Frequently Asked Questions: Installing and Managing Sumac

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How do I install Sumac on my computer?

Sumac is a Java program. Before you can install Sumac, you must make sure that you have Java on your computer. Click here to see how to get the most recent Java for your Windows computer. Click here to see how to get the most recent Java for your Macintosh computer.

Once you have Java on your computer, go to Sumac.com, click Support, then click the first link to install the current production release.

As with any downloaded software, when Sumac starts to run, your operating system will perform security checks. If you can tell your computer to trust content from Sumac.com, do so. If not, you may be asked to confirm software from different sources: Softwood Technology, Sun Microsystems, and Legion of the Bouncy Castle. Confirm that you want to run the software, trusting these sources.

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How do I re-install Sumac on my computer?

The Sumac program is in a special cache file. Some system tools might remove or damage the cache files holding Sumac. You can tell when this happens: you double click the Sumac icon and your system says it is unable to run the specified program.

So you need to re-install it.

You should first remove just the Sumac program from your computer. Click here to see how to do this.

Then you should install Sumac from the sumac.com website. Click here to see how to do this.

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How do I install Sumac on a new computer so that it can use our existing Sumac database?

When you first run Sumac on a new computer, it will ask for the name of the server and the name of the database. If you don’t know these, here is how to get them:

• Run Sumac on another computer (any user computer other than the database server).

• Choose the Show Configuration command from the Utilities menu.

• The window that appears tells you the server and database name.

Now use the new computer. Use your browser to go to Sumac.com. Click Support. Then click to install the current production release. Follow the instructions for installing Sumac.

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How do I install new releases of Sumac?

Whenever you run Sumac, it automatically checks to see if there is a new release available. If there is, you are asked if you want to install the upgrade. Click OK and Sumac installs and runs the new version in a few seconds.

Occasionally, if a new release of Sumac needs an upgraded database structure, Sumac will ask if you want the database updated. Click to indicate that you do want the database updated. Wait until the progress messages indicate the update is complete (usually a few seconds). Then log on as usual.

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What is Java?

Java is a programming language that comes with a lot of support that enables Java programs to run on different computers, to communicate over the Internet, and to be securely installed and updated. Sumac is written entirely in Java.

In order to support the running of programs written in Java, your operating system (Windows, MacOS, Linux) requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE). You install the JRE independently of installing Sumac.
On Windows there is a Java Control Panel, and on Macintosh there is a Java Preferences Application, for managing Java on your computer. Usually you do not need to use these.

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How do I install the most recent Java on my Windows computer?

Use your browser to go here: http://www.java.com/getjava/

Click Free Java Download. This button checks to see if the most recent Java is on your computer. It tells you if you do not have the most recent version, and you need to click the button again to start the installation process. Be patient; it takes a couple of minutes, and there are a few pauses.

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How can I install the most recent Java on my Macintosh?

Java releases on the Macintosh are complex. This note identifies the Java updates available on MacOS 10.5 and 10.6. Install the most recent version of Java that you can. If you are not sure which version of Java you are running, here are some ways to find out:

Run Sumac. The status bar at the bottom of its log-on window tells you which Java is running.

Open the Java Preferences application. It shows a list of different Java versions. The top list is for applets and the bottom list is for applications. Sumac is an application, so you need to focus on the bottom list. The way you tell the Macintosh which version to run is to drag versions up and down in the list. The one at the top of the list is the one that it runs. So if you drag so that Java SE 6 (this is the name given to versions 1.6.x of Java) is the first on the list, it will be used to run Sumac.

Update	Java Level	MacOS X Required	Click To Download	Notes
1	1.6.0_05	10.5.2	click	This release is for 64-bit, Intel-based Macs only and cannot run on PowerPC-based or 32-bit Intel-based Macs.
2	1.6.0_07	10.5.4	click	This release of J2SE 5.0 and J2SE 1.4.2 supports all Intel and PowerPC-based Macs. Java SE 6 is available on 64-bit, Intel-based Macs only.
3		10.5.6	click	a security update
4	1.6.0_13	10.5.7	click	This release of J2SE 5.0 and J2SE 1.4.2 supports all Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. Java SE 6 is available on 64-bit, Intel-based Macs only.
5	1.6.0_15	10.5.8	click	This release updates Java SE 6 to version 1.6.0_15, J2SE 5.0 to version 1.5.0_20, and J2SE 1.4.2 to 1.4.2_22.
6	1.6.0_17	10.5.8	click	J2SE 1.4.2 is no longer being updated to fix bugs or security issues and is therefore disabled by default in this update.
1	1.6.0_17	10.6.2	click	security update

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How can I tell if my Macintosh is 32-bit or 64-bit?

Click here and follow the instructions on Apple’s web site.

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I use my laptop computer to connect to our Sumac database in the office. When I use Sumac at home, over a VPN connection, the server address is different. How can I configure Sumac to connect to the database regardless of where I am??

When you are in the office, you do not connect through the VPN. When you are in office the server computer is probably identified by its computer name (e.g. OfficeServer). When connecting from home, you may have to identify the server by its IP address (e.g. 99.255.86.254) or by a different name.

When you run Sumac, it looks in a file named databases.txt. This file identifies the databases that are available. If there is only one, then it connects to that database. If there are two or more, then Sumac lets you specify which database you want.

You enable Sumac to access the database from different locations by putting two entries for the database in the databases.txt file. Here is how databases.txt could be configured for this purpose:


When you log on to Sumac, it provides a drop-down menu from which you can choose the appropriate database, depending on how you are connecting to it.

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What is the databases.txt file?

The first time you run Sumac on a computer it creates a file named "databases.txt" and puts it into a SumacSettings folder in your user directory. The format of this file is as follows:

There is one line in the file for each database that you may want Sumac to connect to. Each line contains two parts separated by a space. The first part defines the database server and name, the second defines the driver that Sumac should use to connect to the database. A typical entry might be something like this:


The first part says to connect to a server named "MainServer" and a database named "CharityDB". The second part tells Sumac which software to use to connect to the database (a class named com.mysql.jdbc.Driver).

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What do we have to do to set up a VPN?

This is not a detailed guide. But, in general, these are the steps:

First, your server computer needs a static IP address. Every computer on the internet is given an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Usually these are assigned dynamically, i.e. every time you start the computer. However, if you want to be able to find a particular server, it must be at a specific IP address. You must get a static IP address for the server in the main office. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can assign you a static IP address for no, or a very small, charge.

Second, once you have a static IP address, the router in the office can be configured to allow people in remote offices to connect to the office network where the Sumac database resides. This is done by configuring a VPN (virtual private network). VPN is a protocol that enables people in remote locations to use the Internet to connect to an office network .

Third, you need to configure the user computers to connect to the server. All modern PC operating systems (e.g. Windows, MacOS) support VPN communications. Once the static IP address and server are in place, it is relatively straight-forward to configure a VPN on your PC.

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How can I remove just the Sumac program from my computer?

First, make sure that Sumac is not running.

On a Windows computer, open the Java control panel, and click the View button. It shows a list of Java applications installed on your computer. Click to select Sumac, then click the X icon to delete it.

On a Macintosh, open the Java Preferences application, click the Network tab, then click View Cache Files, click to select Sumac, then click the X icon to delete it. On an older Macintosh use the Finder run the Java Web Start application, from the menu at the top of the window choose Applications, click to select Sumac, then click the X icon to remove Sumac.

If there is a Sumac icon on your desktop, drag it to the trash.

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How can I remove everything to do with Sumac from my computer?

Remove Sumac Program

Read the previous FAQ to remove the Sumac program.

Remove Sumac Files

Sumac may have saved small working files in a folder named Sumac in the top level of your main disk drive. Drag this folder to the trash.

Remove Single-User Database

If you installed a demo or single-user version of Sumac, the data was saved in a folder named SumacData in the top level of your main disk drive. Drag this folder to the trash.

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