Any Manifold Release 9 installation, whether it is a pre-release build, Cutting Edge build or officially published build, requires a Release 9 serial number with available activations. If you do not have a Release 9 serial number with available activations you can procure a serial number on the Manifold Online Store. All Release 9 serial numbers are x64, fully 64-bit serial numbers and will authorize both 64-bit and 32-bit installations. Manifold Viewer is a free product based on Manifold Release 9 that does not require any serial numbers.
Manifold Release 9 and/or Manifold Viewer and/or other Manifold products such as Release 8 can be installed on the same machine with Manifold Release 9, Viewer and Manifold 8 being launched at the same time without conflict. All types of Manifold and/or Manifold Viewer installations can run at the same time. For example, all at the same time we can launch 32-bit Manifold, launch a 64-bit Manifold session, launch Viewer in 32-bit or 64-bit mode and also launch a Manifold .exe from a portable installation folder, and we can do so at the same time as launching a Manifold 8 session.
To use Manifold in languages other than English, see the Localization topic.
Cutting edge builds are published to the Cutting Edge section of the georeference user forum and are known as Release 9 Edge or Viewer Edge,. They are experimental builds that try out new ideas and provide an opportunity to beta test proposed new features before they appear in an official build. Cutting Edge builds are published only as portable installations.
Cutting Edge builds are not supported in any way. They are provided for advanced users who wish to experiment with the absolutely latest Release 9 build. After a few such builds are explored and beta tested by advanced users who have a taste for the latest and greatest, Manifold incorporates changes from them and fixes into the next, formally supported and officially published Release 9 build.
Most Manifold and Viewer users will use Cutting Edge builds: they have
been exceptionally stable and are the first to incorporate bug fixes and
new features. 
This
documentation tracks Cutting Edge builds and, at times, may include topics
and information for features that are found in Cutting Edge builds but
not in official builds.
Important: Cutting Edge builds are time-limited in operation, with a timelock generally aligned to the end of the month in which the build was issued. The time lock ensures that experimental builds which rapidly become obsolete do not continue in use long past obsolescence. If a Cutting Edge build fails to launch, download and utilize whatever is the current Cutting Edge build.
Manifold provides two different ways to install Manifold, so we can pick the installation style we prefer: installations that utilize Windows Installer, or so-called "portable" installations. Both styles have advantages and disadvantage, and both styles of installation can coexist on the same machine at the same time.
We can download a Manifold Release 9 installation in the form of a pre-packaged .exe file that utilizes Microsoft's Windows Installer facility. Installation .exe files are published for 64-bit Windows systems and 32-bit Windows systems. Running the .exe installation file will perform an installation that installs require pre-requisites, un-installs older versions of Release 9 or Radian Studio installed with Windows Installer, and then uses Windows Installer to install Release 9 using an .msi file that is embedded within the .exe.
Advantages - Windows Installer is great both for unskilled consumers as well as skilled users in a hurry who want to install an application in the usual Windows way:
Installer almost always works perfectly.
Windows Installer will register the new Release 9 application so Manifold Release 9 appears in the Windows Start menu list and so that .map and .mxb files are automatically opened by Release 9 when we double-click them.
We can un-install using the usual Windows Control Panel - Programs and Features mechanism for a quick and easy un-install in almost every case.
Disadvantages - Windows Installer attempts to protect unskilled users from themselves can lead to complications:
Anti-virus or other brain-dead "helper" or "security" programs can prevent installation.
During installation some versions of Windows will pop open dialogs that warn users the application is unknown and may be dangerous. That is false information, but such dialogs may confuse or alarm unskilled users, who may hesitate to ignore such dialogs.
Manifold uses Windows facilities that will be updated automatically, if need be, during installation. Windows may insist the system must be restarted after installation.
Installer uses two different installation files, one for 32-bit Windows and one for 64-bit Windows. Users must know if they are running 64-bit or 32-bit Windows, and must not attempt to install the 64-bit installation file in 32-bit Windows. This is not rocket science and no more complicated than making sure not to pour gasoline fuel into a diesel-powered automobile, but it does require slight attention that may challenge unskilled users.
Only one version of Release 9 can be installed at a time by Windows Installer, so we cannot use this mechanism to have an older build and a newer build installed within the Windows Start system at the same time.
When it comes time to un-install, if the installation has been damaged or something else happens to cause Windows Installer to become confused, manual un-installation involving significant complications and misery might be required.
For a step-by-step example of installation using a .exe installation, and activation that applies to either an .exe installation or a portable installation, see the Installation and Activation topic.
We can download a Manifold Release 9 installation in the form of a .zip file that unzips into a set of folders containing both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Manifold Release 9, ready for immediate launch with no further installation required. This completely avoids the Microsoft Windows Installer system and has no effect whatsoever on any previous version of Manifold or Radian Studio that has been installed. Portable installations are published both for the current, official build and also for any Cutting Edge builds that provide open beta-test access to innovative new builds before they are published as official releases.
Advantages - Portable installations do not use Windows Installer. Portable installations thus avoid all of the complications that can occur when measures intended to protect unskilled consumers from themselves go astray. Unzip the portable installation to whatever location we want, even a portable USB drive, and then launch from that location and Manifold is running.
We never encounter the miseries of dealing with a Windows Installer gone insane, and we never encounter misleading Windows warnings that an application may be dangerous when it is perfectly safe.
We can have multiple versions of Manifold unzipped into different folders and launch each one whenever we want, even at the same time.
There is no "installation" required so "un-installation" is a simple matter of deleting the folders that contain the unzipped contents of the zip file.
There is greatly reduced impact from anti-virus software that wrongly thinks software you want to run is malware.
There are no hidden changes to the system or registry caused by install scripts.
We can carry around a Manifold Release 9 portable installation on a USB drive and it will work on any computer for which a Release 9 license has been activated. That allows us to carry around the latest and greatest version on a USB drive along with example data or demo data, accessory applications like portable installations of DBMS packages, and run from a completely familiar environment, even on computers which we do not normally use.
Disadvantages - Portable installations are unsuited for totally unskilled users, and they require more effort.
Small amounts of technical knowledge, such as how to open File Explorer to navigate folders and knowing how to unzip a file, are required.
The Manifold application within the unzipped folders will not appear in the Windows Start menu list by default (we can manually pin the executable to Start, if desired). We have to launch Manifold by double-clicking the manifold.exe file in the unzipped folder, or by double-clicking a shortcut to that file which we have created.
The Manifold application within the unzipped folders will not automatically be bound to .map and .mxb files to launch when we double-click such files.
We may have to manually install pre-requisites, such as the Microsoft C++ Redistributable package or Microsoft .NET Framework, required for Manifold installation.
Video: To learn how to install and run a portable installation, see the Manifold Viewer - Install and Run video on YouTube. Using a portable installation is the same basic procedure for either Viewer or Manifold Release 9. Using a portable installation is easy. Avoiding Windows Installer hassles is such a delight that many people, once they learn how to use portable installations, will prefer portable installations.
Activation of a portable installation is the same as activating an .exe installation. See the Installation and Activation topic.
Important:
Installing or activating Release 9 will remove and de-activate any Radian Studio or Manifold Future
installation. Release 9 is an upgrade from Radian Studio
and replaces Radian Studio on your machine.
Manifold products are produced and licensed for true PC compatible hardware, running on the actual physical machine, and are not supported for PC emulators or virtual machines or other software which claims to mimic a real PC.
Your hardware must support your proposed use. For example, you must have 64-bit Windows running on 64-bit hardware in order to operate 64-bit Manifold. You must have enough free space in storage to host the size projects you wish. Available space and other resources must be configured sensibly to match the requirements of projects you wish to undertake. For example, available user TEMP space should be three times the size of the largest data set to be processed. See the Performance Tips topic.
Release 9 and Manifold Viewer run on Windows 10, 8, 7 and Windows Server 20xx editions, both 64 bit and 32 bit. Release 9 explicitly supports Windows 10 with no need to run in a Windows 7 compatibility sandbox within Windows 10. Release 9 will use DirectX12 when run on Windows 10 for improved display performance. Manifold recommends Windows 10 or more recent.
You must login with genuine and full Administrator privileges to install Release 9. Being a member of the Administrators group often is not enough as some Windows versions by default do not give full Administrator privileges to users who are members of the Administrators group. It is best to login as THE Administrator login to install Release 9.
Machines running Release 9 or Manifold Viewer must have the following Microsoft packages installed:
Microsoft .NET 4.0 or greater.
Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 2 or more recent.
Release 9 and Manifold Viewer .exe installation files include C++ Redistributable and will install it automatically if required. Portable installations (packaged as a .zip file) do not include the C++ Redistributable. For links to .NET and Visual C++ Redistributable installations, visit Manifold's System Requirements web page.
There are three types of Release 9 installation files:
An .exe file that does not include x64 in the name. This is a 32-bit only installation. Use it when installing Release 9 on a 32-bit Windows system.
An .exe file that does include x64 in the name. Use it when installing Release 9 on a 64-bit Windows system. This will install both 32-bit and 64-bit installations. An x64 installation file will not work on a 32-bit Windows system.
A .zip file that is a portable installation. Portable installations contain both 32-bit and 64-bit executables. Portable installations allow launching of a fully self-contained executable file and do not require administrative privileges. Portable installations are for technically knowledgeable users.
All Release 9 serial numbers are 64-bit and will authorize both 64-bit and 32-bit installations. If you have 32-bit Windows, please make sure to download and install the 32-bit Release 9 installation file. If you have 64-bit Windows, download and install the 64-bit Release 9 installation file.
Important: Installation files do not contain viruses. Each file is published with an SHA1 checksum that you can use to verify the file you download is virus-free. See the Using SHA Checksums topic for step by step instructions on how to verify an SHA1 checksum.
Installation using .exe installation files is described in the Installation and Activation topic. .exe files will install the product as a regular part of your Windows system, accessible from the Start button and uninstalled by the Windows Control Panel's Programs and Features applet. Use the .exe files if you want to install Release 9 and/or Manifold Viewer in the usual way.
Uninstall any prior installation before installing a new Manifold Release 9 installation. If Windows Installer reports any problems, read the Windows Installer Problems page for advice.
Download the correct .exe file.
Double-click on the .exe file to launch.
If Windows 10 launches a Windows protected your PC dialog.
Click on More info
Click the Run anyway button.
Follow the installation dialog steps.
Save the .exe file for future use. We may need it some day to uninstall or to repair an installation.
For a step-by-step example of installation and activation see the Installation and Activation topic.
Before using Release 9 please review the short Read Me First topic.
Portable installations are for technically knowledgeable users. Portable installations are self-contained zip files that do not utilize or otherwise interact with Windows Installer. They provide a way to quickly launch Release 9 or Viewer without doing any Windows installation or having to remove a previously-installed Manifold package. Users who want to try out Cutting Edge builds without altering their main Release 9 installation will use a portable installation. Users who want the very latest software, a Cutting Edge version known as Release 9 Edge or Viewer Edge, will use a portable installation. Multiple, different portable installations can be run side by side so users can launch different Release 9 builds at the same time.
To use a portable installation download the .zip file, unzip the file to create a folder hierarchy. The 32-bit executable is in the bin folder (short for "binary") and the 64-bit executable is in the bin64 folder. To launch Release 9 in 64-bit mode, double-click on the manifold.exe file found in the bin64 folder of the resulting folder hierarchy. If we like, we can right click on the manifold.exe file and choose Pin to Start to add it to our Windows 10 Start button choices. If we do that, we have to remember to unpin it if we prefer to switch to using a different portable installation. To launch Release 9 in 32-bit mode, double-click on the manifold.exe file found in the bin folder of the resulting folder hierarchy. If Release 9 has been activated on that machine, then Release 9 will run from a portable installation without any further need to activate. If Release 9 has not been activated, then on first launch the Activation dialog will pop open. Viewer is exactly the same except that since it is free and does not use a serial number or activation there is never an activation dialog that pops up.
For portable installations, if you do not have a recent C++ Redistributable installed on your computer, you must download and install the appropriate C++ Redistributable to run a portable installation. See Manifold's System Requirements web page to get C++ Redistributable installation packages.
On a 64-bit Windows system install both the 64-bit C++ redistributable, vc_redist.x64.exe (64-bit) and also the 32-bit C++ redistributable, vc_redist.x86.exe (32-bit).
On a 32-bit Windows system install vc_redist.x86.exe (32-bit).
If any of the above is confusing, do not use the portable installation but instead use a regular .exe installation that will install Release 9 as part of the Windows Start menu system.
Due to a lack of required Microsoft facilities in 64-bit Windows systems, in most such systems Manifold in 64-bit mode cannot export, import or link to DB, HTML, MDB, XLS or WKx format files.
The workaround for importing or exporting such files is to utilize the 32-bit version of Manifold that is automatically installed in every 64-bit Manifold installation in addition to the 64-bit version of Manifold. To import we launch Manifold in 32-bit mode and import into a Manifold .map project file. We can then launch Manifold in 64-bit mode and open that .map project file or link to that .map project file. To export, we launch Manifold in 32-bit mode, open the .map project desired and export to the desired format.
For important information and discussion please see the Essay on .mdb files and 32-bit or 64-bit Manifold.
Release 9 installations include V8 JavaScript and CUDA. There is no need to download or install other files to turn on either built in JavaScript or GPGPU capability. Manifold Viewer is not GPU parallel and does not support scripting so it neither installs nor uses either V8 or CUDA.
External libraries are loaded using a shared service. Libraries that are part of the operating system are loaded from system paths. Other libraries are loaded from both system paths and Manifold paths. The results of loading are reported in the log with successful loads of system libraries reporting nothing, successful loads of non-system libraries reporting the full path of the loaded module (useful when there are multiple modules with the same name) and failed loads report errors both for failed loads of system libraries as well as failed loads of non-system libraries.
Six scripting languages are always available for use in every Manifold installation without requiring any additional installation of any kind, either because they are built in to Manifold (Javascript) or because they are automatically available as a result of Microsoft facilities that are required for any Manifold installation.
Two additional languages, IronPython and IronRuby, are automatically supported by the Command Window when they are installed (installation is easy). Five more languages, F#, PerlScript and PythonScript, are supported when they are installed.
JavaScript (V8)
C#
JScript
JScript.NET
VB.NET
VBScript
JavaScript using the Google V8 engine is built into Manifold and is the recommended default. The other always available languages are provide by Microsoft COM/.NET, which are required for Manifold installation.
IronPython
IronRuby
IronPython and IronRuby are supported by the Command Window just like the built in JavaScript engine, but they are not part of Manifold installations. IronPython and IronRuby are installed separately. See the Example of installing IronPython at the end of the Scripts topic.
System memory is cheap and your time is expensive. Manifold is very fast and faster still with more memory. Load up your computer system with the most memory you can afford, ideally to maximum system RAM. Larger memory is much more important than paying disproportionately more for a slightly faster processor.
TEMP storage space will be used if operations do not fit into memory available. For maximum performance, specify the Windows TEMP location to the fastest local disk drive, for example, a fast SSD drive.
Large disk drives have become very cheap, while your time is getting ever more expensive. Release 9 is designed to happily trade off making files and saved projects larger if that helps to improve performance and to make your work go faster. Data sets often used with Release 9 are huge, with data sets in the tens of gigabytes size being typical. When Release 9 imports and saves such data sets in projects the resulting project files will be even bigger.
Invest in large disk drives that can store terabytes of information. Big disk drives are not only cheaper for the storage they give, they are also faster than smaller disk drives. Disk drives are so cheap you should always have at least two so you can configure RAID mirror storage for an automatic backup if a disk drive fails.
Anybody working with big data is likely to already have a reasonably powerful processor with at least four cores and more likely eight or more hypercores. If you can afford it, it doesn't hurt to buy a faster processor with many more cores. Release 9 parallelizes just about everything so if you have more cores Manifold can usually put them to work for better performance.
Do not go crazy spending a lot of money to get just a slight increase in performance. Instead of spending twice as much for a processor that has a clock rate only 10% faster than a less extreme version, put the extra money into more system memory and into larger and faster hard disks.
Release 9 uses GPUs for massively parallel computation, known as General Purpose GPU or GPGPU. Manifold Viewer does not use GPGPU. GPGPU capability requires installation of an NVIDIA GPU of at least Fermi architectural generation or more recent. Since you must have graphics display in any event it is crazy not to have a GPGPU capable graphics card. Unless you are a Manifold expert and know for sure the extra cost is worth it, there is no need to spend a fortune to buy the most extreme possible GPGPU card. Virtually any sensibly middle-of-the-road GPGPU card will be fine. For greater discussion of GPGPU use and configuration, see the GPGPU topic.
Why .EXE and not .MSI? - Manifold Release 9 installations that use Windows Installer are .exe files and not the usual .msi files that are often used for Windows Installer installations. An .exe file is used because .exe files allow the installation to perform preparatory steps, such as installing C++ redistributables if required, that cannot be accomplished with an .msi. Once those preparatory steps are accomplished the .exe launches an .msi file that is contained within the .exe so Windows Installer can go to work with that .msi.
