Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to questions frequently asked about ACD/Labs software.
Version 2023 of software on the Spectrus Platform is here! Read about new tools and improvements in analytical data handling.
Find answers to questions frequently asked about ACD/Labs software.
If your software is under maintenance, you can get answers to many of your questions in the Customer Portal (the Portal is not accessible to Freeware users or those trialing software). Register/login to the Customer Portal to access movies, quick start guides, and more resources to help you use your ACD/Labs software like a pro.
ACD/ChemSketch, ACD/Spectrus Processor, and ACD/Name (Chemist version) can be purchased online here. For all other products please contact your account manager directly or Contact Us and a member of our team will reach out to you.
Purchasing maintenance for your software means you will receive technical support and software updates for the term of that maintenance. We offer support by phone, email, and online. Software updates (including new features and improvements) are provided periodically. Read more about maintenance.
To purchase or renew maintenance on your software you can either contact your account manager directly or Contact Us and a member of our team will reach out to you.
As of version 2019.1 ACD/Labs software is developed for 64-bit Windows computers. Select products are browser-based or available for Linux. Read the full list of hardware and software requirements here.
ACD/Labs desktop software is not natively supported in a Mac OS environment.
It is possible to run our desktop software in a Virtual Machine environment. In fact, many of our users and employees are Mac fans who have been running our software in virtual environments for years.
The demo video shows you how to use Virtual Box to configure and install a virtual machine.
Other options are available including those below:
Virtual Box
Parallels Desktop
VMware Fusion
Boot Camp Assistant
ACD/Labs offers flexible licensing options, please Contact Us for more information.
ACD/Spectrus platform software supports a variety of analytical instrument data formats. ACD/ChemSketch also supports many different formats. See the full list here.
ACD/Labs is aware of the recently disclosed issue relating to the open-source Apache “Log4j2” Utility. We are actively monitoring this issue. We have completed as assessment of our application components and have concluded the current CVE for log4j V2 does not affect out software applications.
Yes. ACD/Labs software has been validated by many of our customers in their work environments and workflows. Please contact your account manager directly, or Contact Us to discuss your requirements.
You can either develop and/or implement validation plans and protocols using IQ, OQ, and PQ protocols available from ACD/Labs, or you may choose to outsource these activities.
ACD/Labs develops software using good software practices. The software is thoroughly tested, and customers can perform audits to review our software development lifecycle. Upon request, ACD/Labs can make available requirements documents, functional specifications, design documents, test plans, test scripts, and results. These documents will allow you to determine the extent of validation testing necessary. ACD/Labs can offer IQ/OQ/PQ scripts and technical resources to support you.
See how to install ACD/Labs software in these short videos.
Install in Broadcast Mode: This is the most common method of installation used by the majority of ACD/Labs software users.
Install License Server: License Server is used to manage numerous licenses across multiple locations, including ChemSketch Freeware Site Licenses. It must be installed and configured before installing the software on the client (below).
Install in License Server Mode: This type of installation is used by customers managing numerous ACD/Labs software licenses across multiple locations. Before installing the software in this mode, the License Server must be installed and configured.
Your software should automatically activate as part of the installation process. If something went wrong, watch the video, or follow the activation steps below. (If you are activating licenses on the Linux platform please contact technical support).
If you receive the following error.
Click “Yes”
Click “Ask for Activation”. Do not close this window (you will need to paste the activation response key here later)
The pop up window will contain an automatically-generated message. Do not click on the Send E-Mail button because the window may not communicate with your default e-mail program.
Open your preferred email client, generate a new message, and copy/paste the address, subject, and contents of the Activation E-mail message.
(If you are activating the license on Chinese or Japanese Windows platforms please email us).
Wait for us to reply to your email containing the Activation Response Key.
In the Activation dialog box from Step 2 above, click Activate
Copy/paste the Activation Response Key from the email and click OK.
Click OK in the prompt below. Your license is now activated
The following describes the process for deactivating your ACD/Labs software license. Please note that deactivation is required prior to deleting keys to free a license when transitioning an installation to another computer.
We recommend a single installation for a given operating system. Versions 2018 and older should not be mixed with newer versions.
For Windows desktop installations, please run setup.exe with the /a flag from an administrative command prompt and follow the instructions to create a silent installer. Refer to the installation guide provided with the software for more details.
Some changes to computer hardware (such as MAC address, hard drive, or computer name) can invalidate the license activation. When this happens, you will be prompted to activate the license again.
Depending on the type of license, you may need to deactivate the software license from the old computer before you can install and activate it on the new machine.
If your computer is inaccessible, please send a deactivation request to technical support (you will need to include the license ID). If possible, please also include the computer name of the old machine. For multi-user licenses, please include a list of computer names that should not be deactivated.
ACD/Labs desktop software is not natively supported in a Mac OS environment.
It is possible to run our desktop software in a Virtual Machine environment. In fact, many of our users and employees are Mac fans who have been running our software in virtual environments for years.
The demo video shows you how to use Virtual Box to configure and install a virtual machine.
Other options are available including those below:
Virtual Box
Parallels Desktop
VMware Fusion
Boot Camp Assistant
It is not possible to remove the registration prompt in ChemSketch Freeware.
For Windows desktop installations, please run setup.exe with the /a flag from an administrative command prompt and follow the instructions to create a silent installer. Refer to the installation guide provided with the software for more details.
The interface of ChemSketch freeware is the same as the commercial software, however, not all features are available. Clicking on a feature only available in the commercial software will trigger this prompt.
Your download link is available in your account profile for a full year after the initial download date. Login to your account here to access your download link.