FFGo: Difference between revisions

# Install Python 3.4 or later:

## Download Python from the [https://python.org/ Python home page].

## Make sure to enable the ''Tcl/tk'' and ''pip'' components in the installer (this may be located under a label such as ''Customize installation'').

## Don't change the default value for the Python installation folder, otherwise you are likely to run into permission problems: except for old versions of Windows, writing to ''Program Files'', at least, is subject to special restrictions that may cause the <code>pip install</code> step to fail.

## If you are not comfortable with the command line (“Command Prompt”), it is suggested you choose ''Add python.exe to Path'' (or ''Add Python X.Y to PATH'': the precise wording depends on the Python version). This way, you will be able to run the ''pip'' and ''ffgo'' programs directly at the Command Prompt without having to specify their full paths. If you choose not to do this, you'll have to type things such as <code>C:\Python<i>XY</i>\Scripts\pip install ...</code> instead of <code>pip install ...</code>, where <i>XY</i> would be <tt>35</tt> for a Python 3.5 installation.

# Open a terminal, aka “Command Prompt”:<p>There are various ways to do this, depending on the version of Windows in use. One way that should work is using the <tt>Windows+R</tt> keyboard shortcut, then entering <tt>cmd.exe</tt> in the text input box. Apparently (according to Google, see for yourself), on Windows 10, this can (also?) be done with the <tt>Windows+X</tt> keyboard shortcut, then choosing ''Command Prompt'' in the menu that should appear.</p>

# In this terminal, type:<br /><code>pip install FFGo Pillow geographiclib</code><br />FFGo can work without Pillow and geographiclib, but it will offer more features if you install them. The previous command should automatically download and install FFGo from [https://pypi.python.org/pypi/FFGo FFGo's page on PyPI].<p>Note: <code>pip install ffgo</code> has the same effect as <code>pip install FFGo</code>.

After these steps, you should have a working FFGo. You can run it by double-clicking on either ''ffgo.exe'' or ''ffgo-noconsole.exe'' in a directory such as <tt>C:\Python</tt><i>XY</i><tt>\Scripts</tt>, where <tt><i>XY</i></tt> corresponds to the Python version that was used in the <code>pip install FFGo ...</code> command. These two executables do the same, except ''ffgo.exe'' opens a Windows terminal (“console”) containing all FFGo messages, while ''ffgo-noconsole.exe'' doesn't. You can safely use the latter most of the time. Should FFGo refuse to start for some reason, running ''ffgo.exe'' and examining/reporting the printed messages would certainly be helpful. You may want to create shortcuts for these files by right-clicking on the ''.exe'' file of your choice, choosing ''Create Shortcut'' and dragging the newly-created shortcut to the final, desired place (e.g., your desktop).

* <code>ffgo</code> if you chose ''Add python.exe to Path'' in the Python installer as hinted above;

# If you let the GeographicLib installer modify your <tt>PATH</tt> in step 1, there is nothing else to do. Otherwise, you have to tell FFGo where to find <tt>MagneticField.exe</tt>. In order to do this, start FFGo and open the ''Settings → Preferences'' dialog; go to the ''Miscellaneous'' tab, and enter the precise path for <tt>MagneticField.exe</tt> in the appropriate field (cf. step 1). Finally, click on ''Save settings'' and you should be done.

The FFGo dialog reachable via ''Help → About'' displays the versions of the main dependencies used by FFGo. In case you entered an invalid path, or some other error, a hint is generally given there. In any case, troubleshooting information is always printed to the terminal (if you ran ''ffgo.exe'' as opposed to ''ffgo-noconsole.exe'') and to the FFGo log file located in the <tt>%APPDATA%\FFGo\config</tt> folder (do a Google search with keywords “Windows” and “APPDATA” if you don't know what this means).

'''If for some reason you can't run <tt>pip</tt>:'''