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Installing on Windows

Install the Dispatch server and the Windows app, get past the SmartScreen warning on unsigned builds, start and stop the server, uninstall, and find where your data lives.

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Checked against Pop Street Dispatch 0.1.0

Two installers put Pop Street Dispatch on Windows. The server installer turns one computer into your dispatch server, and the app installer adds the Windows app for the people who dispatch from their own desks. You will be able to install both, set up your business, start and stop the server, and remove either one.

Before you start #

  • A 64-bit computer with Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 1809 or later. The server computer stays on during business hours and has a disk you back up.
  • Permission to install software on that computer. Windows asks for an administrator password during the server installation and during set-up.
  • Your licence key and the licence public keys from your supplier. Set-up asks for both.
  • The two installers: PopStreetDispatchServer-<version>-x64.msi and PopStreetDispatch-<version>-x64.msi. Each build comes with a SHA256SUMS.txt file that lists the SHA-256 sum of every installer, so you can check your copy.

Install the server #

  1. Double-click PopStreetDispatchServer-<version>-x64.msi.
  2. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", follow "If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning" below, then continue.
  3. Windows asks for permission to install. Choose Yes. A progress bar shows while the files are copied. When it finishes, the server program, the web console and the help articles sit in C:\Program Files\Pop Street Dispatch, and the Pop Street Dispatch Server service is registered.
  4. The Set up window opens by itself. Choose Yes when Windows asks for permission to continue.
  5. Answer the questions: the business name, the owner's name and the owner's email address. Paste the licence key and the licence public keys when asked.
  6. Write down the one-time password and the recovery key that the window prints. Each appears once. Keep the recovery key away from this computer.
  7. Set-up starts the server and opens your browser at http://127.0.0.1:8480/. Sign in with the owner's email address and the one-time password. Pop Street Dispatch asks for a new password and then helps you set up the authenticator app.

To open the Set up window again later, choose Set up Pop Street Dispatch in the Start menu. When the business exists already, it only starts the server and opens the browser.

Install the Windows app #

  1. Double-click PopStreetDispatch-<version>-x64.msi on each computer that dispatches. Follow "If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning" if it appears.
  2. Choose Yes when Windows asks for permission. The app installs in C:\Program Files\Pop Street Dispatch\Desktop, with a shortcut named Pop Street Dispatch in the Start menu.
  3. Open Pop Street Dispatch. Type the server address in the Server address box. On the server computer itself this is http://127.0.0.1:8480. On other computers it is the server computer's network address, for example http://192.168.1.20:8480.
  4. Sign in. The app keeps an encrypted copy of your work on the computer, so screens still open when the network drops.

If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning #

The installers carry no digital signature yet, because the build has no code-signing certificate yet. Windows SmartScreen shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" window for a new, unsigned program. The installer is safe to run when it came from your supplier and its SHA-256 sum matches the one in SHA256SUMS.txt.

  1. Choose More info in the blue window. The program name and "Unknown publisher" appear.
  2. Choose Run anyway.
  3. The installation continues as described above.
Check the SHA-256 sum first

Open PowerShell in the folder that holds the installer and run Get-FileHash .\PopStreetDispatchServer-<version>-x64.msi -Algorithm SHA256. The value after Hash should equal the line for that file in SHA256SUMS.txt.

Start and stop the server #

The server runs as the Windows service Pop Street Dispatch Server. It starts with Windows and restarts itself after a failure.

  1. Press the Windows key, type Services and open it.
  2. Find Pop Street Dispatch Server in the list.
  3. Right-click it and choose Start, Stop or Restart. The Status column shows the result.

In PowerShell run as administrator, the same actions are Start-Service PopStreetDispatch, Stop-Service PopStreetDispatch and Restart-Service PopStreetDispatch. Stopping lets the server finish the requests it has open, then close its files.

To check that it answers, open http://127.0.0.1:8480/health in a browser. The answer shows ok: true.

Let other computers connect #

The server listens on this computer only until you change its address.

  1. Open C:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch\server.env in Notepad as administrator.
  2. Remove the # at the start of the PSD_BIND line and set it to 0.0.0.0:8480.
  3. Save the file and restart the service.
  4. Open Windows Defender Firewall, choose Advanced settings, then Inbound Rules, then New Rule. Choose Port, TCP, specific port 8480, and allow the connection on your private network.

Version 0.1.0 of the server speaks plain HTTP, so use it on a network you control, or behind a gateway that adds TLS.

Where your data lives #

WhatWhere
Programs, web console, help articlesC:\Program Files\Pop Street Dispatch
Database, keys, backups, photos, crash logsC:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch\data
Server settings (licence values, address)C:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch\server.env
Start-up problemsC:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch\data\service.log
Windows app settings, saved sign-in and local copy%LOCALAPPDATA%\Pop Street Dispatch on each computer

Only the service account, the system and administrators can open the data folder. Back up the whole data folder to a second disk every night, and turn on BitLocker for the disk.

Uninstall #

  1. Open Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps (Apps and features on Windows 10).
  2. Choose Pop Street Dispatch Server or Pop Street Dispatch and choose Uninstall.
  3. Confirm. Uninstalling the server stops and removes the service and deletes the program files.

Your business data stays in C:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch after the server is uninstalled, so a later installation picks it up again. Delete that folder yourself only after you have a backup you trust. The Windows app leaves its folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% for the same reason.

Technical details
  • The installers are built with WiX 5. The server installer registers the service PopStreetDispatch with the account NT AUTHORITY\LocalService, start type Automatic, and the arguments service --data-dir "C:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch\data" --env-file "C:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch\server.env". The service restarts after a failure.
  • Settings files hold one NAME=value line per setting, with names that start with PSD_. A value in the real environment wins over the file.
  • The installer closes the data folder with access for LocalService, SYSTEM and Administrators only, and the service checks this each time it starts.
  • The desktop app is self-contained: the .NET runtime and the Windows App SDK sit in its folder, and it never downloads anything while it runs.
  • The replica key is sealed with Windows DPAPI for the signed-in Windows user. The sign-in token is sealed the same way.
  • A silent installation, msiexec /i PopStreetDispatchServer-<version>-x64.msi /qn, skips the Set up window. Run Set up from the Start menu afterwards.

If something goes wrong #

  • The Set up window says the server did not start: open C:\ProgramData\Pop Street Dispatch\data\service.log. A line about PSD_LICENCE_PUBLIC_KEYS means a licence value is missing; open server.env, fill in both licence lines and restart the service.
  • The browser shows "This site can't be reached": the service is stopped, or another program uses port 8480. Start the service, or choose another port in PSD_BIND.
  • Another computer cannot connect: the server still listens on this computer only, or the firewall closes port 8480. See "Let other computers connect".
  • The installer will not start: Windows may have blocked a downloaded file. Right-click the file, choose Properties, tick Unblock, and try again.
  • The Windows app says the server cannot be reached: check the address in the Server address box, and that the server computer is on.