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About the MVTec Software Manager🔗

The MVTec Software Manager (SOM) is an installation manager for software packages. It starts a local web server, provides access to a remote catalog of products, and supports the following features:

  • Downloading, verifying, and installing packages
  • Switching between different package versions (upgrade/downgrade)
  • Offline operation once the packages have been downloaded
  • Command-line operation
  • Launch pad

Additionally, the Software Manager detects MVTec products that have been installed by other means, and allows you to switch between different versions of installed products.

About permissions🔗

In the majority of cases, the Software Manager should only be run with the current user’s standard permissions. Even when installing products for all users, it is in general not required to run SOM in system mode (that is, with admin privileges). For more information, see Admin privileges.

The only exceptions are when SOM is running in headless mode or when the command line interface is being used. In these cases, it might still be required to start SOM with admin privileges. For more information, see the corresponding sections Headless operation and Using SOM from the command line.

Starting SOM🔗

When starting SOM, a web server is started and your default browser should open the starting page automatically. For more information, see Quick Start.

Using the tray icon🔗

SOM will register a tray icon with your operating system to make it easier to keep track of running SOM instances and access the corresponding frontend. For more information, see Tray icon.

Unlocking the frontend🔗

By default, the SOM frontend needs to be unlocked before it can be used. Whenever SOM itself opens the frontend, this is done automatically. For more information, see About security > Unlocking the frontend.

Command line interface🔗

On systems where desktop or menu shortcuts are not available (for example, embedded systems), SOM can be started from the command line: For more information, see Using SOM from the command line.