Chapter 1. Getting started
- Table of Contents
- 1.1. Before installing Debrief
- 1.2. Start Debrief
- 1.3. Importing Track Data
- 1.4. Moving around the view
1.1. Before installing Debrief
1.1.1. Preparing your system
Debrief and it's installer are built using a software library named Java. Java is a product of Sun Microsystems Limited, which must be download prior to installing Debrief. The newest version of Java for your operating system may be downloaded from the Java download page.
Once Java is downloaded and installed, you may proceed to download the Debrief application itself.
1.1.2. Obtaining Debrief
A number of project support activities (news, feature-requests, bug-reports) for Debrief are conducted online, at a web-site known as SourceForge. SourceForge is also used to store the newest versions of Debrief, ready for download.
The home page for Debrief on SourceForge is at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/debrief. From this home you can read the latest news on Debrief, request new features, report bugs, and download the most recent version. To obtain the latest version, examine the table titled "Latest File Releases", and click on the Download link next to Debrief-Installation-Set. Then click on install.exe for a windows version of Debrief, or install.bin for a unix version.
 | If you already have Debrief installed, but just want to install an update, look at the files listed in the Debrief-Updates section of the Latest File Releases. For each new release of Debrief, the significant files are located individually in the Latest File Releases. If you do not wish to download the full Debrief installation, just download these individual files and replace your existing copies with these. It is important to download and use all of the files provided to ensure compatibility. |
 | If you already have Debrief 2000, 2001 or 2002 installed on your machine you should attempt to remove it using the button from the button on the Windows menu. |
 | Debrief is also available in source and binary distributions from the SourceForge web-site, in the Debrief-Developer package. These distributions are suited to the software developer wishing to learn more about the structure of Debrief or wishing to extend its functionality. Once either of these distributions are downloaded, unzip them and examine the readme.txt file in the top level directory. |
1.1.3. Debrief on CD-Rom
| If you are unable to download Debrief from the Internet, please contact the Project Manager, and a copy of Debrief on CD-ROM will be forwarded to you. |
1.1.4. Running installation
Once you have installed Java, and downloaded your installation set you can continue to install the application. Double-click on install.exe and follow the steps provided. You are first met with the welcome screen:
Click on the button to move forward through the screens. The first choice you are offered is the destination of the Debrief files. Unless you have any strong objection this default destination is normally acceptable. The next choice is the selection of whether you want shortcuts to Debrief to be created, and where they should be placed. Accepting the default option (of creating a new Program Group) is satisfactory for most users. Next you will see the Pre-Installation Summary dialog which will allow you to review the selected options for the installation.
After this you will see Debrief being installed onto your machine
Finally you will be greeted with the Installation Complete dialog informing you that everything went ok.
It's now time to start Debrief