Purdue University Libraries

Purdue University Libraries Purdue University Libraries
We are seeing odd behavior from Internet Explorer (all versions?) during downloads of .tgz archives. Until the reason can be investigated and resolved, it might be best to use a non-IE browser to download .tgz files. The .iso files seem to be working okay. Sorry.


What is This?
The Disc.iso Server is a software download site, but for a very specific, very targeted user group; authenticated GIS users at Purdue University. Rather than duplicate 10 DVDs 50 times every time a new version of the ESRI suite gets released, and rather than field requests for new copies every other month or so from some interested party on campus, we have posted the contents of the discs here, under a layer of manual authentication, for download.
Who can use this?
Only Purdue faculty and staff can authenticate and download the software here.

Downloading and installing any of this software leaves you fully responsible for understanding and adhering to the restrictions and license requirements of each software title.

If you are a student and you want your own copy of at least the ESRI software, you're encouraged to investigate ESRI's 1-year student license program.
How do we use this?

  • Step 1: Request authorization from us. Unfortunately, we are not able to automatically authenticate you against the OnePurdue system. This means that you'll need to contact us to request we manually authenticate you for downloading. This is usually a very quick process during which you'll be given a username/password combination. Until then, you're still able to search for and read about the software, just not download it.

  • Step 2: Using the search or links to the right, identify the software title you want. You'll be given a choice to download either an .iso image of the original installer disc or a compressed package of the disc's contents. Generally, the .iso is best if you intent to burn your own disc and the .tar.gz package is best if you just want to install the software from a folder sitting on your computer's hard drive. Technically, either of these downloads can be made to behave in both ways just described, but if you don't already know how you'll do it it's probably best to stick with the .iso for burning and the .tar.gz for unzipping into a folder. More information about what to do with these files is available by choosing "About These Downloads," above.

  • Step 3: Burn the .iso image to disc or unpackage the .tar.gz file (or either/or, but I don't want to get into that here).

  • Step 4: Run the software's installer procedure. A burned disc should auto-run upon insertion. An unpacked .tar.gz will create a folder, inside of which will be an installer program. More information about how to install any given software title is available in an Instructions document available for download at the same time as the main .iso/package.

    		•
    What's available here?
    The software available on this site most certainly does not represent the entire universe of GIS software available. Nor does it include all of the software we have on campus, nor does it include all of the software we have available in the GIS Lab at EAS.

    The only thing we're including on this server are software titles that are not readily available for download from their vendors or that would otherwise be difficult for Purdue lab managers, faculty, or staff to obtain.

    If you have any questions about software that is not represented here, feel free to contact us.
    Which one[s] should we get?
    Too bad there isn't an easy answer for this. It very much depends on the kind of question you're trying to answer (or if you're trying to answer a question at all). If you just want to make a map of Indiana that shows the locations of landfills, it may not be worth downloading 1GB worth of software; you may be better off grabbing a lighter program. If you want to map landfills in Indiana and then do some geoprocessing or spatial analysis using odor plumes or ground-level emissions or something, well then maybe you do need one of the more robust packages.

    Another common scenario might be that you're curious about all of this GIS stuff and you'd like to try it out. In that situation, we do encourage you to grab whatever you want (with the caveat that you may be immediately overwhelmed). Don't worry, though: the ESRI products have extensive help and tutorials available with them and the open source products generally have very rich user-contributed help available in the form of forums, wikis, and listservs. And please don't hesitate to contact the GIS Librarian at ccmiller @ purdue . edu (or Jabber chat: ccmiller@jabber.org) with questions or problems.

    We attempt to inform your decision by providing additional, non-publisher annotation for each software title.
    What if I don't want to?
    Oh. Um...you can email the GIS Librarian at ccmiller @ purdue . edu (or Jabber chat at ccmiller@jabber.org) and say so. We'll arrange to get you some real, bona fide compact discs. (They won't be attractive, though: they'll have handwritten labels as though they were burned by a caveman).
    What am I downloading?
    You will download either an .iso image or a .tar.gz file. Think of an iso image as a CD or DVD disc that just...doesn't happen to be on a disc. Most disc-burning software can open an .iso image and burn its contents to a disc without you having to mess with or even see the disc's innards. A more elegant way of putting this is that one DOES NOT copy an entire .iso file to a burnable disc or burn folder. That would create a disc that contains an entire .iso image. You want to end up with a disc that contains the contents of an .iso image (see below).



    A .tar.gz file is almost identical to a .zip archive; little more than a folder full of stuff that got packaged up and compressed (just so happens that "stuff" in this case is the contents of a DVD or CD).
    Burn Them? How?
    Most CD/DVD authoring utilities can deal with .iso images just fine. Windows computers at Purdue come installed with Easy CD Creator, which will burn from an image as per instructions below. Apple computers ship with "Disk Utility," a program that can burn many types of disc images (.iso being one of them). Linux users will find a plethora of ways to burn or mount disc images and can likely find their own way.

    To burn using Easy CD Creator 5.0 (Windows):


  • 1. Put a blank disc into your CD or DVD Recorder.

  • 2. Open the Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator program.

  • 3. From the File menu, select Record CD from CD Image.

  • 4. In the resulting dialog box, make sure "Files of Type" (at bottom) is set to ISO Image Files. (image here)

  • 5. Navigate to the location of your ISO image, select it, then click "Open." (image here)

  • 6. From the "Record Setup" window, under "Record Method," choose Track-at-once and Finalize CD.

  • 7. Click on the "OK" button to start burning the disc.

    Don't forget there are probably hundreds of other disc-burning utilities available for Windows. Searching download.com or maybe versiontracker.com will yield some, DeepBurner among them.



    To burn in Mac OS X:


  • 1. Open Disk Utility (in Utilities).

  • 2. Select "Images:Burn..."

  • 3. Choose the .iso you downloaded and confirm.
    		•
    And the .tar.gz?
    If you've ever worked with a .zip archive, then the .tar.gz should be no different conceptually. It's a folder full of stuff that's been zipped up and compressed a little. On Windows, WinRAR will expand these just fine, as will 7-Zip (free) or the older, freeware version of PowerArchiver. Mac OS X's Finder will expand these without the need for additional software, and *Nix machines come with at least one command-line utility that will expand them.
    And Then Remember...
    Each software title will include a short set of instructions that will guide you through the installation process itself
    Use the Software Catalog
    We built a simple, searchable catalog that might help you identify and learn about the titles available here. Use the quick search box at right to query this catalog. Both the companies and the software titles themselves can be used to locate titles (i.e. "Leica" or "IMAGINE").
    ESRI
    ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) is a Redlands, CA-based company that designs and develops the ArcGIS products, arguably the world's leading GIS software and technologies. For now, only ESRI software is being distributed via this Disc.iso Server due largely to lopsided demand for ESRI products. As time goes by we will certainly be open to distributing other campus titles in this way (just let us know what you'd like to see)
    Our Site License
    Purdue University's ITaP generously purchases the site license for a number of the ESRI products we're making available here. A list of what's available follows here, but for a complete and updated list and to actually download them see the Software Catalog.

  • 3D Analyst
  • ArcEditor
  • ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit
  • ArcGIS Engine Runtime
  • ArcGIS Maplex Single Use Unkeyed License
  • ArcGIS Network Analyst
  • ArcGIS Schematics
  • ArcGIS Server
  • ArcGIS Server 3D Extension
  • ArcGIS Server Spatial Extension
  • ArcIMS Server
  • ArcScan
  • ArcSDE Server
  • ArcView
  • Engine Runtime 3D Extension
  • Engine Runtime Geodatabase Update
  • Engine Runtime Spatial Extension
  • Geostatistical Analyst
  • Publisher
  • Spatial Analyst
  • Survey Analyst
    		•
    How This Typically Works
    For most products, the software gets installed and then after the installation the user must "point" the software toward the license server to which it needs to connect. More information is available on a product-by-product basis (see the "intructions" for each one), but bear in mind that the software that licenses this way cannot be used unless there is an active internet connection available.
    What's not here?
    We're including software that ships on a disc or is otherwise be less convenient to make everybody download for themselves. What's not here are obscure extensions, open source titles, and service packs and updates (for now). It is up to you to make sure you're running the most fully-updated version of your software. For ESRI products, the easiest way to scan for updates is to visit their support site at support.esri.com.

    Who can we contact for help?
    Feel free to call (49-69474) or email the GIS Librarian with any questions, problems, or requests.

    You're also welcome to visit us in our lab within the EAS Library's Map Room (2215 CIVL).
    What about training and tutorials?
    As our program and this site get more and more developed, you'll be able to see more and more examples of how GIS is being applied to projects all across campus and indeed beyond. We encourage anybody with even a passing interest in GIS to contact us. We'd be happy to discuss what GIS might be able to do for you and can provide -- probably even with short notice -- examples of such. If you'd like to begin work right away, though...

    As part of our license agreement with ESRI, we can offer free access for all Purdue affiliates to the ESRI Virtual Campus modules. These online courses range from simple to advanced and are a great way to be led through common GIS processes. Please contact the GIS Librarian for codes that can be used to register for these courses.

    Also, Purdue Libraries already owns over 40 books published by ESRI (usually its ESRI Press) that detail the use or concepts behind their software in addition to hundreds of titles on GIS more generally (including topics and methods that are non-software specific or specific to open source GIS software).
    Where can we get more information about each title?
    Each title listed has a link out to a fuller description provided by its publisher

    Last update: March 23, 2007

    Prepared by: Purdue University Libraries