Windows FAQ

Note: I do not use the Windows operating system therefore I am limited in the amount of support I can provide to windows users. (Whenever a family member asks me "Why is windows not working on my computer?", I sometimes half-jokingly remark "I don't know. How come my linux kernel won't compile?") Since I have received so many e-mails from windows users asking how to install mfitsio on windows, I have written this FAQ.

How do I install mfitsio?
- 1. First unpack the mfitsio zip file.
- 2. Set your PATH variable to where the mfitsio DLL files are located. Note that directories in this variable are delimited with semicolons. On Windows XP and 2000,
  - go to your Control Panel by clicking on Start...Settings...Control Panel.
  - double-click on "System". Note that some system administrators choose to hide this icon from their users. If this is the case, type in "Control Panel\System" in the address bar.
  - click on the "Advanced" tab.
  - click on "Environment Variables"
  - append your PATH so that it points to the folder where the MFITSIO DLL's are located. There are two separate PATH's you can set. One is a global path and another is a user path. Choose one of these based on the desired degree of visibility.
  - click on "Apply".
  - log out.
  - log back in.
- 3. You will need to add the fully qualified path where the MFITSIO .m files are stored to your MATLAB path. The reason is so that whenever you start up MATLAB, it can find the MFITSIO library files. Adding a path is accomplished by doing the following:
  - click on File...Set Path...Add Folder.
  - single click on the directory where the MFITSIO files are stored.
  - click on Close.
  A dialog box will then appear asking whether you wish to save the new path for future sessions. Choose "yes".
How do I unpack a .zip file?
Use WinZip to unpack a .zip file. WinZip conveinently loads when you double-click on the mfitsio zip file. Click extract, select "All Files", and select a folder in which to unpack the files.
How do I unpack a .tar.gz file?
WinZip should be capable of doing this. I presume this is a two step process which involves first unpacking the .gz part into a tar file, and then unpacking the tar file. If you have cygwin, then do the following:
```
		gzip -cd mfitsio.tar.gz | tar xvf -
	
```
How do I obtain help? It depends where your mfitsio .m files are stored. If they are stored in some_directory/mfitsio-1.2.2, then type help mfitsio-1.2.2 at your MATLAB session prompt to access MFITSIO online help.
Will Windows binaries be provided for every MFITSIO release? Since I maintain MFITSIO on a mainly volunteer basis and I run a windows-free environment, I will build MFITSIO windows binaries sporatically.
Does MFITSIO work on MATLAB Version 6.0? No. MATLAB Version 6.5 or later is required to run MFITSIO.
My issue was not addressed. What should I do? Send a kind e-mail to eads@lanl.gov, and I will try to help you. Please be sure to include in your e-mail:
- the version of windows you are using.
- the version of MATLAB you are using,
- a precise description of what you did to get the error, and
- the error message you received.
Worse comes to worse and I am unable to resolve your problem (e.g. because I am a non-windows user and I am incapable of solving it), then you may wish to try compiling MFITSIO yourself.

eads@lanl.gov

Last modified: Thurs Apr 15 11:24:43 2004

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