Question

Can you set up HTTPS after the Timeline installation?

Answer

If you did not configure HTTPS when installing ABBYY Timeline, you can do it later without reinstalling ABBYY Timeline:

1. Go to the computer on which the ABBYY Timeline is installed. To perform all activities below, you must be a system administrator.
2. Stop timelinepi service using the Services snap-in.
3. Open the ABBYY Timeline installation folder (default location: "C:\Program Files\ABBYY Timeline") and copy the SSL certificate (name it server.cert) and the key (name it server.key) to the "ssl" subfolder. 
   You can choose one of the following options:
   • Use an SSL certificate issued by the Certification Authority (CA).
     This is the recommended approach for the application installation that is intended for a
     production environment. The connection to the server will be secure and users will not
     get any warnings from the browser.
   • Use a self-signed SSL certificate.
     If you do not have a signed certificate or if you only require a certificate for testing
     purposes, use a self-signed SSL certificate. However, in this case, users will get warnings
     from the web browser about the use of a self-signed certificate as the server will not be
     considered secure.
     
     If you install the program in a production environment, it is highly discouraged to
     use a self-signed SSL certificate.
     
     
4. By default, the ABBYY Timeline website uses 443 TCP/IP port when using HTTPS. You can reassign port numbers. For more information, see "How to Set a Different ABBYY Timeline Website Base URL and Port Number". Then you need to make changes to the appropriate Windows Firewall rules or to the settings of any other firewall that you are using.
5. Make sure the HTTPS protocol is specified in the BASE_URL variable in the TimelinePI.xml configuration file. Update base_url with the port number in case of the custom port. Example: BASE_URL=https://mytimeline.com:30443
6. Start timelinepi service using the Services snap-in.
   
   For more information, please, check the Timeline 5.1 Windows Deployment Guide.