Installation

About window showing version information

This guide covers system requirements, installation, and first launch of HF Product Manager.

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Component Requirement
Operating System Windows 10 (version 1809 or later)
Processor 1 GHz or faster
Memory 4 GB RAM
Storage 200 MB available space
Display 1280 x 720 resolution
Internet Required for Shopify sync
Component Recommendation
Operating System Windows 11
Processor 2 GHz quad-core or faster
Memory 8 GB RAM
Storage SSD with 500 MB available
Display 1920 x 1080 or higher
Internet Broadband connection

Software Prerequisites

  • .NET 8 Desktop Runtime - Installed automatically if missing
  • WebView2 Runtime - Required for description editor (usually pre-installed on Windows 10/11)

Installation Steps

Download

  1. Obtain the HF Product Manager installer (ProductManagerSetup.exe)
  2. Verify the download completed successfully

Install

  1. Double-click the installer
  2. If prompted by Windows SmartScreen, click "More info" then "Run anyway"
  3. Accept the license agreement
  4. Choose installation location (default recommended)
  5. Click "Install"
  6. Wait for installation to complete
  7. Click "Finish" to launch HF Product Manager

First Launch

When you first launch HF Product Manager:

  1. Splash Screen - The application shows a splash screen while initializing
  2. .NET Check - Required runtimes are verified (installed if needed)
  3. Local Data Folders - Created in %LocalAppData%\HFProductManager
  4. First Run Dialog - Choose between "Set Up New Store" to connect your Shopify store, or "Import Settings File" to restore from a previous backup
  5. Store Setup - If setting up new, you'll be prompted to enter your Shopify store credentials

Splash Screen

The splash screen displays while HF Product Manager:

  • Initializes application components
  • Loads cached product data (if any)
  • Checks for updates (if enabled)
  • Prepares the main window

For stores with large product caches, this may take a few seconds.

Application Information

About Window

View application information via Help > About:

  • Application version number
  • Copyright information
  • Logo and branding

The version number is also displayed in the main window title bar.

Version Information

HF Product Manager uses semantic versioning (e.g., 0.9.63-alpha):

  • Major.Minor.Patch format
  • Alpha/Beta suffixes indicate pre-release versions
  • Check Help > About for your current version

Updating HF Product Manager

Automatic Update Notification

HF Product Manager checks for updates on startup (configurable). When an update is available:

  1. The Update Available dialog appears
  2. Review the version information and release notes
  3. Click Download to get the installer
  4. Close HF Product Manager and run the installer

See Check for Updates for details.

Manual Update

  1. Download the latest installer
  2. Close HF Product Manager completely
  3. Run the installer (it updates the existing installation)
  4. Launch HF Product Manager

What's Preserved During Updates

  • All settings and preferences
  • Connected store credentials
  • Cached product data
  • Backup history
  • Window positions and sizes

Uninstalling

Via Windows Settings

  1. Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps
  2. Find "HF Product Manager"
  3. Click the menu (...) and select "Uninstall"
  4. Follow the prompts

What Gets Removed

  • Application files
  • Start menu shortcuts
  • Desktop shortcut (if created)

What Gets Kept

  • Settings in %AppData%\HFProductManager
  • Product cache, backups, and logs in %LocalAppData%\HFProductManager

To remove all data, manually delete both folders after uninstalling.

Data Locations

Data Location
Settings %AppData%\HFProductManager\settings.json
Product Cache %LocalAppData%\HFProductManager\cache\
Backups %LocalAppData%\HFProductManager\
Logs %LocalAppData%\HFProductManager\Logs\
Image Cache %LocalAppData%\HFProductManager\ImageCache\

Troubleshooting Installation

"Windows protected your PC" message

This appears because the installer isn't signed with an EV certificate.

Solution:

  1. Click "More info"
  2. Click "Run anyway"
  3. Proceed with installation

.NET Runtime installation fails

Solution:

  1. Download .NET 8 Desktop Runtime directly from Microsoft
  2. Install it manually
  3. Retry HF Product Manager installation

Installation hangs

Solution:

  1. Cancel the installation
  2. Restart your computer
  3. Temporarily disable antivirus
  4. Try installing again

"Access denied" during installation

Solution:

  1. Right-click the installer
  2. Select "Run as administrator"
  3. Proceed with installation

Installer says .NET is missing but it's installed

Some registry or file system checks may fail even when .NET 8 is present.

Solution:

  1. The installer now checks multiple locations
  2. If it still fails, download the latest installer version
  3. Or manually install .NET 8 Desktop Runtime from Microsoft

Next Steps

After installation:

  1. Connect to your Shopify store
  2. Complete the quick start guide
  3. Configure settings