LMTools ... for everyone

So I have gotten about 10 calls this week with various issues regarding LM Tools. Now this software is not inherently hard to configure, however there are some rules that need to be followed. One of these rules is a basic networking rule and should be in everyone's daily work flow. Back when Windows NT 4 came out it was not simple to browse the network to use the UNC path (\\Server) so everyone used a mapped drive letter: L:\=\\Server\data.

While this was a great practice back in the day it has grown long in the tooth and needs to stop being a common practice. With the advent of Active Directory and the ease of browsing a Domain/Workgroup it is much simpler to add a Network Place if using Windows XP still.

This leads to the real issue I have come across after 10 or so support calls regarding LM Tools. It also seems as if everyone has decided to upgrade their servers all at once. Is this some sort of conspiracy? More to come on that ... or not.

Since mapped drive letters work well for most tasks everyone figured it was ok to use it for allthings requiring network mapping. This is not the case for LM Tools. When specifying the location of the license file it is IMPERATIVE to browse to the file using the full UNC path. The majority of the support calls have been resolved by re-pathing the license file location.

So to "Everyone" ... just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it right. Just as the GM commercial states ... "Everyone didn't know this"

Sorry for the rant but I needed to get this posted.