SystemLab|Design installation

SystemLab|Design is delivered as a ready-to-use, bundled program that includes pre-installed libraries for:

  • Python 3.8.6

  • PyQt/Qt 5.15.1(GPLv3) (GUI interface)

  • NumPy (1.19.2) (mathematical operations and signal array manipulation)

  • Matplotlib (3.2.0) (data viewers and customized graphs)

  • SciPy (1.5.2) (specialized numerical procedures)

  • Scintilla/SciTE (4.1.4) (integrated Python script editor)

    Note

    Please note that SystemLab|Design is only currently supported on Windows 10.

To install and run SystemLab|Design, complete the following steps:

  1. Download the latest version of SystemLab|Design from the following link: SystemLab|Design 20.01.r3

Note

If prompted by your web browser, select the “Save file” option.

  1. Extract the contents of the zip folder to any location on your computer (right-click on the zipped folder and select Extract All… followed by Extract).

  2. Once the extraction is complete (Fig 1), you will see the folder systemlab_design (this is main operating folder for the application). If desired, you can drag and drop this folder to any other location on your computer.

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Fig 1: Completion of folder extraction “systemlab_design”.

  1. Double left-click on the systemlab_design folder and scroll down the folder/file list until you see the application file SystemLab-Design.exe (see Fig 2).

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Fig 2: How to launch the SystemLab|Design application. For this procedure we moved the folder to the Windows Desktop

  1. Double left-click on the application file to launch the software (or optionally right-click + open).

Tip

To quickly access the SystemLab|Design application for future use, you can create a short-cut to the SystemLab-Design.exe file. To add a short-cut, right-click on the file and select Create shortcut from the pull-down menu. The short-cut application icon can then moved to any other location on your computer.

Similarly, you can add a link to the SystemLab-Design executable in the Windows Start menu by right-clicking on the file and selecting Pin to Start from the pull-down menu. A tile icon will appear on the Tiles panel of the Start menu and can be re-sized and/or moved if needed.

  1. Windows Defender SmartScreen (or similar anti-virus software) will likely initially flag “SystemLab-Design.exe” as an unrecognized app (this is normal as it has been downloaded from the internet). Select More Info to verify the publisher.

Note

The SmartScreen flag should only appear once after downloading the SystemLab|Design application from an internet connection. After local installation, it should run normally on your computer without further warnings.

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Fig 3: Windows Defender SmartScreen. Publisher should show SystemLab Inc.

  1. The publisher should indicate SystemLab Inc. (Fig 3), the issuer of the Digital Signature certificate, thus verifying the source and integrity of the software. Once the publisher is verified, select Run anyway to launch the application.

    For further information on digital signatures see the section below: About software digital signatures…. Note: If the publisher field displays unknown, we do not recommend that you launch the application. Please contact us at info@systemlabdesign.com for assistance.

Note

When launching SystemLab|Design for the first time there will be an initial delay (~10 seconds) before the application appears (Fig 5) (during this time Python compiles the code into bytecode (.pyc files)). After these cached files are built, subsequent instances of the application will load more quickly.

About software digital certificates…

Software code signing is an industry best practice used to ensure users of the integrity and identity (source) of online software. SystemLab Inc. digitally signs its SystemLab|Design application software through K-Software/Sectigo RSA Code Signing for Microsoft Authenticode.

You can thus verify that the downloaded software application was not altered after publication on our server and that the application executable came directly from us (SystemLab Inc.). For futher information on our digital signature, open the Properties of SystemLab-Design.exe, go to the tab Digital Signatures, left-click select the line for SystemLab Inc (name of signer) and click on Details (Fig 4).

If you have any questions or concerns on the digital signature information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at marc.verreault@systemlabdesign.com.

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Fig 4: Digital Signature information for publisher SystemLab Inc.

Important

With the exception of SystemLab|Design project folders or application examples, it is not recommended to move any folders or files outside of the main “systemlab_design” directory as this may cause portions of the software to work incorrectly.

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Fig 5: SystemLab|Design application GUI.