Requirements for censhare Client (aka Java-Client), censhare Admin Client, censhare Render Client and censhare Service Client for the censhare 2022.2 as well as versions below it. Compatibility with the Virtual File System (VFS), Adobe applications, and the censhare Adobe plugin is included. 

What's new

About the censhare clients

Version parity required between censhare Java-based clients and censhare Server when Keycloak is used as identity broker 

You can only connect with a censhare Java-based client (censhare Client, Admin Client, Render Client) 2022.2.x via Keycloak to the censhare Server of the same version 2022.2.x. Older clients do not work and the following error message displays: UnrecognizedPropertyException: Unrecognized field "socket-timeout-millis".

Exception: Keycloak with censhare standard authentication

censhare Client (aka Java Client)

The censhare Client is the censhare desktop application for users. To edit asset files locally, the censhare Client requires a Virtual File System (VFS) installed on the same computer. To use the fully integrated functionality of desktop publishing and print production with Adobe CC, the Adobe plugin (aka XML command plugin) is also required.

censhare Admin Client

The censhare Admin Client is the administration instance for system administrators and solution developers. From the censhare Admin Client, you can access the censhare Server and database settings and configurations. The censhare Admin Client does not require a Virtual File System (VFS).

censhare Render Client

The censhare Render Client is an optional component of the censhare ecosystem. The censhare Render Client is required to use the fully integrated functionality of desktop publishing and print production with censhare Web. The Render Client requires an Adobe InDesign app that runs on the same computer or an Adobe InDesign Server instance. For more information, see the specifications for Adobe InDesign Server.

The censhare Render Client is installed as a server in your censhare ecosystem and requires the respective server OS for Windows. For more information, see the vendor page of the Windows server.

Previously, it was also possible to run Render Client on a macOS server, but the latter has been discontinued in 2022.  However, you can run Render Client on an Apple machine and use this setup for development but not for productive purposes. For more information, see the vendor page of the macOS Server. It contains information about possibilities to continue using macOS Server and which features has been migrated from the macOS Server to macOS.

censhare Service Client

The censhare Service Client is an optional component of the censhare ecosystem. The censhare Service Client can be configured to carry out resource-intensive tasks (hotfolder actions and server actions) and thus reduce the load on the censhare Server.

Hardware recommendations

As a guideline for your hardware, calculate 1 CPU thread and and at least 4 GB RAM for each instance; 8 GB are recommended.

Compatibility with Windows and macOS

See Adobe InDesign support

Note for Windows

Newer versions of censhare clients do not require a Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable installation on the client computer. Newer versions include 2024.1.0, 2023.1.1, 2022.2.3, 2022.1.3, 2021.2.10, 2021.1.11, 2020.3.12. This includes later versions for each mentioned version here.

Installation options

  • censhare Client (aka Java Client):
    • The censhare Client can be used with Adobe or without Adobe. A VFS is installed by default. 
    • To use the censhare Client with Adobe, a censhare-specific Adobe plugin must be installed in addition. The tables below show the compatibility of operating systems and platforms with the Adobe plugin versions per censhare version and VFS. 
    • Installation on Windows 10 requires Visual C++ 2015 . On some distributions of Windows 10, Visual C++ 2008 is installed as standard. This causes censhare Client not to start correctly.
  • Service Client: The installation is not recommended on macOS. The censhare Service Client can also be installed on Linux distributions that are released for censhare Server. 
  • censhare Admin Client: The installation requires neither the Adobe Plugin nor a VFS.
  • censhare Render Client:
    • macOS: Install the macOS server add-on (check compatibility here) or use macOS without it for development purposes. 

    • Windows: Install the equivalent censhare Server version. The minimum version is Windows Server 2012 R2 (based on Windows 8).