Installation and User Manuals

The sections below describe how to install The Tree Project program and use it.
You first need to install the program before you can use it. Installation requires basic computer skills. Also, you need to have Java installed on your computer. But first follow the instructions below to avoid an unnecessary Java installation.

Installation Manual

Follow these steps to install the program:

1. Download the executable code, which comes in the form of a zip file called ‘code.V6.1.zip’, and save it to a convenient location on your hard drive. The download should only take a few seconds. Note that the current version of the code is 6.1.
2. Extract the contents of the zip file by double clicking on it and then choosing ‘Extract’ or ‘Extract all’ or something like that. (For example in Windows Dutch version you would choose ‘Alle bestanden uitpakken’).
3. Navigate to the folder where the contents were placed: you should see directories called ‘config’, ‘images’ and ‘trees’ and a file called ‘TTP.jar’ (or ‘TTP’ if the extension is hidden).
4. Double click on the TTP.jar file. If all goes well then you should see a short animation.

Congratulations! You successfully installed and started the program!

Note: Due to a bug in more recent Java implementations, you may have to manually stretch the screen a little bit to see all the buttons.

What if it doesn't work?

There may be several reasons why things didn't work out…

• Maybe Java is not installed on your computer?
  • For Windows: Press Windows key+R and enter cmd and then in the black DOS box enter java -version (Note: the Windows key is somewhere between Ctrl and Alt).
  • For Linux: Open a terminal or terminal emulator and enter java -version
  If you get an error message then probably Java is not installed. You can install Java from www.java.com. Then try running TTP.jar again.
• If Java is installed, maybe be you have an old version? I used Java version 1.8.0 to compile the program. Then if you use an older version of Java the program will not work.
• In some Linux versions a .jar file will not just execute by double clicking. You have to explicitly tell it to open with java -jar or OpenJDK Java Runtime and/or make it an executable as well. Right click on the TTP.jar file to adjust these properties.
  However, in my case it did not fully function even then: although the screen above appeared, for some reason the properties file and The Tree Project logo (which you should see when you choose About in the Help menu) were not read.
  For me to get it to work in Linux I use a terminal emulator, then cd to the directory where TTP.jar is stored and give the java -jar TTP.jar command.
  Anyone knows what might be the cause? Then please contact me by sending an e-mail to the address given on the home page.
• If you're Java savvy, you may also download the source code given on the home page and compile and run it.
  • For Windows: From a DOS box cd to the src directory and give the javac tree\Tree.java command to compile the program and then java tree.Tree to run it.
  • For Linux: From a terminal emulator cd to the src directory and give the javac tree/Tree.java command to compile the program and then java tree.Tree to run it.
  Make sure that the config and images directories are subdirectories of the directory where you give the java command or the configuration file and The Tree Project logo will not be read!
• If all this does not help, contact me by sending an e-mail to the address given on the home page.