Upgrading LASERS

This page contains patches to upgrade your LASERS to the latest version.

Important notice for end users

Your LASERS site administrator will perform this server upgrade. Do not attempt to upgrade LASERS from this website unless you are a LASERS site administrator.

Important notice for LASERS site administrators

When performing LASERS server upgrades, always:

Read the instructions carefully and completely before starting the upgrade process.
Make a backup of your server before starting the upgrade process.
Make sure that no users are logged in to or using LASERS (explained below) before installing the patch.

If users are logged in while attempting to perform the server upgrade, the upgrade will fail, leaving your server in an inconsistent state. Failure to create a backup of your server will result in lost data if the upgrade fails. Reach out to LCDR Stauffer with any questions or if you need assistance.

From time to time, newer versions of LASERS are released to fix bugs or add new features. You can upgrade your LASERS to subsequent versions by following these steps. Please pay very close attention to file name extensions! LASERS uses a patching system for upgrades. That means that you must install each patch in sequential order. For example, if your version is 1.4 and the latest version is 1.6, you must install patch 1.5 before you install patch 1.6. If you try to install patch files out of order, the Server will simply inform you that the patch you’re trying to install is not compatible.

Preparation

Obtain the upgrade files from a trusted source, such as this page. Especially if you obtain your upgrade files from another source, such as a colleague, always check the hash of the file against what is listed on this page to ensure that the file has not been corrupted or tampered with. Instructions for how to check the hash of the file can be found here. After checking the hash, unzip the files.
Before beginning the upgrade process, it is absolutely critical that you make sure that no one is logged into or using LASERS to prevent data corruption during the upgrade. You can check this by going to the S:\LASERS\LASERS_server folder and checking if a file called LASERS_server.laccdb exists. If it does, that means that users are logged in. You can find out the hostnames of the workstations that logged in users are using by opening the .laccdb file with a text editor.
Starting with LASERS 2.0, admins can disconnect current clients and prevent users from logging in to facilitate system upgrades. Click the Server button on the System configuration menu, and then click the Disable client login checkbox before starting the upgrade process.

Upgrading the Server

Download the required patches below and unzip.
When all users have logged out of LASERS, make a copy of the LASERS_server.accdb as a backup if something goes wrong. Put this file somewhere safe. If you do not make a backup of the Server, you could lose your data if something goes wrong with the upgrade!
Double click the LASERS_server.accdb file to launch the LASERS server console.
You will see a password prompt to decrypt the database. Type the password LASERS_admin and then click OK.
You will now see the LASERS Server login window. The LASERS logo has a red background to remind you that you are logging into the server. Use your normal LASERS login information to log in. Note that only admins can log into LASERS Server.
Note your version on the left side. Click the Load and install patch button to navigate to the LASERSpatch file to install. Then click OK. The patch will either successfully install or warn you that it is not compatible if you try to install a patch out of sequential order and then return to the Server main menu. However, if the installer does not install successfully, you will be left with a blank white screen and your server will be in an inconsistent state. This could happen if you attempt to install the upgrade while users are logged into LASERS. In this case, make sure that no one is using LASERS and try again using another copy of your backup Server.
Follow any additional patch-specific instructions. For example, if a patch provides a new feature, it might load a default setting that would need to be customized for your work environment.
When you install a patch to the Server, you must also load a new version of the Client Installer to the S drive, as described below.
If you run into problems upgrading, please contact LCDR Stauffer.

Server patch downloads

Version	Release date	Download	SHA-256 hash
1.7	2019-05-03	LASERS_Server_patch_v1.7.zip	`94d0cb9ad1d7220ca85b6216f8722a3f230eb629adb6aa0c298a183fdfb6194b`
1.8	2021-07-20	LASERS_Server_patch_v1.8.zip	`bdc51c8064291789197b3f454bc8840d1fe6c5c976ad1e1af8857b4af04b75b4`
2.0.1	2021-08-03	LASERS_Server_patch_v2.0.1.zip	`497c3ba14ebc0f3a0d0a642b08240a99b8d87770c096533850e771a5c01cc339`

Upgrading the Client Installer

Download the current LASERS Client Installer below and unzip.
Replace the S:\LASERS\Installer_data folder with the one in contained in the LASERS_Client_Installer.zip file that you downloaded.
Users will need to update their LASERS Client application as outlined below.

Client Installer download

Version	Release date	Download	SHA-256 hash
2.0.1	2021-08-03	LASERS_Client_Installer.zip	`a70ff0cce055213d4aaec8590690b5708a83ff44521d82fc07d736c4ba5de3ac`

Updating LASERS Clients

When users try to run LASERS on their workstation, they will receive an alert that a required update is available.
Inform users that if they see this alert, they should navigate to the S:\LASERS folder and double click the Install LASERS Client icon to install the update.
Remember to re-enable client login in the Server system configuration menu after the server upgrade is complete or users will not be able to login.

The SHA-256 hash is listed for each file available to download from this site. This hash is like the file’s fingerprint. After downloading the file, you can calculate the file’s fingerprint on your computer and make sure it matches what is listed on this site. If the hash numbers match, you know that the file was not altered by a “man-in-the-middle” while you downloaded it. Never download software from an unknown source, especially LASERSpatch upgrade files and SMRRTModules. If you do obtain any of the above software from anywhere other than this website, e.g., from a coworker, always check to make sure that the hash of the file you have matches what is listed on this site. That is the only way to ensure that no one has tampered with it.

You can easily check the hash of the file you downloaded on your computer. Follow the steps below for your operating system to check the hash of a file. If the hash does not match the expected value, do not unzip or open the file.

Unix (includes BSD, macOS, Linux, etc.)

At the terminal, type shasum -a 256 followed by a space.
Type the path of the file to check and press return. The hash will be displayed.

Windows

Open PowerShell.
Type get-filehash followed by a space.
Then drag and drop the file to check onto your PowerShell window.
Press enter. The hash will be displayed.