Photo 2 on Win10 will not run without internet connection

[gewb]

AP2 refuses to start when the Windows 10 PC is not actively connected to the internet. Yes the license has been activated. It opens the splash screen then display the attached messsage box. Only option is to Close.

How can I get AP2 to run without internet access? Internet is not listed as a system requirement in order to run (except to register and activate).

[Pšenda]

I don't have a problem starting and using APhoto with the internet disconnected.

[walt.farrell]

11 minutes ago, gewb said:

How can I get AP2 to run without internet access? Internet is not listed as a system requirement in order to run (except to register and activate).

Do you have other Affinity apps running? If so, are they working or somehow "hung"? 

Do you have a Firewall of some kind active? If so, is it blocking Photo 2? The app needs local network (on the same machine) access.

[gewb]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

Do you have other Affinity apps running? If so, are they working or somehow "hung"? 

Do you have a Firewall of some kind active? If so, is it blocking Photo 2? The app needs local network (on the same machine) access.

I have Affinity Photo v1 which runs just fine without internet connection. I never run both version at the same time.

I use a software firewall to stop internet traffic only. Most times I just disconnect the cable to the router. AP v1 has no issues.

When you say "needs local network (on the same machine) access" is this because of the new improved Microsoft sandbox installation? All of my normally installed applications have full access to all local drives, nothing is blocked by me.

[walt.farrell]

14 minutes ago, gewb said:

When you say "needs local network (on the same machine) access" is this because of the new improved Microsoft sandbox installation? All of my normally installed applications have full access to all local drives, nothing is blocked by me.

It is because the 3 Affinity applications communicate among themselves to coordinate sharing and updating of data (brushes, styles, etc.). Even if you have only one of the Affinity V2 applications, it will try to communicate locally to see if other V2 apps are running.

Your firewall must not block such connections.

[gewb]

I don't think my ZoneAlarm firewall likes your programming appraoch. Looks a like like a virus starting a search upon launch.

I've been using ZA for more than 15 years and have never had this kind of problem with other software.

[R C-R]

58 minutes ago, gewb said:

I've been using ZA for more than 15 years and have never had this kind of problem with other software.

How many of your other apps try to share resources or other data with any other app, running or not?

[AlainP]

I used ZA for many years, years ago, it was the best. Until I began to have problem using legit apps and had connectivity problems.

Nowadays programs are much more sophisticated and many of them have to "talk" to each other. 

Disable it to see if it's really the culprit. You could write a rule to make Affinity apps work together.

[gewb]

Thanks to those who replied. I've spend more time on the issue and it looks like ZoneAlarm doesn't like the new version on AP2 v2.

Now I'll have to decide which program to keep, ZA or AP2, and move on.

[- S -]

On 1/7/2023 at 6:24 PM, gewb said:

Thanks to those who replied. I've spend more time on the issue and it looks like ZoneAlarm doesn't like the new version on AP2 v2.

Now I'll have to decide which program to keep, ZA or AP2, and move on.

I'm not sure whether there's a better way for the Affinity programs to communicate with each other as I'm not a developer.  However, it looks like Affinity V2 programs use IPv4 loopback to talk to each other via a local proxy.

I haven't used ZoneAlarm firewall, however it should be possible to create allow rules in ZoneAlarm.  See screenshot – as CloudFront throws an error when I try to submit a post here containing local IP addresses in the text.