FX Direct Archival disks are entire installations of prior years of CCH ProSystem fx Tax on a disk.  Instead of holding all of the files on your hard drive, the program runs from the DVD disk and accessed on an as needed basis.

We recommend that before any ProSystem fx Tax installation is performed, you disable your anti-virus software to avoid potential installation issues.

• What are the anti-virus requirements for CCH ProSystem fx Tax?​

Process Overview

The process to install FX Direct using CCH Software Delivery Manager consists of three main steps.

1. Downloading FX Direct from CCH Software Delivery Manager.
2. Extracting and either Mounting and .ISO file or mapping a drive install the software.
3. Running the installation process.

Below are more detailed instructions for each of the above steps.

Note: The FX Direct download through CCH Software Delivery Manager for 2013 and newer will be .exe files and not .iso files.  Please follow the instructions relating to .exe file for 2013 and newer.

Downloading fx Direct from CCH Software Delivery Manager

As mentioned above, the first step will be to download the .ISO or .EXE file that will be used later to install the product.

1. Open Software Delivery Manager.
   • When prompted for a User ID and Password, enter your CCH ProSystem fx Office SSO.  By default the User ID is your 6-digit CCH ProSystem fx account number.
   • It is likely the same User ID and Password that you use for the Electronic Filing Status system will work here as well.
2. Choose the appropriate product you want to install from the list of products.
   • For example, if you want to install 2019 FX Direct you would select FXDirect  2019.06000 from the list.
   • Click Start Download in the lower right-hand corner of the window.
   • You may be asked where to save the file that you are downloading.
     • Prior to beginning your download, you can click Settings to select a default location to save downloaded files to or to be prompted to choose a location each time you download files.

During this step you are not installing anything yet.  You are just downloading the file to be used.

Extracting/Mounting the Fx Direct Download For an .ISO File

If the download file is an .ISO file use the following instructions:

1. In Software Delivery Manager, click View downloaded file in Windows next to the product that you are installing.
   Window Explorer will open showing the downloaded file.
   • The filename listed will vary depending on the product and version.
     • Example: fxdirect-2019.06000.iso
2. Right click on the .ISO file and select the option to Mount. 
   • This will create a new drive on your machine that will be labeled as a DVD drive.
   • After the drive is created, open the drive and you will see the files for FX Direct listed (at this point skip down to the "Installing FX Direct section)

Extracting and Mapping the folder containing FX Direct for an .Exe File

If the download file is an .EXE file use the following instructions:

1. In Software Delivery Manager, click View downloaded file in Windows next to the product that you are installing.
   • Window Explorer will open showing the downloaded file.
   • The filename on the downloaded file listed will vary depending on the product and version.
     • Example: fxdirect-2019.06000.exe
2. Right-Click in the folder and go to New > Folder to create a new folder that you will use to extract the downloaded file to.
3. Next Right-Click on the newly created folder and go to Properties then select the Sharing Tab at the top.
4. Select Advanced Sharing and then put a check in Share this Folder.
5. Next click the Permissions button and then make sure that your user has full permissions to the shared folder
6. Next map the folder created in step to as a mapped drive by going out to Microsoft's article on how to map a drive
7. Next Double-Click on the downloaded file to start the extraction process.
8. Click Browse and highlight the folder name that you created in step 2 and click OK.
9. Click Unzip to start the extraction process.
10. After the files are extracted skip down to the Installing FX Direct section

Note:  If you received older years that are .ZIP files please complete the steps above to create a new folder and unzip this file to that folder, then share that folder out and then map it.

Installing FX Direct

1. Browse to the drive created when mounting the ISO or mapping out the EXE files
2. Run wdirect.exe
3. Select from the following options based on what type of installation you would like to have.
   • Integrated
     • Allows the hand full of program files needed to be installed in the same location as the rest of your applications and uses your installed permission key.
     • Client data exists in the same centralized location as your current install.
       1. After selecting integrated you will be prompted to select a location for all the files needed for the specific tax year. The default location is the current install directory on your hard drive, otherwise you can choose to run the specific product from the disk.
       2. Click OK to continue.
       3. The next screen will ask for a program group. "ProSystem fx Tax" is fine so click OK.
       4. Click OK to confirm installation.
   • Stand Alone
     • Allows you to install the hand full of program files to a separate location from your current installation and uses the permission key from the disk rather than the permission key on your system.
     • A stand alone install with have it's own file structure and the client data will be in this location separated from your current install.
     • In order to Pro Forma returns from one year to the next using stand alone installs you will need to manually copy the Pro Forma files from one install to the other.
       1. After selecting Stand Alone as your install type, you will be prompted to select an install drive.
       2. You may place this at any listed hard drive.
       3. After making your selection, press OK.
       4. The next screen will ask for a program group. "ProSystem fx Tax" is fine so click OK.
       5. Click OK to confirm installation.

Notes

• When using FX Direct, the program is mostly ran from the ISO or mapped drive that you created. If you want to have the installation run from the same mapped drive as the wfx32 folder review the article below for additional steps.
  • See our article on instructions on how to make an Integrated FX Direct program run without using a DVD.
• The FX Direct ISO or mapped drive must be in the drive when running FX Direct.
• The FX Direct ISO or mapped drive that it is in must match the same drive letter that it was installed from.
  • If you installed it from your local "D" drive, when running the application on your PC you must place it in the same "D" drive.
• FX Direct is available for tax years 2005-current in the 32-Bit format.
• FX Direct follows the same compatibility chart as does CCH ProSystem fx Tax  
  • For more information on the compatibility chart.