If your operating system has recently been updated and you are using an ExtendSim release prior to 9.3, Windows may be blocking the launch. With release 1709 (October 2017) Windows changed how the memory manager worked, which caused crashing and hang ups when launching older installations of ExtendSim.

If you are using ExtendSim 9 (released prior to November 16, 2017), 8, or 7, get your fix here.

If you have a Network license and ExtendSim on Client devices no longer launches, the Service (exService) may not be running correctly. In cases where the Server has been restarted, exService sometimes fails to correctly re-communicate with Client devices. The solution is to Stop the Service on the Server, then Start the Service. (Note: A Client license of ExtendSim will remain launchable for several hours after losing communication with the Server’s License Manager. However, if communication is not restored, ExtendSim will not launch. Thus, this issue can occur many hours after the Server has been restarted.)

All ExtendSim versions are upwardly compatible. So ExtendSim 10 will read in models built in ExtendSim 9, 8, and 7. ExtendSim 9 will read in models built in ExtendSim 8, 7, and Extend 6. And so on.

However, ExtendSim is not backwardly compatible. Models and blocks you build in ExtendSim 10 cannot be read by earlier versions, such as ExtendSim 9 or ExtendSim 8. Models and blocks you build in ExtendSim 9 cannot be read by earlier versions, such as ExtendSim 8 or ExtendSim 7.

If you are trying to enter numbers into editable text boxes in a block dialog and nothing appears, the problem could be that your system has been set to use right-to-left text for programs that do not use Unicode. This setting will work for programs that are built to expect to use right-to-left text, but not for programs that are not set to expect this.

You may need to change your system locale. The system locale determines the default character set (letters, symbols, and numbers) and font that you use to enter information and that are used to display information in programs that do not use Unicode. Selecting a different language for the system locale will not affect the language in menus and dialog boxes for Windows or other programs that do use Unicode. Try changing the default locale to English (United States) and check to see if this helps.

To change the system locale, follow the instructions at: answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-desktop/how-to-change-the-system-locale-to-run-non-unicode/7a7c2bd2-b67b-4f89-ad76-04c2346e01c0.

If you receive an error message on your client installation when trying to check a license out of your ExtendSim 9 network license it is probably the result of not having sufficient permissions on your client machine to checkout the license. The checkout process requires some administrative rights on the client machine and many companies are restricting these rights from users.

Try using the right-click command Run as administrator. If this doesn't work, then you may not have been granted sufficient permissions by your company on the machine to check out a license.

• Check if exService is running as a Service. For Windows, look in Computer Management\Services and Applications\Services.
• Look in the Task Manager's Details tab. Both exServer and exService should be listed as running and both should list the System as the User Name. If the User Name for either of them is not System, the License Manager needs to be reinstalled.

When you open and convert a model that was built in ExtendSim 9, the converted ExtendSim 10 model is not associated with a file association until it is saved. Data Import Export blocks use the model path name to resolve the relative file path name specifications. Consequently, Data Import Export blocks using relative file path names will not function properly until the ExtendSim 10 model has been saved and is associated with its file.

Make sure that you SAVE the new ExtendSim 10 model following its conversion from ExtendSim 9 before running it.

While trying to update your ExtendSim 9 license to the current release, you see "This copy of ExtendSim is incomplete. Please reinstall ExtendSim from your CD.”

An Updater is not a full installer. This message only appears for one of two reasons:

• If you installed the 9.x updater but you did not install it to the same place where ExtendSim 9 is installed.
• If you installed the 9.x updater on a machine that does not already have ExtendSim 9.

First check your computer (Program Files (x86) and Documents) to determine the location of the current installation of ExtendSim 9. If it is present, install the 9.x updater into those same locations so that it will replace the ExtendSim 9 files. If ExtendSim 9 is not present, you need to install ExtendSim 9 before installing the 9.x updater.

ExtendSim 9 was released July 17, 2013. The ExtendSim 9 series reached its End of Life (EOL) on October 28, 2019 with the release of 9.3.1. There will not be any further ExtendSim 9 updates or security patches.

ExtendSim 10 can run models that were built in ExtendSim 9, 8, and 7. ExtendSim 10 was released October 2018 and we supported transitioning from ExtendSim 9 to ExtendSim 10 for over three years. That support ended January 1, 2022 and ExtendSim 9 has reached its EOS.

If you still need to use ExtendSim 9 (for example, the third party module you are using with ExtendSim has not yet been updated to ExtendSim 10), please know it will no longer be supported. Hence, if Microsoft makes a change to their operating system, it may cause older releases of ExtendSim to stop working. Therefore, as is true for all software, we highly recommend using the most current release of ExtendSim.

If ExtendSim 9 is required, Single User ExtendSim 9 licenses are currently still available through these unique links, but you will not receive any installation or application assistance.

End of Life

ExtendSim 9 was released July 17, 2013 and was subsequently updated several times. The ExtendSim 9 series reached its End of Life (EOL) on October 28, 2019 with the final update, release 9.3.1. As of the EOL, there will be no new bug fixes, security updates, or non-security updates for release 9.

End of Service

After the release of ExtendSim 10 in October 2018, Imagine That! provided support to customers who were converting models and libraries from ExtendSim 9 to ExtendSim 10. That support ended, and ExtendSim 9 reached its End of Service (EOS) on January 1, 2022. As of the EOS date, ExtendSim 9 is officially retired and there will be no free or paid assisted support for ExtendSim 9.

Purchasing ExtendSim 9 products

To continue to use ExtendSim, we strongly urge you to purchase or upgrade to the latest release. If you are still in the transition process of converting older models to ExtendSim 10, Imagine That! will sell licenses of ExtendSim 9 products “As Is”, with no warranty or support.

• Purchasing ExtendSim 9 after the EOS date comes with certain risks, including the possibility that changes to the Windows operating system or other events might cause ExtendSim 9 to stop working.
• Networked licenses of ExtendSim 9 carry an additional risk - while it works well in most cases, the License Manager for the Network license is outdated and no longer supported by the vendor. If it stops running, your only option would be to reactivate it.
• You can use the ExtendSim 9 Demo to run existing ExtendSim 9 models. Please do not use a development version of ExtendSim 9 to build new models and/or custom blocks.
• ExtendSim 10 is a major upgrade with a lot of new features and capabilities customers have been asking for. Since most third party developers have already completed the transition to ExtendSim 10, be cautious if you are using a third party product that requires you to use an ExtendSim release earlier than 10.

If you want to purchase an ExtendSim 9 product and you are willing to take the risks associated with using software that has reached its EOL and EOS, please contact Imagine That Inc. or your ExtendSim Distributor. Let us know the reason you still need to use ExtendSim 9 and your plans to transition to ExtendSim 10. You will be asked to sign a document confirming:

• You acknowledge and accept that the product comes with neither support nor warranty.
• Other than upgrading to a newer release, you have no recourse if the software ceases to work.
• When purchasing ExtendSim 9, you will also be assigned an Activation Key for the corresponding ExtendSim 10 product. You are still subject to pay for an annual Maintenance & Support Plan based on the current price. Note, support will only be provided for ExtendSim 10.