Installing Caret5 Software

This page contains instructions on how to install caret on Linux, Mac OSX, and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

To get the caret distribution, go to the caret home page, register for caret, and download the software.

As of version 5.6, there is now one caret distribution that contains executables for all of the supported operating systems.

Installing Caret5 on Linux Systems

Linux should only be used by those who have significant knowledge of system administration or support from a highly skilled system administrator.

Place the downloaded file in /usr/local or a directory of your choosing (these instructions assume that you have chosen /usr/local).  You may need root/administrator access to perform these operations.  Run the following commands in a terminal window:

  1. Download the caret distribution and place the downloaded file in /usr/local.
  2. unzip caret_distribution.v5.6.zip (The name of the file you download may be slightly different),
  3. cd caret
  4. chmod   u+x   ./install-caret
  5. ./install-caret
  6. Update the PATH environment variable so that it includes the Caret installations “bin_linux” directory.  If you have chosen to install caret in /usr/local, this directory is the /usr/local/caret/bin_linux directory.  This is usually accomplished by adding a line such as “setenv PATH /usr/local/caret/bin_linux/:$PATH” to the user’s “.cshrc” file.
  7. See your friendly system administrator for assistance.

Linux Notes

A user has reported a problem with Caret crashing on a Linux system when displaying a volume.  The crash has to do with  caret trying to render text which ultimately uses the FreeType library.  Check for the file ".fonts.conf" in your home directory.  If it exists, rename it and see what happens.

If caret is crashes frequently, it may be the OpenGL libraries installed on your system.  Try running "caret5_mesa" which uses software OpenGL libraries included in the caret distribution.  If this does not crash, you should try to update your graphics card drivers (contain the OpenGL libraries).  caret5_mesa should only be used for diagnosing possible OpenGL library problems; it is not intended for normal usage.

If your Linux operating system has the program "glxgears" or "/usr/bin/glxgears", try running it.  If it crashes you definitely have a problem with your OpenGL drivers and libraries.

If your operating system is upgraded YOU MUST update your OpenGL drivers and libraries.  They are obtained from the manufacturer of the graphics card.

Installing Caret5 on Mac OSX Systems

On Mac OSX systems, the /usr directory is not directly accessible from Finder, so these instructions assume that caret will be installed in /Applications.
  1. Download the caret distribution and place the file in /Applications.
  2. unzip caret_distribution.v5.6.zip (The name of the file you download may be slightly different),
  3. cd caret
  4. chmod   u+x   ./install-caret
  5. ./install-caret
  6. Update the PATH environment variable so that it includes the Caret installations “bin_macosx” directory.  If you have installed caret in /Applications, this directory is the /Applications/caret/bin_macosx directory.  This is usually accomplished by adding a line such as “setenv PATH /Applications/caret/bin_macosx:$PATH” to the user’s “.cshrc” file.
  7. See your friendly system administrator for assistance.

Adding Caret5 to the Dock

To place caret5 in the Dock, open up a finder and navigate to the caret installations “/Applications/caret/macosx_apps” directory.  Drag the Caret5 icon from Finder into the Dock.  This allows Caret to be started from the Dock like other Mac applications.

Enable Double-clicking of a Spec File in Finder to Start Caret5. 

It may be possible to set up your Mac so that you can navigate to a directory and double-click a spec file to start Caret.  To set this up, use Finder to locate a Spec File.  Hold down the "control" key and then click the mouse over the spec file to pop-up a menu.  From the menu, select Get Info.  Click the arrow next to Open with" to show additional items.  Click on the control immediately below Open with: and select Other...".  Use the dialog that is displayed to navigate to the /usr/local/caret/macosx_apps directory.  Change Enable from Recommended Applications to All Applications.  Select the caret5 icon and press the Add button. 

Installing Caret5 on Windows XP

These instructions assume that you are installing caret into the "C:" directory.
  1. Download the caret distribution to the Desktop.
  2. Right-click the mouse on the downloaded file and, from the popup menu, select Extract All which displays the Extraction Wizard.
  3. Press the Next push button on the Extraction Wizard Dialog.
  4. On the Select a Destination Page of the Extraction Wizard, press the Browse Push Button and, in the Select a Destination Dialog, choose a destination, such as "C:" for Caret5.  Press the OK push button on the Select a Destination Dialog.
  5. Press the Next push button on the Extraction Wizard Dialog and the files will be extracted creating a new directory (folder) named caret.
  6. Press the Finish push button on the Extraction Wizard Dialog.

Creating a Shortcut on the Windows XP Desktop

  1. Place the mouse so that it is NOT over any icons on the Desktop.
  2. Press the right mouse button and a popup menu is displayed.  From the popup menu, move the mouse to the New menu, and select Shortcut.
  3. Press the Browse button, and, in the Browse for Folder Dialog, go into caret’s “C:/caret/bin_windows” directory and select the file caret5.  Press the OK push button on the Browse for Folder Dialog.
  4. Press the Next push button on the Create Shortcut Dialog.
  5. On the next page, leave the name of the shortcut caret5 and press the Finish push button.
  6. Double-click the Caret5 icon on the Desktop to start Caret5.

Setting the Path Environment Variable so that Caret5 and caret_command May Be Started from a Command Line Window

  1. From the Start Menu, select Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the System Icon.
  3. On the System Properties Dialog, click the Advanced tab.
  4. Press the Environment Variables push button near the bottom of the System Properties Dialog.
  5. In the Environment Variables Dialog, there are two types of environment variables.  The bottom set of environment variables, System variables, will set the Path for all users on the computer.  User variables for <login-name> will only set the Path environment variable for the currently logged in user. 
  6. If there is no Path environment variable, press the New push button.  In the Edit Variable Dialog that pops up, enter Path for the Variable name and then enter the Variable value C:\caret\bin_windows.  Note that only the directory is needed.  Press the OK push button to close the Edit Variable Dialog.
  7. If there is a Path environment variable, press the Edit push button.  In the Edit Variable Dialog, press the left mouse button in the Variable value text box, press the Home key to get to the beginning of the value, press the left mouse button before the first character, and then enter C:\caret\bin_windows;" (a semicolon is required between all directory names in the PATH).  Press the OK push button to close the Edit Variable Dialog.
  8. Press the OK push button on the Environment Variables Dialog.
  9. Press the OK push button on the System Properties Dialog.
  10. Close the Control Panel Window.
  11. Using the Start Menu button, move the mouse over All Programs, and from the Accessories Menu, select Command Prompt.
  12. In the Command Prompt Window, enter the command caret5  If the Path Environment variable has been set correctly, Caret5 will start.  If not, check the previous steps.

Enable Double-clicking a “.spec” File to Start Caret5 in Windows

  1. From the Taskbar, select the Start menu and choose Control Panel.
  2. This step is only necessary if the Control Panel is in Category View.  If it is, you will see Pick A Category near the top of the Window’s contents.  If so, click Appearance and Themes.  If not, continue to the next step.
  3. Double-click Folder Options.
  4. Select the File Types tab.
  5. Scroll through the list of file types looking for SPEC.  If SPEC is found, press the mouse once on it to select it and then press the Delete button.  If the Delete button is disabled, first press the Restore button which will enable the Delete button.  Confirm that you want to delete the SPEC extension.
  6. Press the New button and the Create New Extension dialog will appear.
  7. Enter SPEC for the file extension and press the OK button to close the Create New Extension dialog.
  8. In the Details for SPEC Extension section, press the Advanced button to display the Edit File Type dialog.
  9. Press the New button to display the New Action dialog.
  10. Enter open for the Action.
  11. Press the Browse button and find the file caret5.exe which is located in your caret distribution’s C:\caret\bin_windows directory.  Select caret5.exe and press the Open button to close the Open With dialog.
  12. Press OK on the New Action dialog to close it.
  13. Press the OK button on the Edit File Type Dialog to close it.
  14. Press Close on the Folder Options dialog.
  15. Double click a Spec File and Caret5 should start with the Spec File Dialog listing the Spec File’s data files.

Windows 2000 and Earlier Version of Windows


You will need to use a program such as WinZip (www.winzip) to extract the Caret5 distribution.  The Windows XP installation instructions starting with Creating a Shortcut should still apply.

OpenGL Libraries for Microsoft Windows


Included in the Caret5 distribution for windows is a directory named “lib_windows_software_opengl”.  This directory contains Microsoft’s software OpenGL libraries (OpenGL is the software the draws the Caret5 brain model graphics).  In most cases, users will not need these libraries.

If you start Caret5 and an error message is displayed about not being able to find DLL OpenGL32.dll then copy the files in the “lib_windows_software_opengl” directory into the “bin_windows” directory.

If Caret5 crashes when it is loading files (the progress dialog’s last message will be “initializing data”), it may be due to a bug in you computer’s OpenGL libraries.  You can determine your OpenGL libraries by selecting About OpenGL from Caret5’s Help menu.  We have seen this problem with Intel’s graphics drivers.  If this is the case, copy the files in the “lib_windows_software_opengl” directory into the “bin_windows” directory. 

There are known problems with some ATI graphics card drivers that causes identification operations to be very slow.  You can follow the instructions in the previous paragraph to see if things improve.  If so, try updating your ATI graphics card's drivers.


"OpenGL Error: invalid enumerant" Message


If this message is displayed, try restarting caret5 from the command line as "caret5 -notext".  If this eliminates the error message and caret5 is being run on a Linux system, try updating the "FreeType" library.  If that does not solve the problem try updating the OpenGL library.  On Windows, try updating the OpenGL library.