These following instructions are for installing Opus & UrbanSim on Windows using the Opus Installer. This works either for installing a stable release of the system or for installing the latest development version of the system (there is an option in the installation process to select which version of the code and sample data you want). These installation directions have been tested with Windows XP. The Opus Installer requires an internet connection during installation.

Are you an ArcGIS user? Please read our ArcGIS notes before running the OPUS installer.

NOTE: We have had no problems with the installer on Windows XP, and it has now also been tested successfully on Windows 7. However, some users have reported problems with installation on Windows Vista. We cannot, unfortunately, recommend running UrbanSim on the Vista platform, and suggest using XP or Windows 7 if you are a Windows user.

Download and Run the Current Stable Windows Installer (through OPUS 4.2.2)

Please download the Opus Installer. This will download an executable file called opus_installer.exe. Run it.

See a list of the packages included in this version of the installer.

The Opus Installer will install a number of programs and components by default. The installer is also capable of installing other programs and packages that you may wish to use. In this section, we describe what is installed by default and the additional software that can be installed if chosen.

To test if your installation was successful, go to start menu and select Programs, Opus, OpusGUI Opus. It should launch the graphical interface to Opus and UrbanSim. Then do File, Open Project, and select the eugene_gridcell project. In the Scenarios tab of the GUI, select the Eugene_baseline scenario, right-click, and run. Click the start run button and if this completes, you should have a working install.

Download and Run the Beta Version of the New Windows Installer for OPUS 4.3.0

See a list of the packages included in this version of the installer.

Note: This installer is in initial testing. We have incorporated a snapshot of the OPUS/UrbanSim software, that is not quite frozen as a stable release. So the purpose of making this installer available is for user testing and feedback. We think it is a major improvement. But, please be aware of the following:

• If you have an existing install: you should back up any data you have developed within the opus directory, and then uninstall Python, Python packages, and OPUS/UrbanSim. The new installer does a complete uninstall if you choose to uninstall, unlike the old one!
• The download is very large: around 650MB! Use a fast connection or run the download overnight. Once it is final, we may offer a CD option as well as download.
• There are three options to choose from once you launch the installer: a default, minimal install that contains the most commonly needed packages; a developer install that adds packages and features to support users who want to examine and possibly extend the code, such as eclipse and pydev; and a full install/custom install that allows you to either select from a very long list of optional packages, or just choose them all. The sizes of the installs are approximately:
  • Minimal install: 280MB
  • Developer install: 631MB
  • Full install: 1.2GB
• If you are not interested in working with the Python code, we suggest the minimal install. One additional package you may want to choose from the optional install list, probably as a second install after completing the minimal install, is the graphicsmagick package, which we use for generating animated maps.

Please give us feedback on your experience with the installer: what operating system did you use, and how well did the installer work for you?