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PFT Client Installation

Linux Installation instructions
Windows Installation instructions
Mac Installation instructions

Linux Installation

Prerequisites:
  • GTK
  • Python 2.2
  • wxPython
In order to install the Linux fast download client, you must first have Python 2.2 or later as well as GTK and the wxPython GUI library. Almost all recent Linux distributions will come with both GTK and Python 2.2. To get GTK, go to www.gtk.org - but check your system, as you probably already have it. You probably have Python as well - you can see what version of python you have by entering the "python" command at a command prompt:

$ python

This will display the version of Python installed on your system (Note that on RedHat systems, you may have to enter python2 rather than python in order to see your most current Python installation).

If you do no have Python installed, you can download it from python.org, which also has detailed installation instructions.

In addition to the Python base system, you will also need the wxPython library. To see if you have this installed already, enter the Python interpreter:

$ python

Then, at the python prompt, attempt to import the wx module:

Python 2.2.2 (#1, Jan 30 2003, 21:26:22)
[GCC 2.96 20000731 (Red Hat Linux 7.3 2.96-112)] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import wx

If the module imports without any errors, wxPython is already installed. If it throws an exception, you will have to install wxPython. Luckily, this is rather easy. wxPython.org has detailed installation instructions, as well as several installation options.

Once all of the prerequisites are installed, installing the Fast Download Client is just a matter of downloading it: Download the Linux Client

After downloading the client, copy it into a directory you own and unzip it:

$ tar -xvzf PFTClient.tar.gz

Make sure the unzipped directory is inside a directory you control (such as your home directory). Once the client is unzipped, enter it's directory and run the installer script:

$ cd PFTLinuxClient
$ ./PFT-installer

After running the script, installation is complete! To make sure everything is working and that your web browser has been configured correctly, try downloading a WInSAR Data Set.

Open your favorite web browser (such as the one viewing this document) and go to The WInSAR Data Archive. Submit a search that will return at least one result. When the results page comes up, click on one of the Fast DL: links. Your browser will display a prompt very similar to the following (screens taken from Mozilla FireFox 9.1):

If the installer worked correctly, the Open With button should be checked, and the text field to the right should show the proper path to your PFTClient.py application. To Download the set, simply click the OK button. You can also check the Do this automatically for files like this from now on box so your browser automatically uses the Fast Download Client to download WInSAR Data sets without you needing to hit OK each time.

If for some reason the installer script did not work properly, the dialog box that appears when you click the Fast DL: link may resemble the following:

The dialog may not have the proper path to your PFTClient, or the Save to Disk option may be checked. If this is the case, you'll have to manually configure your browser to use the PFTClient. Fortunately, this is very easy. Select the Open With option and from the drop down menu to the right select the Other... option. Navigate to the folder where you installed the Fast Download Client and select PFTClient.py. After selecting the Fast Download Client, you can check the Do this automatically for files like this from now on box so your browser automatically uses the Fast Download Client to open WInSAR Fast Download links without your needing to manually select the PFTClient.py application. Click OK to begin downloading the WInSAR Data set.

NOTE: If nothing seems to happen when you click a Fast Download link, try changing your desktop theme. Some themes are known to conflict with the GUI widgets that the client uses.

If you ran into any problems or have a question, see the contact section of this web site. Otherwise, you're all set to use the WInSAR Fast Download Client for retreiving data sets from the WInSAR Data Archive. For more information on using the Fast Download Client, and for more Linux screenshots, see the client's documentation page.

Windows Installation

Prerequisites:
  • Windows 2000 or XP
Installing the Microsoft Windows version of the Fast Download Client is quick and easy. First, download the Windows client installer.

Run the installer, and you're basically done! You won't ever need to browse into the installation directory and run the download client explicitly; from now on, whenever you click a fast download link in your web browser, the client should start automatically.

Open your favorite web browser (such as the one viewing this document) and go to The WInSAR Data Archive. Submit a search that will return at least one result. When the results page comes up, click on one of the Fast DL: links. The only thing to remember is that at this point, you'll want to click Open... rather than Save... when the following window appears (screens taken from Internet Explorer 6):



Windows should recognize the file extension so that the newly installed client opens automatically. A directory browser will pop up asking where you want to save the file:

Choose a directory to save to, and then log in with your WInSAR user name and password. The download should then proceed.

If you ran into any problems or have a question, see the contact section of this web site. Otherwise, you're all set to use the WInSAR Fast Download Client for retreiving data sets from the WInSAR Data Archive. For more information on using the Fast Download Client, see its documentation page.

Mac OS X Installation

Prerequisites:
  • Mac OS 10.2 or later
  • For OS 10.2 (Jaguar)
    • MacPython
    • wxPython
  • For OS 10.3 (Panther)
    • wxPython
In order to run the Fast Download Client under Mac OS X, you must have OS 10.2 or 10.3 (10.4 has not yet been tested, but should work like 10.3). In order to install the wxPython toolkit you will need a Framework installation of Python. This comes standard with OS 10.3. If you have 10.2, you can download a working MacPython installation from Jack's MacPython Page

Once you have Python, either by having OS 10.3 or by downloading MacPython, you will need to install the wxPython toolkit. This is as easy as downloading and installing a standard OS X application. You can get wxPython for OS X from the wxPython site.

After Python and wxPython have been successfully installed, download the Mac client. Mount the disk image by double-clicking it. Open the mounted disk and copy the PFTClient application to a directory you own. (We recommend your Applications folder). Create a shortcut to the PFTClient application, whose icon is a satellite, by dragging it onto the dock. Installation is now complete!

Open your favorite web browser (such as the one viewing this document) and go to the WInSAR Data Archive. Submit a search that will return at least one result. When the results page comes up, click on one of the Fast DL: links. Select to save the file to somewhere easily accessible (such as your desktop). The file you are downloading is not the datafile itself, but a stub file that the client uses to tell the server which datafile to send. After downloading the stub file (which is called pft.php unless you saved it under another name), drag and drop the stub file onto a PFTClient application shortcut, such as the satellite icon you placed on the dock:

The client will now open. First, you will be prompted for a destination folder (screens taken from MacOS 10.3.4):

Choose a folder to save to, and when prompted, enter your WInSAR username and password:

The download should then proceed. (The stub file is now useless and will share a name with any other stub file you download in the future, so you should probably trash it to avoid confusion.)

If you ran into any problems or have a question, see the contact section of this web site. Otherwise, you're all set to use the WInSAR Fast Download Client for retreiving data sets from the WInSAR Data Archive. For more information on using the Fast Download Client, see its documentation page.