Frequently Asked Questions cover all the topics that have not been covered by the manual.
Is it possible to run STAN on a Mac/Linux operating system?
STAN was designed for Windows operating systems only. However, it is also possible to run STAN on a Mac/Linux operating system. Thanks to Daniel Cenk Rosenfeld for pointing this out and writing the following installation instructions: Mac/Linux (tested in August 2025).
Why is it not possible to open STAN files created with STAN 2.8.0 with older STAN versions?
Because starting with STAN 2.8.0 (released 2026-08-26), the .NET Framework 4.7.2 is used. Upgrade to the latest STAN version to resolve this issue.
During the installation of STAN, I am asked to install .NET Framework 3.5. What shall I do?
On Windows 10 and later, we recommend installing the .NET Framework 3.5 via the control panel.
Can I open old STAN files (*.mfa, *.xmfa)?
Yes, you can. Only if you are using a 64-bit operating system, you might encounter problems.
STAN uses a new file format (*.zmfa = compressed XML code). In order to open old STAN files (*.mfa, *.xmfa) you have to start STAN in 32-bit mode. To do this click Stan32.exe in the installation folder. Old files will be automatically converted into *.zmfa format when opened.
If you save these files again, they will be stored in format *.zmfa. These files can not be opened with older STAN versions!
If you click the STAN icon on your desktop, STAN will start in 32-bit or 64-bit mode, depending on your operating system (=default setting).
Why can't I log into the stan2web database directly from the STAN interface?
22-04-2014: Due to changes in Joomla's password encryption system (the platform stan2web.net runs on), it is no longer possible to access the stan2web database with STAN 2.5.1103 or older. Please download the latest STAN version (we fixed this problem starting with STAN 2.5.1201).
23-10-2020: Due to migrating our website to a new server and installing a security certificate (https://), it is necessary to change a line in the Stan.exe.config (under C:\Program Files (x86)\inka software\STAN 2.6.801\) to be able to access the database directly from the STAN interface:
<value>https://www.stan2web.net/service/DocumentServices.asmx</value>
In the next version of STAN, this change will be implemented automatically.