Installation

Installing PLS_Toolbox

PLS_Toolbox is delivered as a Windows Installer (.exe for Windows only) or as a compressed ZIP file (all platforms). Installation is a two-part process of copying and decompressing files into a local folder and then adding those files to your MATLAB path. You will need your License Code (obtained at the time of purchase).

System Requirements

• Compatible with any MATLAB released within 5 years of released date of this product. In general, Eigenvector products should work on most modern computers. For system requirements of specific versions of MATLAB see here.

• PLS_Toolbox does not require any other MATLAB toolboxes but will make use of the Parallel Computing Toolbox in certain scenarios if present.

MATLAB Compatibility

Although we try to maintain inter-compatibility with MATLAB add-on Toolboxes to the greatest extent possible some incompatibilities do exist. Most of these cases originate from situations where PLS_Toolbox has an established function and The MathWorks (TMW) introduces a new function with the same name and is unwilling to rename it. Because we don't have access to the entire TMW product family this list may not include all incompatible functions:

• Incompatible Functions
  • cluster.m (Stats Toolbox)
  • crossval.m (Stats Toolbox)
  • regression.m (Neural Net Toolbox)
  • ridge.m (Stats Toolbox)

• Intentional overloads:
  • boxplot.m (Stats Toolbox because of DataSet Object conflict)

• Compatible Functions
  • dendrogram.m (Stats Toolbox)
  • range.m (Stats Toolbox)
  • kstest.m (Stats Toolbox)

To manage which function is being called, relocate PLS_Toolbox on your MATLAB path. Putting PLS_Toolbox at the bottom of the path will allow the use of MATLAB functions but will often make PLS_Toolbox inoperable until it's moved back to the top of the path. Within Browse you can select Help>Move Path Folders and indicate the location (Top or Bottom). The evrimovepath function can be used from the command line.

Using the Windows EXE Installer

It is recommended that Windows users use the PLS_Toolbox Windows Installer.

1. Copy the .exe file to your Desktop (or other suitable local location).
2. Double click the icon and follow the instructions. Be sure to verify the location of the installation folder; by default it will be the "toolbox" folder of your current MATLAB installation. Windows users: may need to choose a folder within your personal Documents folder in order to avoid permissions problems caused by Windows security.
3. When the Installer has completed, it will prompt you to start MATLAB and run an install script.
4. If MATLAB doesn't start see Step 2 below.

Manually Installing from ZIP File (all platforms)

1. File Extraction
   Decompress the PLS_Toolbox ZIP file and move it to the MATLAB "toolbox" folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2016a\toolbox).

   Note: If you already have a version of PLS_Toolbox installed, be sure the folders do not have the same name (by default they should not). Rename your existing copy of PLS_Toolbox if necessary.

   Note: Windows users may find that they do not have sufficient system permissions to install in a folder under the C:\Program Files\ folder or that, after installation, they get warnings due to the inability to set program configuration. In these cases, simply install PLS_Toolbox into a folder such as your personal Documents folder.

2. Run evriinstall
   For MATLAB to find PLS_Toolbox, the directories that contain the toolbox files must be added to the MATLAB search path.

   Please Note: If you are familiar with installing toolboxes purchased from The MathWorks, this process is different. TMW installers typically are able to set the path automatically. PLS_Toolbox has its own installation method.

   Start MATLAB and follow these steps:

   • Start MATLAB and use the Current Directory toolbar to navigate to the PLS_Toolbox directory (created in step 1).
   • Type evriinstall at the command line (in the COMMAND WINDOW):

     >> evriinstall

     A dialog box will appear (see below.) Change the settings as needed then click the Install button. EVRIINSTALL will add PLS_Toolbox to the MATLAB path, check for any installation problems, and output results to the command window.
   • See the Reference Topics page for information about PLS_Toolbox functions. Continue reading the Software User Guide for information using Solo and PLS_Toolbox.

   

Configuring Java

In some older versions of MATLAB, including version 7.0.4 (R14SP2), it is necessary to manually add the jar files included with PLS_Toolbox to the MATLAB java class path. Please see this FAQ for more information:

How to configure Java files in older versions of MATLAB?

Installing Solo

System Requirements

For Solo based products the system requirements will track the version of MATLAB used to build Solo. See Solo MCR column in the release notes. Use the MATLAB | platform road-map to see compatibility. For system requirements of specific versions of MATLAB see here.

Installation

Windows

If you install Solo into the default "Destination Folder", C:\Program Files\EVRI\Solo_###, where ### is the version number, then you need to install it "As Administrator" in order for library folders to be created under that path. Using "As Administrator" should not be necessary if you install it to a Destination Folder which your user account has access rights to.

For Installing Solo 9.0 and newer

Important System Requirement Please ensure that the latest Microsoft Windows Visual C++ Redistributable library is installed on the computer. This can be installed from: Microsoft Choose the "X64" 64-bit architecture choice. If this is not installed you will get an error window saying "The code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem".

1. Copy the installer.exe file to your Desktop (or other suitable local location).
2. Double click the icon and follow the instructions. (To customize the installation process, see here)
3. Click Next in the Solo Installer window. This window has basic product information about Solo.
4. In the Installation Options window, choose the Installation folder, by default it will be in the "EVRI" folder of your program files folder. Also choose if you wish the create a Desktop shortcut. Click Next.
5. Click Next in the Required Software window. This window says that Solo requires MATLAB Runtime 2020b. This MATLAB Runtime will be installed if not already installed.
6. Click Install in the Confirmation window. This windows shows were Solo will be installed and where the Runtime is installed.
7. Click Finish on the Installation Complete window. This window shows that the installation was successful and give instructions on how to launch Solo.
8. To launch Solo:
   • Navigate to the installation location and go to the "application" folder.
   • If installing with a license file (evrilicense.lic) or license server file (evrilm.xml), move these files into this "application" folder with the .exe file.
   • Double click on the Solo icon. If this is the first time launching Solo then you will be prompted for the license code. The correct license code can be found by logging in to your Eigenvector account and navigating to the Download tab.

For Installing Solo 8.9.2 and older

1. Copy the installer.exe file to your Desktop (or other suitable local location).
2. If installing with a license file (evrilicense.lic) or license server file (evrilm.xml), move these files into the same folder as the installer .exe file.
3. Double click the icon and follow the instructions. Be sure to verify the location of the installation folder; by default it will be in the "EVRI" folder of your program files folder. (To customize the installation process, see Solo Installer Flags)
4. Identify if you want desktop and Start menu shortcuts created as well as if you want to associate .mat files with Solo.
5. Identify if you want to add Solo to the system path. Doing so will assure 3rd-party programs will be able to start up Solo (where the 3rd-party program offers this feature.)
6. When the Installer has completed, you will be asked if you want to start Solo now. The first time you run Solo, it will need to unpack several libraries and make take a minute or so to complete installation. Subsequent startups will take less time. Note that when installed in the standard Program Files folder, this step needs to be done as a user with administrative privileges so it is best to do from the installer.

NOTE: If installing Solo with a license server, see the Evri_license_server documentation.

Troubleshooting: If having problems downloading, installing or running Solo, see the Solo Troubleshooting page.

Mac

For macOS and Solo 8.9.2 and newer:

1. Image Mounting
   Open the Solo.dmg (or Solo+MIA.dmg) disk image file by double-clicking on it. The disk image will mount on your computer.
2. Launching The Installer Application
   Right-click the Solo_WebInstaller.app and select Open to open the application. You will be prompted for a password to run the java based installer ("java wants to make changes").
3. Follow Instructions
   Follow the dialog box instructions, the MATLAB Compiler Runtime (MCR) will be installed if it hasn't been already. The Installation Complete dialog may have instructions relating to opening the application from a shell script, these instructions can be ignored. Double-clicking the application will open it.
4. Drag the App to the Dock
   By default, the applications will be located in the /Applications/EigenvectorResearchInc/ folder. A versioned folder name (e.g., Solo_892) will be created and the .app folder will be located in the "application" folder. For version 8.9.2 of Solo the app is located at /Applications/EVRI/Solo_892/application. Open the app and drag its icon to the MacOS application dock for easy access.

For installing Solo 8.9.2 and older on macOS Catalina and later, the Matlab 2019b MCR (MATLAB Compiler Runtime) must be installed prior to opening the Solo app:

https://www.mathworks.com/products/compiler/matlab-runtime.html

1. Image Mounting
   Open the Solo.dmg (or Solo+MIA.dmg) disk image file by double-clicking on it. The disk image will mount on your computer.
2. Copy Solo APP
   Copy the Solo.app (or Solo+MIA.app) bundle to your Applications folder.
3. Launching The Application
   Right-click Solo.app and select Open to open the application.
4. Errors on Startup
   If you receive a message saying "the Disk has been damaged" (OS X 10.7+) you may need to disable Mac Gatekeeper as described here and for Mac OS Sierra (and higher) see here.

• To disable Gatekeeper (i.e., set it to install from “Anywhere”) from the command line, open a new Terminal window then enter the following command:

$ sudo spctl --master-disable

• To re-enable Gatekeeper enter the following command:

$ sudo spctl --master-enable

NOTE: The first time you run Solo, it will need to unpack several libraries and may take several minutes (or longer depending on system resources) to complete installation. Subsequent startups will take less time.

Troubleshooting: If having problems downloading, installing or running Solo, see the Solo Troubleshooting page.

Linux

For Installing Solo 9.0 and newer:

1. Extract the Solo_WebInstaller.install package.
2. Run the installer as a super user, the default location will be /usr/local/bin.
3. Use the shell script provided to launch the application by providing the MCR location as the first input:

   ./run_Solo.sh /usr/local/MATLAB/MATLAB_Runtime/v99/

4. Additional inputs can be added (contained in single quotes):

   ./run_Solo.sh /usr/local/MATLAB/MATLAB_Runtime/v99/ '-debug -loadsettings "/home/scott/default.xml"'

For older installations:

1. Unzip/UnTar
   Copy the tar.gz file into a target folder (create one using the mkdir command) in any convenient location (e.g. the user's home directory or any accessible location) and use the following command to unzip/untar the application:

    tar -xzf solo.tar.gz

   (note: archive name will be depend on the exact application you are installing)
2. Launching The Application
   In a console window, change the working directory to the target folder and use the command:

    ./solo

   (application name will depend on the exact application you purchased). If starting from a different working directory, use the full path to the solo application. You can also create a shortcut which performs this operation.

First Run Notes: The first time you run Solo, it will need to unpack several libraries and make take several minutes (or longer depending on system resources) to complete installation. Subsequent startups will take less time. If the program has been installed in a general system folder (such as /usr/local/bin ) then the initial run of Solo may need to be done using SUDO so the program has sufficient privileges to unpack the libraries.

Troubleshooting: If having problems downloading, installing or running Solo, see the Solo Troubleshooting page.

Solo_Predictor: If installing Solo_Predictor see this page

Troubleshooting Solo

If having problems downloading, installing or running Solo, see the Solo Troubleshooting page.

Starting Solo

On all platforms, Solo can be started using the installed shortcuts (double-clicking the shortcut), or by calling the application directly from either a shortcut or DOS/Linux command window. The application can also take various command-line flags that modify startup behavior.

Python Configuration - PLS_Toolbox and Solo

To configure Solo/PLS_Toolbox to use python methods please see the Python configuration page.

Updating

The most up-to-date version of PLS_Toolbox and Solo will be made available to users on our web site, www.eigenvector.com. Registered users can download new copies of the toolbox that incorporate the latest bug fixes. A username and password is required for access to the upgrades. Usernames and passwords are supplied when licenses are purchased (older version users should have received this information by registering their software). If you have forgotten your username and/or password, please write to helpdesk@eigenvector.com or use the lost username/password page accessible from the download page on the Eigenvector Research website.

To check for updates select Check for Updates from the Help menu of the Workspace Browser or Analysis interface, or, for PLS_Toolbox users, use the command:

>> evriupdate 

at the MATLAB command line. This will bring up a small dialog box indicating the status of your installed products.

Recommendations for Offline Installation

In environments without Internet access the following items can be saved to media and loaded/installed on a remote machine. These items should be installed in order listed:

• MATLAB or MCR (MATLAB Compiler Runtime). The MCR should be the correct version for the given version of Solo. For example, Solo 9.0 uses the 2020b MCR.
• Miniconda3,Python virtual environment management software to enable python tools in PLS_Toolbox and Solo.
• PLS_Toolbox or Solo. Download from your account the Eigenvector website.

Checking Your Installation

You can check that your software is installed and working correctly by:

• PLS_Toolbox: Run the "evridebug" MATLAB command. Running this should report that "No PLS_Toolbox installation problems were identified".
• Solo: Solo should open with the Browser window presented. You can confirm Solo is installed correctly by running any analysis method, for example PCA. See the short video on using PCA at: PCA.

Solo or PLS_Toolbox users can get product information from the Help > About menu in the Workspace Browser or Analysis window.

PLS_Toolbox users can use the following commands to verify a new or existing installation. We request the output from these commands when you submit a request to helpdesk@eigenvector.com.

• ver - Matlab command show a list of installed products.
• path - Matlab command showing the current folders on the Matlab path. ALL PLS_Toolbox folders (and sub-folders) should be on the Matlab path.
• evridebug - PLS_Toolbox command that checks for common installation problems.

Also check our FAQ page, there are several more detailed issues including trouble with the Matlab path discussed there.

Installing Solo_Predictor (version 4.3 or later)

Windows

Important System Requirement

Ensure that the latest Microsoft Windows Visual C++ Redistributable library is installed on the computer. This can be installed from: Microsoft Choose the "X64" 64-bit architecture choice.

If this is not installed you will get an error window saying "The code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem".

Installation on Windows

1. Download the .exe installer from your Eigenvector account. Note your Solo_Predictor's license code as this will be needed to launch Solo_Predictor.
2. Run the installer .exe by double clicking. You will be guided by an installation wizard which presents:
   1. "Solo" splash screen appears.
   2. Within one minute a wizard page appears identifying "Solo_Predictor M.N", where "M.N" is the version being installed, for example, we'll refer to version "4.3" here. Click "Next>".
   3. Choose the installation folder. The default choice is: "C:\Program Files\EVRI\Solo_Predictor_MN".
   4. If the MATLAB Runtime library is not found on your computer then a window will appear telling you that it will need to be downloaded and installed. In this case you must enter the path for the installation folder to use. The default choice is: "C:\Program Files\MATLAB\MATLAB Runtime". Accept this or choose where you want to install it. This can take fifteen minutes or more to complete.
   5. License Agreement page. Click to accept, and "Next>".
   6. A confirmation page appears summarizing the configuration choices. Click "Install>".
   7. A progress-bar window appears showing the installation progress until a window appears reporting "Installation completed successfully". It also gives the default install location for Solo_Predictor (C:\Program Files\EVRI\Solo_Predictor\application). Click "Finish" icon. You will launch Solo_Predictor by double-clicking on the Solo_Predictor icon (the Solo_Predictor.exe file) in your installation folder's "application" folder.
3. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the installation folder you entered in step 3.D above and double-click on the Solo_Predictor.exe file to start it. If you used the default installation folder, namely under "C:\Program Files\", then you will need to start Solo_Predictor.exe "As administrator" the first time you start it.
4. This opens the S_P configuration window where you can specify commonly used configuration settings. Details of these fields are available at: Solo Predictor Configuration Page
   1. You must enter the licensecode for Solo_Predictor in addition to any other changes you want to make, then click "Save".
   2. You may see a "Windows Security Alert" window appear. Click on the default button, "Allow access'.
5. Solo_Predictor now starts and opens a Solo_Predictor logging console window.

Notes:

• The settings file, "C:\Program Files\EVRI\Solo_Predictor_43\application\default.xml" is updated with your configuration inputs when you close the configuration window by clicking "Save".
• The Solo_Predictor Configuration window only appears when Solo_Predictor is started for the first time. You must edit the saved settings file to make any subsequent changes to the configuration as this file is read whenever Solo_Predictor starts. Thus you can change any Solo_Predictor settings by editing this file and restarting Solo_Predictor.
• A simple test to see if Solo_Predictor is working correctly is to use a web browser, for example Firefox, and this URL:

   http://127.0.0.1:2211/?:version

This assumes you are using the default port, 2211.

Specifying a Settings File

When Solo_Predictor is started by double-clicking on the installed Solo_Predictor.exe file it uses the settings file "default.xml" located in the same folder. If a shortcut file is created from this Solo_Predictor.exe then this shortcut can be edited ("Properties") to start in any specified folder, and then it will start Solo_Predictor using a "default.xml" settings file found in that specified folder, if it exists.

Solo_Predictor can also be started by a command entered in a terminal (Windows "cmd" or any other, for example Cmder). The simplest example is:

 cd C:\Program Files\EVRI\Solo_Predictor_43\application
 Solo_Predictor.exe

which starts Solo_Predictor and uses the settings file "default.xml" found in the this folder, if it exists. If this settings file does not exist then an error window appears which says: "Could not locate preferences file. Error in => startsolo.m at line 2".

It is possible to specify exactly which settings file should be used by including it as an argument to the command, for example:

 "C:\Program Files\EVRI\Solo_Predictor_43\application\Solo_Predictor.exe" "-loadsettings \"C:\Program Files\EVRI\Solo_Predictor_43\application\default_43.xml\""

In this case the Solo_Predictor executable and the settings file are specified by their full paths and so do not depend on any assumptions about where the executable starts. Note the need to escape the double-quotes around the path in the command's argument using a back-slash.

Linux

Installation on Linux

1. Download the .install installer from your Eigenvector account. Note your Solo_Predictor's license code as this will be needed to launch Solo_Predictor.
2. Run the installer .install in Terminal by running ./Solo_Predictor_WebInstaller.install. You will be guided by an installation wizard which presents:
   1. "Solo" splash screen appears.
   2. Within one minute a wizard page appears identifying "Solo_Predictor M.N", where "M.N" is the version being installed, for example, we'll refer to version "4.3" here. Click "Next>".
   3. Choose the installation folder. The default choice is: "/usr/local/bin/Solo_Predictor_MN".
   4. If the MATLAB Runtime library is not found on your computer then a window will appear telling you that it will need to be downloaded and installed. In this case you must enter the path for the installation folder to use. The default choice is: "/usr/local/MATLAB/MATLAB_Runtime". Accept this or choose where you want to install it. This can take fifteen minutes or more to complete.
   5. License Agreement page. Click to accept, and "Next>".
   6. A confirmation page appears summarizing the configuration choices. Click "Install>".
   7. A progress-bar window appears showing the installation progress until a window appears reporting "Installation completed successfully". It also gives the default install location for Solo_Predictor (/usr/local/bin/Solo_Predictor_MN/application). The installer will also tell you to update the Terminal environment variables LD_LIBRARY_PATH and XAPPLRESDIR. Do this in Terminal before launching Solo_Predictor. Click "Finish" icon. You will launch Solo_Predictor by navigating to the location of Solo_Predictor and running the run_Solo_Predictor.sh file by executing ./run_Solo_Predictor.sh [MCR_Root], where MCR_Root is the location of the MATLAB Runtime. For example, Solo_Predictor 4.3 uses MATLAB v99 (R2020b) Runtime. So the way to launch Solo_Predictor under these conditions would be to run

 ./run_Solo_Predictor.sh /usr/local/MATLAB/MATLAB_Runtime/v99

1. This opens the S_P configuration window where you can specify commonly used configuration settings. Details of these fields are available at: Solo Predictor Configuration Page
   1. You must enter the licensecode for Solo_Predictor in addition to any other changes you want to make, then click "Save".
   2. You may see a "Windows Security Alert" window appear. Click on the default button, "Allow access'.
2. Solo_Predictor now starts and opens a Solo_Predictor logging console window.

Notes:

• The settings file, "/usr/local/bin/Solo_Predictor_43/application/default.xml" is updated with your configuration inputs when you close the configuration window by clicking "Save".
• The Solo_Predictor Configuration window only appears when Solo_Predictor is started for the first time. You must edit the saved settings file to make any subsequent changes to the configuration as this file is read whenever Solo_Predictor starts. Thus you can change any Solo_Predictor settings by editing this file and restarting Solo_Predictor.
• A simple test to see if Solo_Predictor is working correctly is to use a web browser, for example Firefox, and this URL:

   http://127.0.0.1:2211/?:version

This assumes you are using the default port, 2211.

Specifying a Settings File

When Solo_Predictor is started file it uses the settings file "default.xml" located in the same folder. If a shortcut file is created from this Solo_Predictor then this shortcut can be edited ("Properties") to start in any specified folder, and then it will start Solo_Predictor using a "default.xml" settings file found in that specified folder, if it exists. If the default.xml settings file does not exist then an error window appears which says: "Could not locate preferences file. Error in => startsolo.m at line 2".

It is possible to specify exactly which settings file should be used by including it as an argument to the command, for example:

 ./run_Solo_Predictor.sh /usr/local/MATLAB/MATLAB_Runtime/v99 '-debug -loadsettings "/home/scott/default.xml"'

In this case the Solo_Predictor executable and the settings file are specified by their full paths and so do not depend on any assumptions about where the executable starts.

Getting Help

Start by checking our FAQ Pages. For Solo: also check the Solo Troubleshooting Pages

If you cannot find the information you need there, send problem reports to helpdesk@eigenvector.com

Please send your message with the following information:

• Product License/Registration Number
• Computer type, model and operating system version
• Exact errors you are receiving (if any)
• Hardware and memory configuration (if reporting a memory issue)
• Your contact information including either your Eigenvector Username or the following information

First Name

Last Name

Company Name

Phone Country Code

Phone Area Code

Phone Main

Phone Extension