DATABASE/SPANA:
Installing and Uninstalling
Distribution and installing:
The software is distributed through the Internet at:
www.kth.se/che/medusa
sites.google.com/site/chemdiagr
sourceforge.net/projects/eq-diagr
Windows: the setup program allows you to make either a standard
or a portable installation.
For a standard installation the setup program will make the program group
“Equilibrium Diagrams (java)”
with the necessary icons (shortcuts). Optionally it will also
associate “plt” and “dat” files with
Spana.
You can later change these file associations using the menu “Preferences /
General options” in Spana.
Ubuntu (Linux): copy the non-system specific zip-file to your home directory (~).
Double click to open the zip-file.
Extract the files to your home directory. Make sure that
the “Re-create folders”
and “Overwrite existing files” actions are checked.
Follow the instructions in the file
“Readme_Ubuntu.txt”.
Mac OS: copy the non-system specific zip-file
to your desktop. Double-click to open and un-zip the file.
Open the un-zipped folder and copy the “Eq-Diagr” folder
to your home directory, for example. Follow the instructions
in the file “Readme_MacOS.txt”.
INI-files and Environment Variables
“ini”-files (for example “Spana.ini”
and
“DataBase.ini”) keep track of the user’s preferences,
the default directory, the databases, etc. “ini”-files are created in the
installation directory. However, if the programs are installed on a system folder, or on a
Network disk, or on a CD, then the “ini”-files in the installation
directory will be read-only, and the programs will try to save
the user’s preferences in directories specified
in environment variables, etc. The sequence is:
- The installation directory
- %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%
- %HOME%
- The user's home directory (system dependent)
Note: except for the installation directory, “ini”-files will be
writen in a sub-folder named “.config\eq-diagr”.
A warning message will be displayed if no “ini”-file is found,
or if it can not be written anywhere.
See also “cfg”-files below.
DataBase: if an “ini”-file (DataBase.ini)
is found in the installation directory (that is, where
DataBase.jar is found) then this file is always used to read the dabase
names. On a Network server this file would contain
settings common for all users. A personal “ini”-file
(either in %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%, or in
the user’s home directory) then provides
personal settings for each user: the default directory,
the start position of the DataBase-window, etc.
CFG-files
“cfg”-files are used to configure program behaviour.
They are plain text files which you can change with any text editor.
The configuration parameters are:
- Debug: if set to
true, verbose debugging output will be printed by
the corresponding program. Default is false. Note: this program behaviour is also
obtained when using the “-dbg”
command-line argument.
SaveIniFileToApplicationPathOnly: if set to true, then the
ini-file will only be saved to the installation directory.
Default is false. If this parameter is true, and the installation
directory is write-protected, e.g. if it is a CD-ROM,
then the ini-file will not be saved.
See also the “ini”-files description above.
If a “cfg”-file does not exist for a given program, the default values
given above are used, and the “cfg”-file is created in the installation directory
(unless the directory is write-protected).
File associations
On Windows, files with extension “plt” and
“dat” may be automatically
associated with Spana when running the setup program.
Note, however, these associations might be in conflict with other software.
To add or remove file associations use the advanced program level
in the menu “Preferences / General
options” in Spana.
Installing on a Network server
All the files and sub-directories created during the installation can
be moved by the system administrator to a network disk,
which should be read-only to normal users. Alternatively the software could be
installed directly to the final location by the administrator.
Shortcuts should be modified, if necessary, to point to the correct location
(i.e., to the network directory).
Environment variables should be defined
so that “ini”-files may be saved
to appropriate location.
Installing on a CD-ROM
You may burn the installation files to a CD.
“Ini”-files will be created when you run the software as described
above. Because the CD is a read-only memory,
“ini”-files will be created locally in the computer where the CD is inserted.
If you do not want “Ini”-files created on the local computer,
then before burning the CD, run first all programs (Spana, DataBase, etc) from
the hard-disk, and then edit the configuration files created
(Spana.cfg, DataBase.cfg, etc) and
change SaveIniFileToApplicationPathOnly
from false to true and burn these files also to the CD. In this way
local “ini”-files will not be created, but an error message will be
displayed when ending each program, explaining that the “ini”-file could not be saved.
Installing on a USB memory
The programs may be installed on any removable memory.
Windows: Choose the option “Portable application” in the setup program.
If the “PortableApps.com”
plattform is found on the removable drive, Spana/DataBase will be installed following the
portable apps
directory structure.
If the “PortableApps.com”
plattform is NOT found, the software will be copied into a single folder on the USB drive.
To run Spana open the USB directory with the file explorer
and double-click on the file “SpanaPortable.exe”.
Ubuntu (Linux) and Mac OS: just copy all files to the removable drive. If Java
is installed on the local Macintosh or Linux, then double-clicking on a “jar”-file
in the USB memory should start the program.
For all systems: “ini”-files will be created
on the USB memory when you run the software.
Uninstalling
- Windows:
- Several possibilities:
- Run the “Uninstall” program.
The shortcut is found in the Start-menu program group; normally
“Equilibrium Diagrams (java)”.
- Alternative: open the installation directory with the file explorer and
double-click on the file “Uninstall.exe”.
- It should also be possible to use the “add-remove programs” function
in Windows’ control panel, but this might not work if you installed
the software at two or more locations on the same computer.
Any of these methods will remove the files installed, as well as shortcuts,
“ini”-files, file associations and registry keys.
- Note that “Uninstall” may not do a perfect
job in some special cases, for example if you installed the software on two
or more locations on the same computer, or if you have modified environmental
variables.
- As a last option you could delete the installation directory
(perhaps C:\Users\MyName\Eq-Diagr)
with all its files and sub-directories, but this will not remove shortcuts,
file associations, registry keys, nor “ini”-files outside the
installation directory.
- Removable drives (USB memory): just delete the installation
directory with all its files. Remember to back-up any data files and diagrams
you might have stored in that folder!
- Ubuntu (Linux) and Mac OS: Move to trash the installation folder,
but remember to back-up any data files and diagrams you might have stored in that folder!
Delete also any desktop shortcuts (aliases on MacOS).
