Installation

There are two ways to get Write! installers:

• If you're already a customer, you can use the customer portal.
• If you're a fresh customer, you receive the installer executable by mail.

The following is a step-by-step guide on how to install Write!.

Product Installation Prerequisites

Before you install Write!, make sure that your system meets the following requirements:

• Operating system—64 bit:
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2016
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2019
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2022

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2025

    Note: To use Write! with MS Server 2025, you need to have WMI command-line utility installed, for example by running the DISM /Online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:WMIC command in PowerShell or cmd.

• Total disc space—2.0 GB.
• RAM—8 GB (depending on the number of user accesses).
• At least 4 CPU cores (depending on the number of user accesses).

Furthermore, insightsoftware recommends you prepare the following for using Write! in a corporate network:

• Trusted SSL certificates for the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) server.
• Network: Static IPv4 address with FQDN.

Installation

Once you download the Write! installer, you need to follow the below instruction:

1. Double-click on the installer to start the installation process. Run the installation as an administrator. A dialog window opens.

2. Select for which Qlik environment you want to install Write!.
3. Select if you want to install the SQLite driver. This driver is necessary to use an SQLite database. If you intend to work with the demo applications, insightsoftware recommends you install the SQLite driver.
4. After selecting your desired options, continue to follow the installer instructions. If prompted, restart your system to complete the installation process.

After restarting the system, Write! is installed in the directory you specified during the installation process. A Windows service called Write_Service is running, ensuring that the product automatically starts whenever the server boots up. You can access Write! Management Console (WMC) by navigating to http://localhost:4001 in your web browser. The user is fiplana and default password is INSIGHT.

To see how to configure the software after installation, see Getting Started.

Additional Information

Additional information related to the use of Fiplana after you have completed the installation and configuration steps outlined in this guide.

Supported Qlik Products

Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows—insightsoftware only supports the currently supported Qlik versions according to Qlik (2 years from the initial release date). For more information, please see Release Management Policy for Qlik Software.

Supported Databases

You can use the following databases with Write!:

• SQLite
• MSSQL version 2017/2019/2022
• Oracle 21c
• PostgreSQL 13 or higher
• MariaDB 10.3 or higher
• Snowflake
• Azure Synapse
• Oracle 19c

You need the following database user permissions to use Write! Edit and Forms:

• Create tables
• Rename tables
• Create indices/constraints
• Drop indices/constraints
• Create views
• Drop views
• Insert and update data

Client Requirements

You need to make sure Write! users devices fulfill the following requirements for Write! to work:

• OS—at least Windows 10 x32/x64.

• Browsers—current versions of MS Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.

Note: HTTPS only: If Qlik and the Write! Server are accessible through different URLs, the Allow 3rd-party-cookies checkbox needs to be active in Google Chrome. This is the only way to set the authentication cookies.

Firewall

Qlik server and Write! server interact with each other and with the clients' browsers through TCP in order for Write! to operate. Therefore, the devices that run the instances need to be able to successfully exchanges packets, that is ping each other. Furthermore, the TCP ports associated with both softwares' services need to be opened on the respective machines.

Note: Qlik's ports are only relevant if Qlik Sense Server is used. Qlik Sense Desktop and Qlik Cloud do not require any firewall settings.

Settings for Running Qlik Sense Enterprise

If Write! server and Qlik run on different machines, open inbound TCP ports for the:

• Qlik Sense Engine Service (Default 4747).
• Qlik Sense Proxy Service (Default 4243).
• Qlik Sense Repository Service (Default 4242).

For more information, see Ports.

If Write! uses Server Side Extension, additionally open the TCP port for the analytics connection setup by Write! server (Default 4004). For more information, see Server Side Extension.

Settings for Running Write! Server

If Write! server and Qlik run on different machines, open outbound TCP ports for the:

• Qlik Sense Engine Service (Default 4747).
• Qlik Sense Proxy Service (Default 4243).
• Qlik Sense Repository Service (Default 4242).

If Write! uses Server Side Extension, open the inbound and outband TCP port for the analytics connection setup (Default 4004). For more information, see Server Side Extension.

Additional Software

When you install Write!, the following additional software is installed on your device:

• Node.js (LTS)
• NSSM (2.24.0)
• Microsoft Visual Studio Redistributable (Versions 2015-2019)
• Powershell v5.0

No action is required on your side in connection with this software.

How to Secure Your Write! Server

• Server Side Extension (SSE): Check the Server Side Extension section. If the encryption is not activated, the communication between the Write! server and the SSE is unencrypted. This creates a potential attack opportunity. All traffic, including all data that is written into the database, can be read.

• HTTP/HTTPS: Check the Network Settings section. If these steps are not taken into account, all communication between the Write! server and the browser is unencrypted. With this, there is a potential risk of leaked database passwords, certificates and any configurations in WMC. In case of an unencrypted Write! extension communication, the cookie for authenticating on the Write! Server is exploitable for malware. This can also happen when only the proxy server runs on HTTPS.

• Cookies: The Write! server is authenticating users with a cookie. Therefore, the WMC's network settings need to be configured to work with Qlik's network settings in order for the users' browsers to accept those cookies. The following combinations are possible:

  • If both Qlik and Write! server are hosted on the same domain, any combination of HTTP/HTTPS is ok.

  If they are running under different domains, the cookie is a third party cookie from Qlik's perspective. Then either Qlik and Write! must both run under HTTPS or Qlik must run under HTTPS and Write! under an HTTPS reverse proxy.

  Note:

  If you implement HTTPS with a reverse proxy, it must add the header „X-Forwarded-Proto“ with value „https“.

Server Migration

You may want to use your exisitng Write! configuration on a different device. Follow the below instruction to transfer the existing configuration to a new device:

1. Install Write! on a new device. Follow the steps from Installation.
2. Copy and replace Write! folder from the current device to the new device.
3. Restart Write! service on the new device.
4. Setup a license if you already have one. For more information, see License.
5. Setup certificates as they may be invalid for a new hostname. For SSL certificates, see Network Settings. For Qlik Sense Server, see Qlik Sense Server.