getting started

Contents:

System requirements

Download

Installation

Activation

Getting support

Retrieving anslab updates

Retrieving anslab releases

Installation on Windows VISTA and above

System requirements:  To get anslab working properly, you must have Matlab 7 or higher installed on your computer. Moreover,  the Matlab signal processing toolbox and theMatlab statistics toolbox is required.  Anslab runs only on PCs and is being tested mainly on Windows 7. Although Matlab itself runs on Linux and MAC, anslab does not at the present point. Your computer must initially be connected to the internet, and for purposes of remote installation and support, connection to the internet is strongle encouraged after the installation. For the installation and activation, the computer must have outgoing internet access on port 2401.  [Top]

Download:  To download anslab, you must install WinCVS, Python, and CVSNT on your computer. All packages together can be downloaded at the anslab website ( AnslabRequiredSoftware.zip). Install all three packages using default installation options. Then start WinCVS to download anslab, using the settings shown below (click to enlarge picture). Be sure to replace user,  pass and ipanslabserver with the login information you recieved. Also replace anslab1.7 (version 1.7) with the current anslab version as shown on the anslab web page, for instance with anslab2.3 for the version 2.3. Be sure to also uncheck the 'prune empty directories' - option.

After the download, the log window should contain mostly green entries (successful downloads) and orange entries (folder changes). Red or pink entries indicate problems. Browse to the downloaded folder in WinCVS so you can see the folder in the modules-tab as shown below. There should also be a black checkmark in the yellow foldersymbol of your downloaded anslab folder. If there is not, you downloaded without administrative CVS directories.  Download again after unchecking the 'Do not create CVS administrative directories (export)' on the checkout module dialog.[ Top]

Installation: To install anslab on your computer, download anslab using WinCVS described above. The downloaded anslab-folder has the following subfolder structure.

Next, set the matlab path to include the anslab folders with all it's subfolders. This is done most easily using the Matlab file menu command 'set path', and the 'add with subfolders' button. Choose 'save' to have matlab remember the path in the future. Do not include anslab-folders several times in the matlab path, as this can cause problems with multiple versions of the same file. If you whish to have a look at the current path, you can also type 'path' in the matlab command window and press return.

You can start the anslab user interface by typing  anslab and pressing enter in the matlab command window.[ Top]

Activation:  in order to be able to analyze and display data, you have to activate anslab. If you are a member of Basel University, you should have recieved separate activation instructions. Otherwise, you need an internet connection to activate anslab online, a registered username and password and administrator privileges on your computer. Moreover, you have to make sure, that the anslabutil-directory in the anslab programs folder (e.g. ../anslab1.8/anslabutil ) is writable. To be able to start the activation process, you must have WinCVS, Python  and CVSNT installed on your computer, as described in the download section. To verify that you have these tools configured correctly for registration, check if cvs is available from the command line (type cvs /? on the command prompt). If you do not get an 'unknown command'-error,  everything is in place.

Choose activate anslab from the help menu, and enter your username and password as shown below and hit ok.

If everything works fine, anslab will tell you 'activation successful!' and display the license details:
 

Once your anslab version is activated, you can disconnect from the internet and use anslab on this computer without further restrictions. If the activation is not successful, you will not be able to load any data.

 
Getting support:  Before asking for support, be sure to have read the corresponding section of anslab help files. If you send email support requests,  include a detailed description of the problem, including the 'anslabdef.m'-file from your study folder, the matlab path file (matlab/toolbox/local/pathdef.m) and (if not larger than 5MB) a sample data file. Make sure the problem occurs repeatedly, even after a anslab./matlab/system reset. If the problem causes a matlab error, include the matlab command window messages in the email to help us identify the problem.
If the problem is not reproduceable on our computers, it may require us to see the specific problems on your computer. To make this possible, a remote desktop connection or a visual network control connection (VNC) is needed and you have to install the software to allow us to log in on your computer (TightVNC for instance  is a vnc software that you can download free from the internet (http://www.tightvnc.com)) .  The connection can only be made if you are not behind a firewall, neither your local nor the one of your institution (if existing).  If for instance, a VPN client software is required to gain access to your work computer,  we will need that VPN client as well to gain access. Moreover, the IP-address of your computer is required. [ Top]

Retrieving anslab updates:  if you want to update your anslab version, open WinCVS and rightclick on the checkmarked anslab foldersymbol, select update, and hit ok on the following dialog. Again, the log window should contain mostly green entries (successful downloads), blue entries (succesful updates) and orange entries (folder changes). Red or pink entries indicate problems. Updates do not require you to reactivate anslab. Activation is only required for new version numbers. [ Top]

Retrieving anslab releases:  releases reflect bigger changes in anslab programs. They are therefore given version numbers (e.g. anslab1.8 or anslab1.9 ). Releases must be checked out (downloaded) separately and you cannot update one release to become the next. Simply follow the steps for the initial download, giving the new release number in the  module name. Releases can be downloaded to the same folder, WinCVS creates a folder named as the module name so that releases will not overwrite eachother. However, if you want to use a new release, you must reset your matlab path. Make sure you delete all old path entries before adding the new ones. [ Top]

Installation on Windows Vista or above:  Installation on Windows Vista or above is identical to the procedure described above except for the download location of anslab and the permissions of the anslab activation executable. The anslab programs should NOT be downloaded to somewhere inside the default "program files" folder, as this folder cannot be changed by the program later on. Download anslab to your personal folder or any non system directory. Moreover, for the activation procedure to work, you need to activate administrator privileges for the executable "ActivateAnslab.exe" in the anslablib-folder. You can do this by opening the properties dialog of this file and checking the "run as administrator"-checkbox on the "compatibility"-tab as shown in the screenshot below.

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