This thread describes the last batch of updates to the 9.0.176.x build series.

The builds are available on the Product Downloads page.

Editions

There are two new editions of Manifold 9: Professional and Server. The differences between editions are related to the Manifold database server.

• Professional - does not include the server.
• Universal - includes a limited version of the server: single instance with up to 20 connections, cannot run as a service.
• Server - includes an unlimited version of the server that can run as a service, includes service management features (eg, Manage Services).

Existing licenses of Manifold 9 are Manifold 9 Universal.

All editions of Manifold 9 as well as Manifold Viewer and SQL for ArcGIS Pro can connect to Manifold servers as clients with no limitations.

The About dialog shows the edition of Manifold 9 for the current license.

Other

Pressing F1 in the Manage Services dialog opens the help page for the dialog in the web browser.

There is a new style for text values: file = absolute path to a file. The table window and the Info pane highlight text values formatted as files and add the new Open File command to the context menu for these values. If a specific value is a well-formed path, but the file referenced by it does not exist, the Open File command is disabled.

End of list.

after downloading and installing Manifold 9.0.177.0, i can get no manage services in the tools-pane. I have it in cuttingedge 9.0.176.7. The about button shows Manifold System Universal. The license is valid. What are I doing wrong?

Correct.

• Universal - [...], cannot run as a service.

Also:

Licensing for Connections- Cutting Edge Release 9 Universal edition builds allow an unlimited number of Server connections for beta testing. Release 9 Base builds are expected to include a limited number of Server connections as part of the Universal license with an option for unlimited connections priced separately.

rk was quicker to respond, but a few comments anyway...

Universal has a limited version of Server that cannot launch as a Windows service, so Universal does not have the Manage Services dialog. To launch Server instances as Windows services, you need the new Manifold 9.00 Server edition.

Universal can launch a Server instance using the Command Prompt window as documented in the Manifold Server topic.

Universal is a good choice for smaller workgroups where there are only going to be a couple of Universal licenses so a couple of machines can run Server in Command Prompt instances that serve archival projects that are the top level of one or two levels of nested projects. You can serve many projects that way for very low cost. There are going to be a lot of Universal licenses available for that since everybody who has a 9 license now has a Universal license that includes Server.

If people want to take it to the next step, they can use an unlimited Server license to serve an unlimited number of instances with an unlimited number of connections. To do that well you really need to be able to launch Server instances as services, so that's what the unlimited Server license supports.

thank you both rK an Dimitri. I have overlookede this limitation vs. the server edition.

I would be interested in an option to upgrade a universal license to an unlimited Server license. An option to pay the delta between Universal and Server would be much easier to argue with the bean counters.

Adam, on the last official announcement, there is a "8.0.33" in the post title, but nothing about it in the post.

8.0.33 includes changes from 8.0.32.x, no last minute changes. 8.0.33 is the new 8.

It's a new base build as well. 8.0.32.2 was not a base build.