System Requirements

• Microsoft Windows® 11, 10, 8.1
• Microsoft Excel® 2021, 2019
  • Or, Office 365 with Excel
• 8 GB RAM or greater
• Hard disk free space: 2 GB or greater
• Internet access

Download

1. Browse to the Ironworks ECM Support Website’s Download page.
2. Click on the link to the latest version of Ironworks to download the Ironworks ECM.zip.
3. Navigate to the drive you want to use to store Ironworks.
4. Add a new folder to that drive named “Ironworks ECM”.
5. Copy the Ironworks ECM.zip from the Downloads folder and paste it to the new Ironworks ECM folder you just added.
6. Unpack the zip file by right-mouse-clicking on the Ironworks ECM.zip file, then clicking on the “Open With” option, then clicking on the “WinZip” option.
7. Wait while the zip file is unpacked and the Ironworks ECM.exe file is visible.

Activate

1. Click on the extracted Ironworks ECM.exe file to initiate the activation process.
   • NOTE: Do NOT use the Windows Explorer “Open” command to run the Ironworks ECM.exe within the Ironworks ECM.zip (compressed) file.

2. Copy and paste Activation Credentials you received in the “Subscription Approved” email to the activation dialog.
3. Respond to the activation dialog.
4. When Ironworks appears on your computer screen, the activation process is finished.
5. Once Ironworks is activated, use Windows Explorer to create a desktop shortcut to the Ironworks ECM.exe file stored in the Ironworks ECM folder.

Notes #

• Multi-user installation support is available in the FAQ topic: “How to convert a single-user installation to a multi-user installation”.
• The Ironworks ECM.exe file (EXE) is a compiled macro-enabled Excel workbook.
  • It runs only in Excel 2016 or higher.
  • It runs only on authorized computers.
    • These are computers on which the EXE is activated using subscription-specific, count-limited, activation credentials issued at the time an order for a subscription to Ironworks is purchased on the support.ironworksECM.com website.
  • It produces data files and stores them for reloading in two folders named “Estimates” and “Local Datapoints”.
• The Ironworks ECM folder (shared files folder) stores files used and produced by the EXE file.
  • During the activation process, the EXE searches for the Ironworks ECM folder. If not found, it automatically creates it and fills it with the contents included in a new installation:
    • Estimates sub-folder, containing the Training and Master estimate files
    • Library file
    • License & Copyright Notice document files.
  • The Local Datapoints sub-folder stored in the Ironworks ECM folder is automatically created when the first estimate file is saved

• The Ironworks ECM folder can be stored on any drive accessible by the User.
  • Including cloud drives like OneDrive and DropBox.
  • The path to the shared folder can be changed at any time using the Ironworks / Shared Folder command:
  • 
  • Changing the path to it does NOT automatically move the Ironworks ECM folder. The folder must be moved to the desired location before the path to that location is specified.
  • When specifying the path to a folder on a SERVER, the path must conform to the UNIVERAL NAMING CONVENTION, except when the drive is a local mapped drive.
  • To determine the UNC path:
    • Using File Explorer, navigate to the Ironworks ECM Folder created during installation
    • Right-mouse click on that folder
    • Click “Properties”
    • Click “Sharing” to see the path in UNC format

Installation Diagrams #