This guide is for IT and lab administrators. It lists every folder Quanto uses after setup, what may be shared on a network, and what can be deleted safely.

Quanto is a 64-bit Windows desktop application (WPF, .NET 10). It is not a Windows service and does not need IIS, SQL Server, or a dedicated application server. Analysts run it on a workstation. A file server is optional for raw data, methods, licenses, and finished batches.

What the installer does

The setup program (Quanto-<version>-setup.exe) is an Inno Setup package.

Item Value
Install location C:\Program Files\Quanto (the wizard does not offer another folder)
Architecture 64-bit Windows only
Start Menu Quanto group with the app, website, and uninstall
Desktop Quanto shortcut
Folders created C:\Users\Public\Documents\Quanto and %AppData%\Quanto (Roaming)
File associations None. Drop a .qtb, .qtm, .qtl, or .lic onto the running window or the exe

Uninstall removes C:\Program Files\Quanto. It does not remove user settings, layouts, licenses, methods, or batch files.

The installed Quanto.exe is a small launcher. It starts Quanto.WPF.exe. The WPF host is a framework-dependent .NET 10 Windows app, so PCs need the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime (x64) unless your package already includes it.

Agilent MassHunter data that is not already indexed also needs Agilent’s converter (see Vendor extras).

Inno Setup parameters

The package is built from Source\Quanto.WPF.iss (Inno Setup 6). These choices are fixed in the script — the wizard does not ask for them.

What the script locks in

Setup directive Value Effect for IT
DefaultDirName {pf}\Quanto Always installs to C:\Program Files\Quanto on 64-bit Windows
DisableDirPage yes No “Choose install folder” page
DisableProgramGroupPage yes No Start Menu folder page; group is always Quanto
ArchitecturesInstallIn64BitMode x64 64-bit only; refuses 32-bit Windows
ShowLanguageDialog no English only
Compression lzma2 solid Smaller setup; normal for desktop apps
Desktop icon always created No optional task — every install gets a desktop shortcut
[Dirs] {commondocs}\Quanto, {userappdata}\Quanto Creates Public Documents and Roaming AppData folders
Post-install launch skipifsilent Interactive installs offer “Launch Quanto”; silent installs do not start the app
Prerelease banner build date + 60 days Welcome / Ready / Finished pages show the expiry text

Uninstall uses the same AppId. Upgrading over an existing install replaces C:\Program Files\Quanto and keeps user data elsewhere.

Command-line parameters (deploy / SCCM / Intune)

Run elevated. Example setup name: Quanto-1_8-setup.exe.

Parameter Purpose
/SILENT No prompts; shows a progress window
/VERYSILENT No prompts and no progress window (best for software center)
/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES Auto-answer message boxes (use with silent)
/NORESTART Do not reboot even if Windows asks
/DIR="C:\Program Files\Quanto" Override install folder (still allowed even though the dir page is hidden)
/GROUP="Quanto" Override Start Menu group name
/LOG="C:\Temp\quanto-setup.log" Write a detailed Inno log
/CLOSEAPPLICATIONS Close apps that lock install files (prompts unless silent)
/FORCECLOSEAPPLICATIONS Force-close without asking
/NOCLOSEAPPLICATIONS Never auto-close; fail if files are locked

There are no optional [Tasks] in this script, so /TASKS= / /MERGETASKS= have nothing to select. There is no /COMPONENTS= either — one full install only.

Typical silent upgrade

bat Quanto-1_8-setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /LOG="%TEMP%\quanto-setup.log"

After a silent install, start Quanto yourself (or via a shortcut). The setup will not launch it when /SILENT or /VERYSILENT was used.

Folder map

``` C:\Program Files\Quanto\ Program (replace on upgrade) Quanto.exe Launcher Quanto.WPF.exe Main application AddIns\ Vendor and integrator plugins DataProvider\ Read .D / WIFF raw files Integrator\ Peak detection (Quanto, Slice) MethodImporter\ Vendor method import VendorSupportFiles\Agilent\ Agilent native support DLLs VendorSupportFiles\Sciex\ SCIEX native support DLLs Layouts\Default.qtl Shipped workspace preset

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Quanto\ Machine-shared (all users) Config\ Themes.xlsx, Languages.xlsx, Layouts.xlsx License\ Default *.lic folder

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Quanto\ Per-user (this is the live profile) Settings.json Colors, formats, dialogs, MRU, license path appearance-settings.json Theme, language, zoom, density FormSettings_.json Window sizes for this screen layout GridSettings.xml Navigator / filter leftovers Layouts\ Workspace and method-editor layouts BatchReports\ Temporary Excel cache from .qtb / .qtm Recovery\ Crash packages pending-open.txt Second-instance file hand-off

\ Chosen by the analyst sample.d / sample.wiff Vendor raw data (do not move after extract) QuantoResults\.qtb Batch (results + chromatograms + method copy) QuantoReports... Exported Excel / PDF

\method.qtm Method package (user-chosen path) ```

%ProgramData%\Quanto is not used. Do not create it. %AppData%\Quanto (Roaming) may exist because the installer creates it; the running app reads and writes Local AppData.

Program folder

C:\Program Files\Quanto

Replace this folder on every upgrade. Users do not store studies here.

Add-ins

Add-ins are loaded at startup from three subfolders. Extra DLLs next to those folders are also searched (including VendorSupportFiles).

Folder Role Typical DLLs
AddIns\DataProvider Open vendor data AgilentMHData.dll, AgilentCSData.dll, SciexWiff.dll
AddIns\Integrator Peak detect / integrate Quanto.dll (default), Slice.dll
AddIns\MethodImporter Import vendor methods AgilentMHMethod.dll, AgilentCSMethod.dll, AgilentMassHunterDataMethod.dll, SciexWiffMethod.dll
AddIns\VendorSupportFiles\Agilent Agilent native libraries AgilentVendor.dll and related
AddIns\VendorSupportFiles\Sciex SCIEX native libraries Clearcore / WIFF support

Do not mix add-in versions from different Quanto builds. After an upgrade, keep the whole AddIns tree from that build.

Shipped layouts

C:\Program Files\Quanto\Layouts\Default.qtl is the factory workspace. User copies and custom presets live under Local AppData (below).

Machine-shared folders (all users on the PC)

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Quanto

Subfolder Contents Notes
Config\ Themes.xlsx, Languages.xlsx, Layouts.xlsx Fast appearance catalog. Seeded on first run if empty. Edit here to add a language or theme for every user on the PC.
License\ *.lic, optional withoutlicense.txt Default license folder. 21-day install grace; data older than 30 days is free; otherwise the instrument serial must appear in a .lic file.

A site can point Settings → license folder at a network share so every PC reads the same *.lic files. The path is stored in that user’s Settings.json (LicenseFolder).

Per-user profile (settings and layouts)

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Quanto
Typical path: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Quanto

This is the folder to back up, roam (if you must), or delete to reset one user. Hold Shift while the splash is visible to recycle settings, layouts, and/or licenses without hunting these paths.

File or folder What it is
Settings.json Formats, colors, plot titles, dialog sizes, quick-access folders, last batch/method paths, MRU lists, license folder, first-use date
appearance-settings.json Theme (Light/Dark), language, UI zoom, compact/standard/spacious
FormSettings_<WxH>.json Window geometry for the screen size at first launch (example: FormSettings_3840x2160.json)
GridSettings.xml Older navigator/filter bits (mostly unused by Fast layouts)
Layouts\MainWindow\_active\ Live docking + Fast grid column layouts
Layouts\MainWindow\Presets\*.qtl Saved workspace presets (zip)
Layouts\MainWindow\Autos\ Autosaved workspaces
Layouts\MethodEditor\ Method editor docking presets (*.qtl) and _active
BatchReports\<hash>\ Unpacked report workbooks for the open batch. Safe to delete when Quanto is closed
Recovery\ Last crash packages (Quanto-Recovery-<pc>-<stamp>.zip), max five
pending-open.txt Brief hand-off when a second Quanto is started with a .qtb

Fast grid files under _active\Grid\ look like Results-FastLayout-ResultsGridView.json. Docking files are DockingLayout_*.json.

Roaming profiles: keep this tree small (settings + layouts). Do not roam BatchReports or Recovery. Chromatograms belong in the study folder, not in the profile.

Study / batch folder (the important data)

Quanto does not pick a company-wide data root. The analyst chooses a data path (local disk, instrument PC, or share). The batch file is stored next to the raw files:

D:\Studies\Pesticide-2026-03-15\ Cal-01.d Cal-02.d Sample-01.d ... QuantoResults\ 2026-03-15.qtb QuantoReports\ 2026-03-15_Batch_2026-03-15_18-40-00\

Item Role
Vendor files (.d folders, .wiff) Raw acquisition. Extract reads them. Keep them; a .qtb does not replace the raw files if you need to re-extract.
QuantoResults\<name>.qtb Zip package: BatchInfo.json, method tables (method/*.tsv), result tables (result/*.tsv), chromatograms (Time.chr, Original.chr, Modified.chr, TIC *.chr), Integrations.int, optional reports/*.xlsx.
QuantoReports\ Excel / PDF written by Report export. Default root is the same data path.

Standard location for a batch is always <data path>\QuantoResults\<name>.qtb. A copy on the desktop still remembers the original data path inside BatchInfo.json, so open it only when that data folder is still reachable.

Agilent MassHunter extract also needs an index inside each sample:

sample.d\AcqData\MSTree2.bin

If that file is missing, Quanto looks for Agilent TDAConverterConsole.exe and writes the index into the sample folder. The PC account needs write permission on the .d folder.

Method files

Kind Typical path What is inside
Quanto method Anywhere the user saves, yyyy-MM-dd.qtm Zip: MethodInfo.json, method/*.tsv (analytes, quants, doses, types, AcqKeys, stored calibration), optional workbooks/*.xlsx
Vendor method MassHunter / ChemStation / SCIEX folders Imported, then saved as .qtm for daily use

Methods are not stored under Program Files. Put a lab “current methods” share on a local or fast disk if many PCs load the same .qtm. Loading a .qtm is cheap compared with extract.

A saved .qtb already contains a copy of the method tables used for that batch.

Layout files

Kind Extension Location
Workspace preset .qtl User Layouts\MainWindow\Presets, plus shipped Layouts\Default.qtl
Method editor preset .qtl User Layouts\MethodEditor\Presets
Live docking / grids .json User Layouts\...\ _active

A .qtl is a zip of the active docking layout plus Fast grid JSON. Users can drop a .qtl onto Quanto. Layouts do not contain results.

Permissions

Path Users need
C:\Program Files\Quanto Read / execute
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Quanto\License Read (write if they install .lic files themselves)
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Quanto\Config Read (write only if you edit themes/languages centrally)
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Quanto Full control (created automatically)
Study folder + QuantoResults Read/write
Agilent .d folders Read; write if indexed conversion must run on this PC
Shared license folder Read for analysts; write for the person who drops new .lic files

Quanto does not require local Administrator after install.

Antivirus, backup, and roaming

Real-time scanning of vendor .d folders and QuantoResults during Analyze is a common cause of slow extract and failed conversion. Exclude:

Backup (in priority order)

  1. Study folders (raw data + QuantoResults\*.qtb + QuantoReports)
  2. Method share (*.qtm)
  3. License folder
  4. Optional: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Quanto (settings and layouts only)

Safe to delete when Quanto is closed: BatchReports, Recovery (after you copied a crash zip), %TEMP%\Quanto.

Do not delete to “fix” a slow PC: QuantoResults, raw .d / .wiff, or *.qtm methods.

Vendor extras

Need Software / path
Agilent MassHunter extract when MSTree2.bin is missing C:\Program Files\Agilent\MassHunter\Workstation\Quant\bin\TDAConverterConsole.exe (MassHunter Quant). Better: enable indexed-data export on the instrument so conversion already happened.
Agilent ChemStation .D Bundled AgilentCSData add-in
SCIEX WIFF Bundled SciexWiff add-in + VendorSupportFiles\Sciex

Quanto does not install Agilent MassHunter or SCIEX Analyst.

Reset and support

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