August 2026 mailing – Scientific Word Ltd.

Security: A new user, installing the free 30-day demo on Windows 11, Emailed to ask for help:

When I clicked "Scientific Workplace 5.5" to download, I got the message "swp-pro550.exe isn't commonly downloaded", and in my download folder I found "Unconfirmed 505263*.crdownload". Clicking on that led me to Windows' querying what software I wanted to use to open it.

We replied:

Thanks for your Email – sorry to hear you’ve had difficulties.

Scientific WorkPlace is specialist niche software: it has been downloaded thousands to time – not tens of millions of time. Accordingly, it does not satisfy the Windows “Reputation-based” checks.

Our assumption is that you have got your Windows Smartscreen set to quarantine/exclude anything it is not familiar with.

We recommend you follow our instructions, rather than trying to let Windows handle things.

We recommend you turn off the Smartscreen Reputation-based setting as follows

Start

Settings

Privacy & security

Windows security

App & browser control

Reputation-based protection settings

Follow the settings in the screenshot attached.

Then follow the download instructions in our October 2025 mailing Item 1B; note that the download address is now https://www.sciword.co.uk/programs/swp-pro550.exe. Smartscreen may give you a warning, which you should acknowledge by clicking Yes or OK.

Then follow the v5.5 installation instructions.

We hope this is helpful. The test of a successful installation is that you have a dozen or lines saying “Available” at Help – System Features (Step 12 of the v5.5 installation instructions). All the best.

And for good measure, we sent him this information (from Googling “what to do with unconfirmed .crdownload”):

An unconfirmed .crdownload file is a temporary placeholder Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge creates while a file is actively downloading. Once the download finishes, the browser automatically deletes the extension and renames the file. If it stays behind, it means the download is paused, stuck, or failed.
1. Resume the Download
If the download was interrupted, you can force it to finish:

Press Ctrl + J (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + J (Mac) to open your browser’s download manager.

Locate the interrupted file and click Resume or Retry. If it's paused for a security check, select Keep.

If it says "Keep dangerous file" or is stuck near 100%, click Keep to finalize the download.

The user subsequently Emailed to thank us – and confirm he'd successfully downloaded Scientific WorkPlace v5.5.

Licence server: Here are two recent questions we've received about Registering:

A user in North America Emailed to say:

Hello, I have a CD with SW5.5 which I bought some years ago and was using it since then. Today, I have tried to reinstall it on my laptop but the web registration, which I always did before, does not work. Any advice?

and:

I thought that you should see the error message that I get.
I wonder if this problem is on the server side?
SW was installed on this laptop before. I removed it but cannot register back

We replied:

We have generated your licence file for you. Simply save license.lic [attached] as c:\swp55\License\license.lic. When you next open Scientific WorkPlace (right-click the v5.5 program icon on the desktop and Run-as-Administrator) you should see you have about a dozen lines saying “Available” at Help – System Features; see Step 12 of the v5.5 installation instructions.

You have not been charged for this Tech Support as you have 12-months’ Individual Annual Maintenance giving complimentary Tech Support until [DD/MM/YY], subject to our Fair Use Policy. Do please let us know if you have any other questions.

Another user in Italy was similarly having problems Registering online and wrote:

I purchased a copy (CD) of scientific workplace 5.5... My computer ID is <snip> and my swp serial number is 403-E0600-<snip>. Could you please send me a valid licence file?

We replied:

We will send you licence information manually; if you copy the part between the asterisks and add a blank line at the bottom to your file c:\swp55\Licenses\license.lic, that should get you up and running. Please let us know; failing that we will generate the licence file for you later today.

In fact, the licence we initially sent didn't work as he'd made a typo in the computer ID. We subsequently sent a replacement licence file and wrote:

Please save the licence file attached as c:\swp55\Licenses\license.lic. There should only be viewer.lic and packages.lic in that folder, and license.lic.
Then follow our v5.5 installation instructions Step 12 to make sure you have about 12 lines saying “Available” at Help – System Features. Please let us know.

which solved the problem. He wrote:

It all works fine! Thank you for your support.

Please note we can offer users Licence Security. Licence Security is included free of charge with our higher support options – the multi-user Annual Maintenance contract; a current 5-hour Support Package and our top-level Support Contract – and is often bought as an add-on with Individual Annual Maintenance. Further information is available in our Email of 3/3/25.

Installation error: A user in Hong Kong needed help:

I purchased a licence for scientific workplace back in 2016 <snip>. I like it very much, and recently as I am switching to a new PC (windows), I am using the CD-ROM you sent me to try to install SWP, and it asked me to put in serial number: it says the format is something starting with "SKU-" [see screenshot]. I was wondering if you would be able to send me the serial number please?

We replied saying:

Your Scientific WorkPlace v5.5 serial number is of the form 403-E0600-xxxxx-yyyyy-zzzzz (or for version 6, of the form 403-E0700-xxxxx-yyyyy-zzzzz) <snip>. The serial number would have been supplied, possible by Email, at the time you bought the licence; if you have Scientific WorkPlace installed on your old machine, you can probably retrieve your serial number from it. Do you have v5.5 or v6 installed (see Help – About to determine whether you have v5.5 or v6)?
Do please let us have your Scientific WorkPlace serial number and contact details if you wish to go on our database and qualify for 12 months’ complimentary Tech Support (subject to our Fair Use Policy).

He sent us his Scientific WorkPlace v5.5 serial number:

The CD ROM I have is of version 5.5, and below is the serial number I tried to put in, but the pop-up window asked me for "SKU..." :
403-E0600-<snip>
I did not put in "-". Thanks for helping!

to which we responded:

The serial number includes the hyphens; you should type the serial number in, rather than copy and paste it.
Please see the v5.5 installation instructions...

which resolved the problem.

Fitting tables on page: One of our Individual Annual Maintenance users raised the question:

Is there a way to resize tables in SWP5.5 so that they fit within the margins when the PDF is produced?

We pointed him to our February 2010 mailing Item 1, and gave him three different ways to approach it:

The files attached give examples of our February 2010 mailing Item 1(4), using both scriptsize text [the .tex file and PDF] and small text [the .tex file and PDF].

However, you should first consider reducing the margins using the geometry package (see our August 2012 mailing Item 5). This is demonstrated in Fitting tables – margins [the .tex file and PDF].

As a further option: a heavier-duty solution would be to use the lscape package to rotate the table round 90°. Please see our October 2008 mailing Item 1 and the Fitting tables – landscape document [the .tex file and PDF].

We trust these options solve the problem – do please let us know.

He preferred the third solution, writing:

Many thanks. The table rotation works fine

BibTeX citations: An academic in America asked us recently about grouping BibTeX citations together:

When using bibtex, is there a way to indicate a group of citations, to look something like (1–9) in the text?

Initially we ran into a problem: we didn't have his bibliographic references in any of our .bib files (contained in C:\sw[p]55\TCITeX\BibTeX\bib) and so trying to Typeset – Compile PDF – Generate a bibliograhy overwrote the .bbl file he'd sent us when he wrapped up his document (see our September 2014 mailing Item 5). So we started again using bibliographic references in the database references.bib (supplied with Scientific Word/WorkPlace) in a blank document...

...and generated 4 separate citations (which is not yet what you want).
Then I added the Cite package (Typeset – Options and Packages – Package Options – Add – Cite); it’s the Cite package which is the key to the magic. So you’ll want to read the online Help for the Cite package (Help – Search – cite – cite package – cite package). In particular, Steps 5 and 6 say:
5. <snip> Click on Insert – Typeset Object and then choose Citation.
6. In the Key box,
Type the keys for the references you want to cite, in any order and separated by a comma.
or

Select the key for the first reference from the drop-down list.

Select the contents of the Key box and copy the selection to the clipboard.

Select the key for the next reference from the drop-down list. Note that because the first key was selected, the new key overwrites the first one.

Press the End key and type a comma.

Paste the contents of the clipboard to the Key box.

Repeat steps b–e until you have entered all the references you want to cite.

In practice, I simply opened the four citations I already had, and copied the Keys of the four citations to a Notepad file (attached). Then I started another Citation (Insert – Typeset Object – Citation) and copied-and-pasted in the combined Keys from the Notepad file: “Borges-74,Castro-03,Dodge-85,Santana-06”. Then you have to Typeset – CompilePDF – Generate a bibliography – OK; then Typeset – PreviewPDF. Please see the the .tex file and PDF attached (combined citation highlighted).
I haven’t wrapped up the document for fear (when you unwrapped it) of overwriting your bibliography file references.bib (containing some of your references) with my smaller references.bib. But you should already have the bibliographic items I’ve used in your file references.bib.

We expect this will be useful to many users.

RTF: For background, please first re-read our June 2012 mailing Item 3 about importing and exporting to Word via RTF.
One of our users with the 5-hour Support Package sent us an Email with a 41k Word .docx file attached, and said:

I save (again and again) this file as rtf but then when i try to open it SW says it is a tex file! Could you convert to an SW 5 file for me, asap?

We sent it back an hour later as both the .tex file and PDF (and then spent a bit more time prettying it up further).

Like the user, we initially had problems: when we saved it to RTF from Word, the RTF file wouldn't open for us in SW either. But when we used WordPad (whether initially to open the Word document, or subsequently to open Word's RTF file and re-save it from WordPad as RTF) it would then open from Scientific WorkPlace File – Open – Files of type – RTF. Then we used File – SaveAs to create the new .tex file, which would successfully Typeset – Preview PDF.
As a clue to what's going on: the initial .docx file was 41k, yet when Word saved it as RTF, it was 266k. But when we opened the original .docx file (or Word's RTF file) with WordPad and saved it as RTF, it was only 11k. Conclusion: the latest versions of Word seem to be including lots of extraneous formatting information in their RTF files, which WordPad helpfully excludes.

Typesetting specifications: For background, please first re-read our November 2023 mailing Item 3 about using external typesetting specifications with Scientific Word/WorkPlace v5.5.
A user Emailed us, writing:

I am preparing a manuscript for submission to Real Analysis Exchange using Scientific WorkPlace 5.5 and would be grateful for your assistance with several compilation problems.
The manuscript uses the official RAE document class: \documentclass{raex}

Its original preamble includes the following packages:
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{mathtools}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage[nameinlink,noabbrev]{cleveref}

He had correctly followed the instructions referred to above in our November 2023 mailing Item 3, but wrote:

The document can be opened in Scientific WorkPlace, but it does not compile successfully. The first error reported was: “File mathtools.sty not found.”
I also encountered the following message arising from the official raex.cls file:
“You have requested on input line 10 version 2005/09/16 of document class article, but only version 2004/02/16 v1.4f is available.”
The relevant line in raex.cls is: \LoadClass[twoside]{article}[2005/09/16]

I would prefer to retain the original manuscript source and the official, unmodified raex.cls, so that the files eventually submitted to the journal can be compiled by the RAE editorial team without difficulty.
I would therefore be grateful for advice on a safe way to enable Scientific WorkPlace 5.5 to compile the document subject to the following requirements:

The original manuscript .tex file should not need to be modified merely to accommodate the older SWP typesetting system.

The official raex.cls file should remain unchanged.

Any additional packages or updated LaTeX base files should be installed in a compatible manner rather than by replacing isolated files that may depend on other components.

The solution should not affect the compilation of documents that I previously prepared using my present SWP 5.5 installation.

The procedure should preferably be isolated, reversible and specific to documents using raex.cls.

There was an interim problem to resolve, arising from lines in his .tex file saying:

The following list tests the \texttt{enumitem} package:
\begin{enumerate}[label=\textup{(\roman*)}]
\item the first item;
\item the second item.
\end{enumerate}

When sending him a .zip file of various packages (*.sty files) he could be missing (from the packages listed in the first quoted section above), we wrote:

One modification: for it to compile correctly you would want to put the enumitem test inside an encapsulated TeX Field.
<snip>
You should note the tension between:

Getting all the content of the document printed correctly to the PDF: one way to be sure of this would be by putting all the contents (from \section{Test section}) into a TeX Field. But then you can’t see what you’re working with.

Being able to see what you’re working with in the Scientific WorkPlace editing window. The danger of this is that where you’re using some packages created after SWP was released, they might not interpret correctly: see the extraneous 1. [label=()] in the first reply we sent <snip>. This was because SWP had not been able to interpret \begin{enumerate}[label=\textup{(\roman*)}]; keeping it inside a TeX Field prevents SWP trying to interpret it

The attached ‘Final’ document is the sweet spot: we have let SWP interpret as much of the content as it is able, but kept the \begin{enumerate} and \begin{proof} inside TeX Fields. We recommend you use this ‘Final’ version as a base document.

Your document requires the following packages not included in the standard SWP installation, some of which you might already have installed: cleveref; mathtools; enumitem; hyperref.

Please unzip contrib.zip attached, and copy the \mathtools folder to make it C:\swp55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\mathtools\

Then try compiling. Whatever package it next complains it doesn’t have (eg. cleveref), copy that folder similarly: eg. copy \cleveref to C:\swp55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\cleveref\

Continue until you don’t get any errors during compiling. Don’t replace any packages unnecessarily as the version you already have might be newer than the version I’m attaching.

We trust this resolves the issue and enables you to compile the Final document attached; do please let us know.

This enabled the issue to be resolved. Note that the compiler's warnings about older versions of the packages and article class file were not critical and did not prevent compilation.
We didn't charge for this Tech Support as the user had 12-months’ Individual Annual Maintenance giving complimentary Tech Support, subject to our Fair Use Policy.

Version 3.5: Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook version 3.5 was released in the summer of 2000, and yet – amazingly – still crops up in our Inbox. Here are two such questions:

A professor Emailed from the USA asking:

Our ITS staff is doing installation of SW 5.5 for my new laptop with the instructions you sent me. I also have a copy of SW 3.5 on my old laptop. Do I also need to install the version of SW 3.5? If so, would you please send me the instructions?

We replied:

Assuming you have installed (or will install) Scientific WorkPlace v5.5, there is no point installing version 3.5: everything v3.5 can do, and more, is done better by version 5.5. We trust the installation of v5.5 is straight-forward; the test of a successful installation is a dozen lines saying “Available” at Help – System Features (Step 12 of the v5.5 installation instructions).

Another user wrote:
I purchased a permanent license for Scientific Notebook many years ago. Unfortunately, after moving, I misplaced the original installation CD and software box.
However, I still have the original printed manual and my original permanent serial number [serial number 101-xxxxx-yyyyy-zzzzz].
I would like to continue using the software on my current Windows computer. Could you please help me identify the correct version for my license and let me know if it is possible to obtain the appropriate installation files or replacement installer?
If needed, I would be happy to provide:
- Photos of the original manual
- Photos of the serial number label
- Any additional information that may help verify my license
I have been a legitimate licensed user for many years and would greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide.
We replied:
1. The formats of past version serial numbers for our professional programs Scientific Word and Scientific WorkPlace are shown in our February 2019 mailing Item 1. From this is you will see that the equivalent Scientific Notebook serial number of the form 101-xxxxx-yyyyy-zzzzz is version 3.5. Version 3.5 was released in June 2000 and was superseded by v4.0 in January 2002, v5.0 in August 2003, v5.5 in August 2005 and v6.0 in June 2015.
2. Yes, we have located a version 3.5 distribution CD; [and] we could get a copy to you.
3. However, licences for Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook programs < v5.0 are no longer returned by the licence server. For the avoidance of doubt, I just now tried to generate a v3.5 licence for my own Scientific Notebook v3.5 serial number. It is therefore no longer possible to Register Scientific Notebook version 3.5 on a computer.
Depending what features of Scientific Notebook you were wanting to use, you might be interested in using version 5.5 of Scientific Word, Scientific WorkPlace or Scientific Notebook. (We recommend you do not consider version 6; please see our August 2022 mailing Item 3.) You could try the free 30-day demo demo of version 5.5 of any/all of the programs (3-step process: download + serial number + installation instructions).
However, you should be aware that we do not have availability of every type (Commercial/Educational/Student) of all these programs (Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook).
However, an upgrade costs 35% of the new licence price, and the user would need 3 version upgrades: v3.5 to v4.0 to v5.0 to v5.5 (strictly, it’s 4 version upgrades since we can’t sell v5.5 any more so the user would have to upgrade to v6; then you get v5.5 with v6). The point is that all the cumulative upgrades required would cost more than a new licence.

Whitelist: Our Individual Annual Maintenance subscribers pay an annual premium of £114 + VAT to have access to our 35-year expertise. One such user, who has been with us for several years, was recently late responding to our Pro-Forma invoice and almost missed renewing his subscription. In the end, he replied saying:

Christopher I happened to look at my spam and found your emails! I need to check my spam folder around this time of year!

We replied:

Or, you could just whitelist our Email address!

It's good practice generally:

If you don't want to hear any more from us, just unsubscribe using the link below.
If you do, please whitelist our Email address so you never miss another bi-monthly mailing (or Pro-Forma invoice)!