# Install PoPy

## Downloading PoPy

First, self-register an account with the PoPy product site at https://product.popypkpd.com/register

When logged in with your email address and a password, download the latest binary from https://product.popypkpd.com/releases/

We currently provide a 64-bit version of PoPy for Windows 10/11. The download file is approximately 300Mb which will take around 6 minutes to download using a broadband connection.

Note

If you have a previous version of PoPy installed, please Uninstall PoPy before installing the new version.

## Installing PoPy

Double-click on the PoPy installer, popy-1.3.0-win64-installer.exe

The installer places the software in a subdirectory called PoPy. We recommend PoPy is installed in the root directory of the main drive (typically `c:\PoPy`).

(A local user typically has write access to the c:\ drive but not to c:\Program Files unless the user is an administrator.)

The installer will uncompress the PoPy files, just click on the .exe installer and follow the prompts. You will need approx 1.5Gb of disk space, and the install time may take 5 minutes or so depending on the speed of your computer.

The installer also creates a desktop shortcut and Windows start menu shortcut under the name ‘PoPy’, for the current user only.

The installer makes no changes to the Windows registry and does not require admin rights.

Note

It is possible to install PoPy on a usb stick. However due to the way the Python language operates, i.e. many .py files, this will have a significant performance impact. It is much better to install PoPy on the main hard drive of a computer.

## Activating PoPy

Your PoPy installation can be used for 60 days on a trial period basis.

To continue using PoPy after this free trial period has expired, pick the type of licence you require and email us at info@popypkpd.com to get a product key.

When you have the product key, Open a PoPy Command Prompt and type:

    popy activate <product_key>

to activate your PoPy installation (where “<product_key>” is the product key we sent to you).

## Checking your new PoPy Installation

PoPy runs from the command line, typically called command prompt under Windows 7/8/9 or PowerShell under Windows 10. To access PoPy commands in the current command prompt, type:-

    popy

This scripts sets up the environment variables so you can access PoPy commands and displays a quick summary of the commands available. See Open a PoPy Command Prompt.

To verify that PoPy is working, execute the command:-

    popy info

If PoPy has successfully installed, output similar to that below will appear, providing detailed information on the installation:-

    INFO - In a PoPy Binary environment
    INFO - popy_flavour=binary
    INFO - popy_python_path=C:\PoPy\
    INFO - popy_release=<X.Y.Z>
    INFO - popy_version=academic
    INFO - python_version=3.8.6
    INFO - windows_version=('10', '10.0.17134', 'SP0', 'Multiprocessor Free')
    INFO - machine_name=mickey
    INFO - product_key=None
    The product is running in trial mode
    trial days remaining=3
    INFO - should_run=True

The output above will vary depending on the PoPy Activation status of PoPy.

If you want to run more rigorous tests then see Validate PoPy.

## Win10 Increase max path length

Note if you use PoPy with deeply nested folder structures it is recommended that you increase the max file path length from the default Windows 10 limit of 260 characters, see here:-

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/maximum-file-path-limitation

For your convenience we have supplied the registry editor file `conf/win10_allow_long_paths.reg`.

If you are using Windows 10 and have admin privileges, you can simply click on this file to remove the 260 character limit.

## Troubleshooting

Please email us at info@popypkpd.com if you have any problems with this installation process so that we can diagnose the fault and issue any necessary bug fixes as soon as possible.