Introduction
This page covers installing Simbus products & getting a License File quickly if you are an Individual Licensee.
If you are a Technical Administrator and you received License Keys on behalf of someone else in your Organization, then we recommend that you read the following instead:
- Section 6.3.4 (“Managing License File Requests for Other End Users”) in the user guide and
- All of chapter 7 (“Complex Licensing Scenarios”) in the user guide.
Terms used on this page which have their first letter(s) in uppercase are defined in the FAQ.
Steps to Follow
The figure below shows the steps that you need to take in order to install the Products and to get a License File to start using them. These steps are described after the figure.
STEP 1: Download and Install Products
Simbus Products are distributed as a single file called a Simbus Distribution File (SDF). The SDF can be downloaded on your platform using the download link that is provided in the email containing your License Key(s).
The SDF uses the MATLAB toolbox file format and have the “.mltbx” file extension. This is a MathWorks-defined cross-platform format and permits installation of the Products to be managed easily from within MATLAB.
Download the Products
- Click on the download link in your fulfillment email to download the SDF and then save it to a convenient directory. (We have saved it to the Documents\MATLAB directory on our Windows Platform for this example.)
- If you wish to verify the SDF, then please read this page.
A single download of the SDF is sufficient even if you have purchased multiple licenses. The SDF is the same irrespective of License Type.
Install the Products
- Start MATLAB normally – make sure that you run MATLAB with Java (starting MATLAB without Java is an unusual thing to do!).
- Now go to the HOME tab in MATLAB as shown below:
- Click on “Open”. This will open the file dialog as shown below (this may look slightly different depending on your Platform – the dialog shown below was captured on a Windows Platform):
- Navigate to the directory where you saved the SDF.
- Select the SDF and then click on the Open button. This will open the MATLAB Add-On Manager and initiate the installation. The final stage of the installation is shown below:
- Click the Close button to complete the installation and to open the GettingStarted Live Code file as shown below.
- Click the Close button to complete the installation and to open the GettingStarted Live Code file as shown below. This file provides a more in-depth description of getting a License File. A PDF of the GettingStarted file can be found here. Please note that the GettingStarted file assumes that you have installed the Products already and mainly covers how to get a Licence File. Product installation is presented in this section and in section 5.9 of the user guide.
STEP 2: Create License File Request(s) Using GetMyLicenseFile
License Files are issued by Simbus after receiving one or more License File Requests (LFRs). An LFR is a file that contains the License Key(s) that you purchased (or received after a Trial Request) and information about you (such as your login credentials) and the Platform on which you will use the Products.
LFRs are created using the GetMyLicenseFile function. GetMyLicenseFile is a MATLAB function that is available for use following installation of Simbus Products.
GetMyLicenseFile must be executed on the same Platform on which you intend to use the Products!
GetMyLicenseFile has many options and can be run in interactive mode or noninteractive mode (useful for Technical Administrators who make LFRs on behalf of others). We will describe how to use it in interactive mode only (the introduction above provides information if you are a Technical Administrator).
Detailed information on GetMyLicenseFile usage can be found by issuing the following from the MATLAB command prompt:
doc GetMyLicenseFile
Run GetMyLicenseFile in MATLAB by issuing the following from the MATLAB command prompt:
GetMyLicenseFile
If you have a License Key for a Commercial License, then the output of a typical interactive session with GetMyLicenseFile is shown below (with user responses shown in boldface). An interactive session with GetMyLicenseFile for the case that you have other License Key types (Academic, Student, Trial, Run-Time) will look very similar. You are required to provide an image of your student ID if you are a student.
A warning message box will be displayed to remind you to select your role appropriately (you are an Individual Licensee in this case). Click on “OK” and select “Individual End User” by entering “1” at the prompt.
Entering “1” at the prompt will now prompt you for your License Key and your details.
Make sure to provide your email address accurately! The Simbus Licensing Team will send the License File to the email address that you provide to GetMyLicenseFile.
STOP!
Review the output of GetMyLicenseFile! Did you:
- Run GetMyLicenseFile on the Platform on which you intend to use the Products?
- Did you provide the correct License Key?
- Did you provide the correct email address?
If the answer is “No”, then:
- Delete the LFR that you just created.
- Re-run GetMyLicenseFile on the Platform on which you intend to use the Products.
- Provide the correct License Key and email address.
STEP3: Send LFR to the Simbus Licensing Team
Now email your LFR as an attachment to the Simbus Licensing Team at licensing@simbus.com. You acknowledge that you will be bound by the terms and conditions of the license agreement after the License File is generated.
The Simbus Licensing Team will use the LFR to create your License File. It will be sent to the email address that you provide to GetMyLicenseFile in step 2.
STEP4: Receive License File
You will receive your License File at the email address that you provided in your LFR. It will be named according to the details that you provided to GetMyLicenseFile and the LFR creation time. For the example details provided in step 2 above, the License File will be named as follows:
MR_JOHN_DOE_2022_03_19_15_01_20.slf
Save the License File to a convenient directory. Ideally, this directory should be on the MATLAB search path.
Make sure to make a backup of your License File!
STEP5: Modifying MATLAB's Startup Sequence
Save the License File to a convenient directory. Ideally, this directory should be on the MATLAB search path.
We recommended that you modify your MATLAB startup sequence so that Simbus Products can find your new License File even if it is not on the MATLAB search path. This will allow you to use Simbus products immediately after starting MATLAB. We also recommend that you do this as soon as you receive your new license file.
If you have a startup.m file already then open it and place the following code before any calls to Simbus functions that you may have:
simbus_license_file('MR_JOHN_DOE_2022_03_19_15_01_20.slf');
You may also specify a full path to your License File. On Windows Platforms, you should provide a Windows-compatible path:
simbus_license_file('C:\Users\jdoe\Documents\MR_JOHN_DOE_2022_03_19_15_01_20.slf');
On Ubuntu (Linux) Platforms, you should provide a Unix-compatible path:
simbus_license_file('/home/jdoe/documents/MR_JOHN_DOE_2022_03_19_15_01_20.slf');
startup
The properties of your License File can now be interrogated. For example, to get the end date (expiration date) of your License, then issue the following command at the MATLAB command prompt:
simbus_license_info('end_date')
You will need to supply your LFR ID in order to submit a service request (if your License permits – see Q3.4 of the FAQ). This can be obtained by issuing the following command at the MATLAB command prompt:
simbus_license_info('lfr_id')
If you do not have a startup.m file already, then you may want to use the one provided in the Products. Issue the following at the MATLAB command prompt:
edit example_startup.m
Save the above file as startup.m in the directory where you normally start MATLAB and edit lines 34 and 35 as shown in the figure below:
The GettingStarted Live Code file has more information on this. Open it from MATLAB as follows:
edit GettingStarted.mlx
A PDF of GettingStarted is available here and is also distributed with the Products and can be opened from MATLAB using:
open GettingStarted.pdf
You should now be able to use the Products. Try opening one of the simplest examples provided with Simbus Bondgraphs:
ex_series_R
The following model should now open:
Double-clicking on the circuit diagram should show the following view:
You should now be able to run this model. Try exploring the other examples provided in Simbus Bondgraphs too:
lib_simbus_bondgraphs
