Appendix A
PDPTool Version 3 Installation and Quick Start Guide

A.1 Introduction and System requirements

This document describes how to install and run PDPTool Version 3 on your computer.

The software is intended to run under MATLAB on all platforms supported by MATLAB. There may be some incompatibility with older versions of MATLAB due to changes in function calls. Stanford cluster computers that should be accessible to you have MATLAB installed, and may be used to run the software.

If you encounter difficulties with installation, send email to: sshansen@stanford.edu.

A.2 Installation

Source files for PDPTool are located on Dropbox.

Install PDPTool using the following steps.

1. Right click (control-click on mac) HERE, and select open link in new tab.
2. Find the blue Download menu item.
3. Click the arrow next to the word Download, and Select Download as .zip. The file is big, this may take a few minutes.
4. Extact all files to a folder of your choice, which we will call the ’pdptool folder’.
5. Start MATLAB.
6. In MATLAB, set your path variable to point to PDPTool using the following steps.
   1. Right-click (ctrl-click for macs) the pdptool folder.
   2. Select add to path / selected folders and sub-folders.
   3. Click the Save button on the set path dialog box to save the path for future sessions.
   4. Click the Close button.
7. Try starting up the first exercise, as described under Using the software below.

A.3 Using PDPTool at a Stanford Cluster Computer

If you use PDPTool at a Stanford cluster computer, install the program and save your work to your AFS filespace, which includes the desktop.

You will be unable to save your MATLAB settings. At the beginning of each session, repeat step 6 of the installation to set the correct path variable and command history preferences.

In the Set Path dialog box, do not click the Save button. When you click the Close button, a dialog box appears to ask if you would like to save the path. Click No.

A.4 Using the software

At the MATLAB command prompt, you can type the name of an exercise, and the program will start. However, it is useful to make the current working directory the directory containing the exercise you want to work on. So, for the first homework for Psychology 209 for Autumn, 2014, change your working folder to the exercises/pa exercises folder. Type pa_ex1.m to start the exercise. If a Network Viewer window opens, you are ready to start the exercise.

Background and instructions on using PDPTool for the first exercise are available for the first Homework for Psych 209, Autumn, 2014, are available Chapter 4 of the Handbook.