Directions to download, install, and run a copy of OSX-native Intel-Mac MLAB

This downladable version of MLAB is for Intel Macintoshes running OSX (mac-mini, mac-pro, etc.). It is a "native" (not emulated) program. This file is called mlabi.zip and it is approximately 1.1 megabytes in size. It should take no more than a few seconds to download

MLAB also exists in 32-bit Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/Vista/Win7/Win8/Win10, Intel-Linux, Motorola Macintosh OS 7/8, PowerPC Macintosh OS9, PowerPC Macintosh OSX, and several UNIX versions.

After you try MLAB please email us with your comments and questions at csi@civilized.com.

Before you download MLAB for an Intel-Mac, you will want to look at the short Introduction to using MLAB HERE. (You should print a copy for later reference.)

(Moreover, you will want to print this web-page before you try to install MLAB. It contains the directions for downloading and installing Intel-Mac MLAB.)

The version of MLAB you will obtain is the complete program with an expiration date. When you purchase and register this copy of MLAB, the expiration date is updated or removed according to the license of the system you purchase. On-line help is available (by typing "help" in MLAB), and you may order the three MLAB manuals and have them shipped to you by mail (see the Order Form page.) You may also download the manuals in PDF format from the Manuals page. It is important to have the MLAB Reference Manual!

ABOUT INSTALLING MLAB

You are about to get the downladable copy of MLAB for Intel Macintoshes running OSX from www.civilized.com. This file is called mlabi.zip. (If you wanted MLAB for an older OSX ppc Mac or an OS 9/8/7 Mac, go back and visit the download web-page for those systems.)

The version of MLAB you will obtain is the complete program with an expiration date. After you pay for it and register it, it will then have an unlimited lifetime. On-line help about MLAB functions and commands is available (by typing "help" in MLAB), and there are three MLAB manuals in PDF format that you should download from www.civilized.com.

DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING MLAB:

When you click in your web-browser to download the OSX-native Intel-Macintosh MLAB program, a Macintosh archive file called mlabi.zip will be downloaded to your computer and "unpacked", as described below. The compressed file mlabi.zip contains a directory named `mlab' containing the mlab application file and related files. This directory will appear in your Desktop directory.

(Note the file mlabi.zip is deleted, leaving just the mlab directory containing the mlab application and related files in Downloads/.)

After you have used Safari to download and unpack mlabi.zip, then using the Finder, locate the mlab directory in the Downloads directory and drag the mlab directory to the Desktop. This will move the sub-directory mlab, and its contents into the /Users/[username]/Desktop/ directory, and an icon refering to this directory will be immediately available for you to access MLAB.

[If the web-browser does not automatically unpack the mlabi.zip compressed file, then locate the mlabi.zip file using Finder and double click on the mlabi.zip file icon to unpack the mlab program and related files. A directory named mlab then appears in the directory where the mlabi.zip file was located. Again, you should drag the mlab directory to the Desktop to move the subdirectory mlab/; the mlabi.zip file may then be discarded.]

The installation of MLAB is now complete!

RUNNING MLAB THE FIRST TIME:

To run mlab for the first time, double click on the mlab directory icon. A Finder window will then appear showing the contents of the mlab directory. IF YOU JUST DOUBLE-CLICK ON THE mlab application name (titled "mlab") in the list of files showing in the Finder window, (The mlab application icon appears before the name "mlab" as a small rectangular Terminal screen with "exec" printed in green letters at the upper left corner), in later versions of Mac OS X an alert dialog window will appear stating:

In this case, just click the OK button in the alert dialog window, and start again.

To run MLAB the first time, you must RIGHT-CLICK on the MLAB application name! (With a touch-pad, you must hold the `control key' down and click on the touch-pad). When you right-click, a menu will appear.

You must select "Open with" (DO NOT SELECT "open"), and slide right to select Terminal.app, and then click that selection in the drop-down menu. An alert dialog window will then appear stating:

You should then click "Open". The MLAB program will then run; the MLAB terminal window will appear (this is just a so-called Darwin window). You will be asked to enter the principal MLAB user's name; do so. You will then be given a menu that allows you to look at some MLAB examples, which you may wish to do. When you are done, you must goto "top-level" where a * will appear as a prompt for a command. Enter the command "exit" to exit MLAB. FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, DOUBLE-CLICKING ON THE NAME MLAB IN THE LIST OF FILES OF THE MLAB DIRECTORY PRESENTED BY THE FINDER WILL RUN MLAB WITHOUT FUSS! (On subsequent executions of the mlab application, the security alert dialog windows will not appear.)

RUNNING MLAB THE SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT TIMES:

To run MLAB, display the MLAB directory in a Finder window, and double-click on the MLAB application name in the displayed list of files.

An MLAB Terminal window will then appear with the MLAB application running therein. On the first execution of mlab, you were prompted to enter a user name. This user name will appear in the MLAB terminal window henceforth. Starting on the second day, you will be shown your MLAB id value and asked to register MLAB; until you have an MLAB registration number (also called an authorization key), you should just enter 0, as directed.

Then, in addition to the MLAB terminal window, a menu with options for running MLAB demonstration scripts (called do-files), going to top-level MLAB, and displaying tips on using MLAB. Select the first option to look at examples, and follow directions in subsequent menus and text printed to the terminal window.

After executing some MLAB demonstration do-files, select the option: "Go to top-level". MLAB then prints an asterisk in the terminal window and requires you to enter a command. You can now enter commands into MLAB, and you can also build a do-file of such commands by typing: edit file [filename]. When you are done, you can then terminate the MLAB application by typing EXIT followed by the return key, or by clicking on the red close button at the upper left corner of the terminal window.

When MLAB terminates, depending on the preferences set for the Terminal application, the Terminal window may remain on the computer screen. You can change the Terminal application preferences so that the Terminal window automatically disappears when exiting mlab by

1. clicking on the word Terminal at the top of the screen,

2. selecting Preferences... in the resulting drop-down menu,

3. clicking on the Profiles icon (or Settings icon) at the top of the resulting Profiles dialog window,

4. clicking on the tab labelled Shell below the top row of icons, and

5. selecting "Close the window" in the pop-up menu that appears below the "When the shell exits:" label, and clicking on it. [Note, there are many options and features to the Terminal preferences that you can select to customize the Terminal window in which mlab runs, including text font, size, foreground and background colors, etc.]

6. After modifying the Terminal preferences, click on the red close button and the modifications will be saved for future mlab sessions.

Also when MLAB exits, a record of all commands and responses will be written in your "working directory"; this file is called mlab.log. You can find your working directory printed out in the MLAB terminal window whenever you run MLAB (it is "/Users/[username]/"); you can view the files in your working directory by typing the MLAB command "type dir"; this will show the "current" mlab log-file mlab.log, as well as the previous MLAB log-files named mlab0.log, mlab1.log, etc. You CANNOT printout the current mlab log-file within MLAB, because it is "open" and being written into; however, you can printout the previous mlab log-file by typing "type file mlab0.log". (You can also print any file at any time with the command "cat" in a Darwin terminal window (not the MLAB terminal window).)

----------------------------------------------------

Before you run MLAB, it is important(!) that you print out the file intelmac.readme.txt found in the MLAB directory on your desktop after it is created. (The file intelmac.readme.txt contains the information given here, plus further installation directions, and other important information on using MLAB, such as how to respond to the initial mlab-registration request, etc.)

Now, click HERE to download MLAB for an OSX Intel-Macintosh.