix
Instructions for installing a hotfix.
- Manually Creating a Dump File
In some cases, Alpha Technical support will require you send in a dump file that was manually created.
- How to Submit a Bug Report for a Report, Letter, Layout, or Label
When you report a bug to Alpha Software, a test case is required. For issues with Reports, both the Project Report file and data the report is based on need to be submitted. The Create Bug Report Files... tool makes it easy to create a test case to submit with a bug report about an issue you're experiencing with a Project Report.
- How to Submit a Bug Report
Instructions for submitting a bug report to Alpha Software.
- How to Submit a Feature Request
Feature requests can be submitted using the Send an Enhancement Request menu option on the Help menu in Alpha Anywhere.
- OpenSSL and TLS/SSL protocols used by Alpha Anywhere
OpenSSL and TLS/SSL protocols supported by current and past versions of the Alpha Anywhere web server products.
- How to Transfer an Alpha Anywhere License
A license for the Alpha Anywhere Application Server or Developer Edition can be transferred between systems.
- Fix window opening off screen
When a dialog is drawn off screen, the user can move it back onto the viewable area as follows.
Installation Issues
- Name
- Description
- Universal Installer Last error: End of Central Directory record could not be found
The Universal Installer caches installation files. When an update is installed, only those files that have changed are downloaded. In rare instances these files may become corrupted. To resolve this, the installer package cache needs to be cleared.
- Universal Installer Error: File is not as expected
In rare instances, installation files may become corrupted. To resolve this, the installer package cache needs to be cleared.
- How to Submit a Bug Report for the Alpha Anywhere Installer
If you run into issues with the Alpha Anywhere Installer and cannot resolve them, send the log files to [email protected].
Tips for Debugging
- Name
- Description
- Debug Image File Reference Fields
An Image File Reference Field is a field in an native Alpha Anywhere table (.dbf), that contains the filename of an image. The filename it typically encoded using an alias. When you publish a Grid that has an Image File Reference Field it can be tricky to get the images to display properly. You will run into problems if you don't publish your images to the correct location on your server.
- Debug an Image File Reference Image Not Displaying Correctly
If you have built a Grid that contains Image File Reference fields, and the images are not displaying when you run the Grid, this topic can help you find the problem.
- Debugger Features
The debugger has been completely rewritten. Many new features have been added. It is now substantially faster and it will dramatically increase your productivity when you are debugging your Xbasic code.
- Error Messages
A list of possible error messages.
- Script Debugger
The Script Debugger allows the programmer to step through an Xbasic script or function and watch as Alpha Anywhere executes each line.
- Sending Output to the Trace Window
Send output to the Trace window from either your Xbasic scripts or from the Interactive window
- Startup Log
When Alpha Anywhere starts up, a log can be created used to troubleshoot startup and workspace loading issues. If technical support is required from Alpha Software, the technician may request this file.
- Status Codes
3-digit status codes that indicate the type of response being sent by a server.
- User-defined Error Codes
Alpha Anywhere has had a CallResult object since A5 Version 8. As of Version 11, we have reserved the error code range from 20000 to 24999 for User-defined Error Codes. You may define your own error codes by editing Alpha5.errors. We recommend keeping a backup of your additions so that you can easily merge them into any future versions of Alpha5.errors that we release.
- Xbasic Debugger Tutorial Videos
Selwyn Rabins explains how to use the major features of the Xbasic debugger.
Components
- Name
- Description
- Error Style Not Recommended - Warning Message
A UX Component configured to use the 'ContainerWidth' Layout type and using either an 'icon' or 'inline' Error style may issue a warning message when the component is saved.
- Error: object.Refresh method not found
On rare occasions, you may get error messages like the following when trying to use data from a connection string to create a Grid:
- Warning: List - Fill Container Issues
This warning is shown when a UX contains one or more Lists that are inside a container that has no height and the List is configured to fill the container.
- Map Control Displays Error Message
Alpha Anywhere's map controls and components use the Google Maps API. The Google Maps Javascript API requires an API Key.
- {Component.Object}geoCodeCallback: OVER_QUERY_LIMIT
An error message: {Component.Object}geoCodeCallback using Google was not successful for the following reason: OVER_QUERY_LIMIT
- Pre-render at Design-Time Option - Warning Message
When you save a UX component that does not have the Pre-render Component at Design-time option turned on, a warning message now comes up telling you that it is recommended to turn this option on because of the significant speed improvement this options will give at run-time.
- Restore component from backup
To restore a component from a backup, select the component in the Web Projects Control Panel, right-click, and select Restore backup. You will see a dialog similar to the following
- Warning: The component you are running was defined in another Web Project
If the active web project is different from the web project the component you preview was saved in, you will receive a warning.
Databases
- Name
- Description
- Cannot Connect to Database
If drivers are missing or are not properly configured, a connection to a database can fail.
- Function Sequence Error
The "Function sequence error" may occur when you execute a SQL statement in the wrong context, such as when a SQL result set has not been completely read by the client.
- Microsoft Access Can't Load ODBCJI32.dll Error
When accessing a Microsoft Access database, Alpha Anywhere may display an error message, "Can't Load ODBCJI32.dll Error". To fix this error, install or repair the Microsoft Access Database Engine.
- Resolving "The operating system is presently not configured to run this application"
Connecting to an Microsoft Access database may result in an error. This error can be resolved by re-installing the Access drivers.
- Mismatched SQL Server Driver Warning
If the installed SQL Server drivers on a machine are not the preferred drivers for the SQL Server version specified in a connection string, Alpha Anywhere will issue a warning.
- SQL Server - Function request not Supported
The "Function request not supported" error is a SQL Server error that occurs when the SQL Server drivers are missing or the wrong SQL Server drivers are installed on the system.
Mobile Apps
- Name
- Description
- Cordova CLI Build fails with Unable to Resolve Dependency Error for File Transfer plugin
On build 8000 of Alpha Anywhere, an error can occur when doing a Cordova CLI build for Android that includes the File Transfer plugin when using Cordova Android 10.x.x
Reports
- Name
- Description
- Alpha Five Printer is not Installed
If you try to generate reports using the Amyuni printer driver and the driver is not installed, you may receive an error message.
- Text content is clipped in Report
In some cases, text content is clipping in a PDF Report.
- CurrentGridFiler Ambiguous Column Name Error
"Ambiguous Column Name Error" occurs when using CurrentGridFilter()
- Empty Objects are Taking up Space on The Report
A Report has controls that is taking up space when there is no content.
- Printer error: hdcPrn is NULL
A printer error can occur if a Report is defined using a specific printer that does not exist.
- High Order Characters Not Printing Correctly
UTF8 Support was added to Reporting Alpha Anywhere, before UTF8 was supported, reports used localization 'Active Code Page'. When a report is printed with 'allow all international characters in a free-form report' Option set to true, all fields return UTF8 encoded content, while the legacy setting of 'false' causes fields to return ACP encoded data. In the case of data that is originally UTF8 encoded, using ACP can cause loss of characters not included in the 'Active Code Page'.
- Missing Fonts When Printing from the Cloud
This Section Describes how to install temporary fonts during a report generation when trying to render a report with a font that is not pre-installed on Alpha Cloud.
- Objects are not Growing What placed in a Header or Footer
Some of the Header and Footer types are fixed size, and do not support growable objects.
- Spacing Wrong with Specific Fonts in RTF and HTML Objects
The reference driver can restrict precision, which can result in characters spacing being off in the produced PDF.
- Symbols Preview Correctly but Like a Square in PDF
PdfSharp is restrictive about which fonts support Symbol characters.
Application Server
- Name
- Description
- Application Server for IIS Amyuni Installer Error
During the installation of Alpha Anywhere Application Server for IIS, the Amyuni printer can fail in some situations. This article explains how to determine the cause of the failure.
- Check the Firewall(s)
Firewalls control network access to your server in order to provide a layer of security from malicious attacks. In the process of blocking undesirable access though, they can also block access to your server that you want to allow. If your Application Server appears to start correctly but clients cannot connect to it, it is quite likely that a firewall is blocking network access to your Application Server.
- User is Denied Access to Pages When Logging into an Application Configured to use "Forms Based Active Directory"
With the release of Alpha Anywhere 4.5.3, if Alpha Anywhere has been configured to use "Forms Based Active Directory" and the users and roles are defined in separate organizational units, Alpha Anywhere's security system may not allow access to users that should be allowed access. This can be fixed by updating the Active Directory configuration in your application.
- Locating Logs for the Alpha Anywhere Application Server for IIS
Log files are useful for troubleshooting issues in web applications. The Alpha Anywhere Application Server for IIS writes events to the Xbasic Error log and Trace logs when abnormal conditions are encountered. The Application Server for IIS also writes to the Windows Event Logs. Failed Request Tracing can be used, as well, to track down failed requests.
- Insecure Configuration Detected
Storing the SSL certificate and private key in the webroot will result in an error message from the Alpha Anywhere Application Server.
- Named AlphaDAO Connection String Publishing Profile Warning
When defining a Web Project Publishing Profile, if your Web Project has any Alpha DAO Connection strings defined and you did not define the connection string in the publishing profile,Alpha Anywhere will display a warning message.
- Debugging Node.js Errors
If a node service fails, you may receive a JSON object with the message "node stopped working" from your Node service. This error indicates that the Node.js server has crashed. You can debug these errors using Helper functions designed for diagnosing Node failures.
- Port is Already in Use Error when Starting Server
The Alpha Anywhere Application Server cannot start if the server's Server Port is being used by another process.
- Tracking Down Request Failures
Tracking down request failures in IIS for HTTP status codes of 400 and above.
- Resolving the 'Connection String Errors' Message
If AlphaDAO or Storage connection strings have not been configured for your application in the Publish Profile, you may see the "Connection String Errors" message.
- Server Starts in Demo Mode
The Alpha Anywhere Application Server will start in demo mode if it cannot activate the product.
- How to Stop IIS Application Pools
When updating the Alpha Anywhere Application Server for IIS, all instances of the Alpha Anywhere server and associated Application Pools must be stopped, otherwise a system reboot is required to complete the installation.
- The ordinal 2630 could not be located in the dynamic link library LIBEAY32.dll
This error message can occur when an older version of OpenSSL is running on your computer when Alpha Anywhere is installed. It is only a real problem if Alpha Anywhere will not start after installation. See the Installation issues section of Encryption Algorithms for more information.
- Warning: Illegal session variable value
When creating a session variable, only character data can be assigned. A warning message is logged if the data assigned to the session variable is not a character type.
Upgrading to Alpha Anywhere
- Name
- Description
- Deprecated and Obsolete Features introduced in Alpha Anywhere 4.6.3.0
Alpha Anywhere 4.6.3.0 deprecated manipulating argument values on the client, as well as the Xbasic saveAs() method for Forms and Browses. Support for generating PDFs using the Amyuni Printer drivers has also been removed.
- Deprecated and Obsolete Features in Alpha Anywhere 4.6.2.7
Generating PDFs with the Amyuni Printer has been deprecated and will be removed in a future release of Alpha Anywhere.
- Important Changes in Alpha Anywhere 4.6.2.6
The PhoneGap Build service has been shot down by Adobe. Despite the PhoneGap Build service is no longer available, you can still create mobile apps with Alpha Anywhere using Cordova CLI and Ionic Appflow. Because of this, we have changed instances of "PhoneGap" to "Cordova" in the Alpha Anywhere UI.
- Important Changes in Alpha Anywhere 4.6.1.4
Some in-place editing JavaScript functions have been renamed. This will affect uses using these functions in client-side scripts. You will need to update your JavaScript to use the new function names.
- Important Changes in Alpha Anywhere 4.5.4.6
A change was made to disable the Upload button for the File and Image Upload Action Javascript actions. As a result of this change, you may need to recalculate your Grid and UX components that use this action.
- Important Changes in Alpha Anywhere 4.5.3
Changes have been made in this release to how Active Directory authentication works. This may affect your applications. Also, Cookieless Sessions are no longer supported.
- Deprecated and Obsolete Features introduced in Alpha Anywhere 4.4.4
Several changes were made to the Request object in Alpha Anywhere 4.4.4, including the deprecation of multiple properties. Read this article to find out what change are needed in order to update your applications to Alpha Anywhere 4.4.4 or newer.
- Deprecated and Obsolete Features introduced in Alpha Anywhere 4.4.0
Session Folders are now obsolete in Alpha Anywhere 4.4.0. If you have not already moved away from using session folders, read this article to learn what you need to do to update your applications.
- Deprecated and Obsolete Features introduced in Alpha Anywhere 4.3
Google has deprecated some of their mapping functionality. In response, some mapping features have been removed from Alpha Anywhere and are no longer available.
- Important Changes in Alpha Five Version 11
These articles discuss major changes in Alpha Five Version 11, including breaking changes and obsolete features that must be updated in applications being migrated from Alpha Five V10 or older. Note that more recent releases of Alpha Anywhere may have introduced additional changes that will require additional work to migrate your application to Alpha Anywhere.