We will send you a link to the software on our server. Download the file and save it to your desktop or some other location you have access to.
Windows privileges
There is no option during installation to select a destination folder. PLP/MCU installs and runs from the following folder–
C:\Program Files\TMQ\PLP
–and all of the files it creates are, by default, written to subfolders of the installation folder.
Thus, PLP requires that whoever runs the program be an 'Administrator' in Windows. This applies not only to installation, but to program usage also.1).
Installation
When the software has been downloaded, double-click on the downloaded file to run the installer. The format of the installation filename is
setupPlpMcu-3-xxx.exe
where 'xxx' represents a subversion number.
When the installation completes, there may be a screen listing the changes made in the current subversion, and a link to this website.
The following screenshot shows a typical file layout when the installation completes:
The program folder is C:\Program Files\TMQ\PLP. The typical contents after installation are:
When the program first runs, a file called _sequence.ini will be created in the installation folder. This file is used for enumerating the sessions and ensures a Session Id is never used twice. Never change or move this file!
Also, when the program first runs, and at the first run of any subversion, default PLP configuration files will be generated in the Options folder. These files are persistent–if you delete them, the program will regenerate the next time it starts.2)
The name of this file is not very descriptive, but it is read by both PLP and MCU when they start. This file allows the user to change the default locations for the Options and Sessions folders, and to set a default location for incoming MARC data.
The settings that might be useful to most users:
marcfolder=D:\Marc\ optionsfolder=\\library\batch\options\plp\ topsessionfolder=D:\marc\mcu\
The syntax of _drives.ini is as shown above: the option name in lowercase, followed by '=' (no space), followed by (again, no space) the option value. Please do not use relative pathnames for option values.
MCU Options
Unlike PLP, all of the options that can be set in MCU pertain to the layout of the record displays; these options are not stored in a config file, but in the system registry, in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TMQ\PLP folder. MCU options are thus user-specific; whereras PLP options are machine-specific.
When a new subversion is released, follow the installation steps above. There are usually only two files that need to be replaced in an update, mcu.exe and plp.exe. No other files will be overwritten, with the exception of the default option files, which will be updated the next time the program starts.