Since the Zarqon Desktop Control Center is built with Adobe AIR, it will run equally well on Mac, Windows and Linux desktop systems.

The latest version of the Adobe AIR framework is required, and will be automatically installed (or upgraded) along with Zarqon if your system does not already have it.

This article describes the simple process you will go through when you install the Zarqon Desktop control Center. Follow the Getting Started Checklist when you are ready to begin, and the article on Configuring Zarqon when you have finished your installation.

The Application Install Dialog

When you click the Zarqon install badge on the Checklist page, your browser will launch the standard Adobe AIR application installer.

When this dialog comes up, pay careful attention to the Publisher, which should always say Futurescale, Inc, as shown in the screenshot below. If this says UNKNOWN or anything else, click the cancel button and do not install the application. In these days of phishing scams and evil-doers with nothing better to do than cripple your system for kicks, trust is a commodity. This application is digitally-signed and our business identity certified by Thawte, Inc.

Setting the Installation Location

After clicking the 'Install' button, you'll see the installation location form, where you can change the defaults for the installation folder, whether to create a desktop icon and to start the application after installation.

If your system does not have AIR installed or has an older version installed, this dialog will contain a few more fields. Generally you can just accept all the defaults on this page and click 'Continue', unless you have a non-standard place you like to install applications or you don't want your AIR framework to be upgraded for some reason.

Enter a License or Begin a Free Trial

When you first install the Zarqon Desktop Control Center application, you are given the opportunity to take a Free 30-day Trial.

If you are interested in giving Zarqon a try before you buy, then click the 'Begin Trial' button and the application will self-serve a trial license that will work for 30 days. You will be able to create unlimited Products, with Features and Feature Sets and issue licenses for up to 100 users.

IMPORTANT: The Demo is for evaluation purposes only. All data that you create with the trial license will be lost when you purchase and enter a valid license.

Entering your Zarqon License

If you chose 'Begin Trial' in the previous step,  you won't be asked to enter your Zarqon License information. This step will only occur when you purchase a License from Futurescale to operate the Zarqon Desktop Control Center application and use the Zarqon API and click 'Enter License' at the previous step.

You should have obtained a Zarqon License by this point and received an email containing your License Holder Name, Email Address and Zarqon License Key. If you haven't yet done so, just click the handy 'Get a Zarqon License' link at the top of the screen and you'll be taken to the appropriate place on our website to obtain one.

Enter your Zarqon License Holder Info into the first dialog that the application presents you with. It is best to copy and paste this information, but be sure that you don't copy any extra white-space at the end or beginning of the fields. The information will be collected by the application now, and stored safely in the AIR Encrypted Local Store.

As a best practice, once you are done with entering this information you should make a password-protected backup of your Zarqon License email and delete the email from your email client. Or print the email out and store it in a safe deposit box at your bank before deleting it.

Getting Your Amazon AWS Credentials

Once Zarqon has validated your License, you will be presented with a dialog to enter your Amazon AWS credentials.

Again, you should by this point have an Amazon Web Services account with the S3 (Simple Storage Service) turned on. If you don't, then click the 'Sign Up for S3' link and you'll be taken to the appropriate place on Amazon's website to sign up.

Otherwise, you'll want to click the 'Go get your Amazon Keys' link, which will open a browser and take you to the location on the Amazon website to copy your credentials to be pasted into Zarqon. Unless you are already logged into Amazon, it will ask you to log in first. Then you will be presented with the screen below at Amazon:

Entering your AWS Credentials

From the above screen you can copy the Amazon Access Key ID and Secret Access Key to be pasted into the Zarqon's AWS Credentials Dialog.

Note that the you must click the 'Show' link beside your Access Key ID in order to open a small popup to copy the Secret Access key from. We recommend cutting and pasting this information from the web page into the Zarqon application, paying attention not to copy extra whitespace around the keys.

Zarqon Starting Up

Each time Zarqon runs, it checks your above credentials and if it finds anything amiss, you may be presented with one or more of the above dialogs again. Otherwise, you should never see these screens again.

For instance, if you change your Amazon AWS keys for security, Zarqon will detect this and request them again. Or if your Zarqon License is compromised and you report it to Futurescale, we will issue you a new License and remove the old one. In this case you would see the Zarqon License Holder info dialog again.

For the most part, each time Zarqon starts up, you'll see its progress as it checks for Internet connectivity, validates your License, S3 Credentials,  checks for any updates to the Zarqon application, connects to your S3 buckets, creating them if necessary and then presents you with the Overview screen.

Zarqon's Offline State

Due to the nature of the Zarqon Control Center, which maintains Products and Licenses stored in your Amazon S3 buckets and sends emails to your License Holders, you must have an Internet connection in order to to anything useful.

Therefore, Zarqon checks to be sure you have connectivity, and if you don't, it will lapse into the Offline state until connectivity is restored.

The Optional Update Available Dialog

When the Zarqon Desktop Control Center starts, it checks to see if there are any updates available to the application. If there is an update available, it may be Required or Optional.

If the update is Optional, you may choose to skip it and continue with the application's normal startup process. Futurescale will deem an update Optional if it is cosmetic or does not affect the secure and intended operation of the product. When new, premium features are added to the product, these updates will also be considered Optional.

The Required Update Available Dialog

Futurescale will deem an update required if it is a fix that supports the secure, intended operation of the application. This would include fixes for security, data validation, state management and the like.

When an update is required you will only have the option to install it. Though you may close the application, it will not proceed beyond the Required Update Available dialog until you accept the update.

Installing a Zarqon Update

When you elect to install an update, Zarqon will download it, update itself and run the new version automatically.

The Overview Screen

Of course all of the above screens won't appear each time or even during a normal install. This article just describes the possibilities during startup.

Usually, Zarqon will come directly to the Overview screen, immediately after doing its many startup checks. The Overview screen below is what you would see the first time through after beginning a free trial.

Note that the trial license key is exposed in a text box, which you can copy and paste into the demo applications when you are testing them out.

When you have purchased and entered a license, this will not appear. You will be expected to keep track of the information in the confirmation email you are sent when your license is issued. For obvious security reasons, your real key is never exposed again once it has been entered and tucked away in the Encrypted Local Store.

Enter a License or Continue Your Trial

When you opt to take the Free 30-Day Trial, each time you start the Zarqon Desktop Control Center application, you have the opportunity to enter a License or continue your trial.

Trial Expired, Enter a License

When your 30-Day Trial period is up, each time you start the Zarqon Desktop Control Center application, you will only be given the opportunity to enter a license.