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Installing PIT from the Internet

NOTICE: This page has now been revised to take into account the new way in which PIT is downloaded into your computer. Go to Page B-7 for information on this new downloading approach. The present page as you see it refers to a set of instructions that pertained to the earlier version available off the Net. We will keep this page as is, just in case you encounter troubles in the download. DON'T THINK THIS WILL HAPPEN - BUT THIS AND THE NEXT PAGE ARE BACKUPS. REFER TO PAGES B-6 AND B-7 ONLY AS A REFERENCE WHEN TROUBLE ENSUES. Please contact the writer if you have problems. .

THE COOKBOOK WAS FIRST WRITTEN FOR COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEMS SUCH AS WINDOWS 98 & 95; NOW I WORK IN WINDOWS XP. POSSIBLY A FEW INSTRUCTIONS ARE OBSOLETE, ALTHOUGH I HAVE TRIED TO REWRITE THEM TO CORRECT THAT CONCERN. YOU MAY NEED TO EXPERIMENT.

IF YOU ARE WORKING FROM THE CD THAT YOU PURCHASED, IT HAS THE PROPER CURRENT INFORMATION ON INSTALLING PIT TO YOUR COMPUTER (PAGE B-7). THE PRESENT PAGE OFFERS ADVICE IF YOU EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES WITH THE SAME B-7 INSTRUCTIONS WHILE DOWNLOADING OFF THE INTERNET.

*WARNING FOR THOSE WHO FAIL TO INSTALL PIT USING THE NEW APPROACH*
If that happens, installation of PIT may require you to modify your AUTOEXEC file so that your computer knows where to find Tcl. The AUTOEXEC file is one of two files that make your computer run properly, so it is possible to seriously adversely affect the operation of your computer while modifying this file. If you follow the steps outlined below and make only the changes listed, there should not be a problem. If you are uncomfortable making these changes yourself then it is recommended that you have someone experienced in this type of work do it for you. Any problems that arise due to modification of this file are the responsibility of only one person - you, or the person who makes the changes if that is not you.

When I downloaded and installed PIT using the instruction on page B-7, the unzipping was apparently done without any action on my part. Hopefully, this same will happen to you. But computers can be capricious, so perhaps you will need to unzip the files. If you know your way around DOS you can use PKUNZIP that comes with Windows 95 and WinNT. If you don't then you will need to get a Windows program that does the same thing. A good one to use is WinZip, which you can get from their website.

There are several files that you will need to download -

 
PIT.zip

this zipped file contains all of the files required to run PIT except for those listed below; tcl804.exe is packaged with this file and will install Tcl/Tk 8.0* on your computer, which is necessary for the proper operation of the PIT interface

* Tcl/Tk can also be downloaded directly from the Scriptics website - http://www.scriptics.com/

israel.zip
morrobay.zip
nb.zip
rocks.zip
avhrr.zip
 these are image files to be used during the walkthrough of PIT later on in this Appendix

Once you have downloaded these files you will need to follow these instructions -

  1. Create a new folder called PIT on your hard drive.
  2. Create a new folder called PIT Images on your hard drive at the same level as PIT.
  3. Unzip PIT.zip into the PIT folder.
  4. Double-click on tcl804.exe to install Tcl/Tk 8.0.*
  5. Add the following to your system PATH (**) - c:/program files/tcl/bin
  6. Unzip the image files into the PIT Images folder.
  7. To execute PIT, double click on the file named "PIT.bat" in your PIT folder. Depending on the file manager you use, the ".bat" extension may not be shown and the file type may be listed as an MS-DOS file.
  8. For convenience, you will likely wish to tie the execution file to a screen icon.


* You will first be asked to enter a location for the distribution. The default should be fine but you may specify a different location if you choose. It is recommended that you not specify your PIT folder (or a folder within your PIT folder) which may complicate future updates to your PIT distribution. The Tcl/Tk 8.0 installation process may ask additional questions depending on how your system is configured. If you already have Tcl/Tk 8.0 (or after installing it), the file "tcl804.exe" can be deleted.

** This is to make it possible for PIT to find Tcl when you start the program. If you do not set this correctly then when you try to start PIT it will give you an error stating that the file "tcl80.dll" can not be found in the PATH. On WinNT, to set your PATH follow these steps:

  1. Right click on the "My Computer" icon and then Properties
  2. Click on the Environment tab
  3. Under "User Variables" click on the PATH line
  4. In the Value field near the bottom of the window add the following at the end of the line - ;c:/program files/tcl/bin - make sure you separate the last entry from your new entry with a semi-colon (no spaces)
  5. Click "Set"
  6. Click "Apply"
  7. Click "OK"
  8. Run PIT

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Nicholas M. Short, Sr.

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