0. Trial version, Help system, Manuals, Updates, Install and Uninstall (Help)
Primer 7 trial software
A trial version of PRIMER 7 is freely available, which is downloadable from the PRIMER-e web site (www.primer-e.com), and can be run without an installation key. Whilst it is a full working implementation of all analysis routines and graphics, and permits a user’s own data to be input from Excel or text files and analysed, it is only intended to be trial software so there are a few key limitations – all printing, copying to the clipboard and saving of data and workspaces is disabled. In addition, plots are watermarked so presentation-standard output is unobtainable from screen grabs. The trial version has a 30+ day expiry date, with an additional grace period, but will then cease to operate – reinstallation of the trial version on the same machine is not possible.
A valid installation key can be purchased at any time from PRIMER-e and inputting that to the Install routine when on-line (see below) will remove all such printing and saving restrictions and water¬marks, and any updates and download of the PDF files of the manuals will then take place. The trial software includes both PRIMER and PERMANOVA+ but, if only a key for PRIMER is purchased, PERMANOVA+ routines are not enabled and their menu will no longer appear. If a single-user PERMANOVA+ licence, for use with PRIMER 6, is registered to you then no further purchase of PERMANOVA+ is needed – it operates in is essentially the same way with PRIMER 7 as it did with PRIMER 6, and you will be given a single installation key enabling both products. The Help main menu has the entries shown, starting with View Help, the HTML Help system:
Help system & manuals
This lists and describes all menu items but in succinct fashion since (in addition to a brief Getting Started manual which comes with the trial version) there are two comprehensive pdf manuals for PRIMER, and one for PERMANOVA+, opened (if enabled) by the Help menu items:
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User/Tutorial Manual (this manual): Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2015) PRIMER v7: User Manual/ Tutorial, PRIMER-E, Plymouth, 296pp;
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Methods Manual: Clarke KR, Gorley RN, Somerfield PJ, Warwick RM (2014) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation, 3rd edition, PRIMER-E, Plymouth, 260pp;
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PERMANOVA+ Manual: Anderson MJ, Gorley RN, Clarke KR (2008) PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER: Guide to software and statistical methods, PRIMER-E, Plymouth, 214pp.
Updates
The Help>About PRIMER menu item will tell you: which maintenance version number you are currently operating of PRIMER 7; the licence type, e.g. Trial/Full/Academic; and (if it is not a trial version) the unique serial number registered to you in the PRIMER-e data¬base. The Help>Check for Updates menu item tells you whether you are running the latest maintenance version, i.e. if an update is available. Unless you have changed the default in Tools>Options>Updates away from (✓Automatically check for updates) you will already have been prompted to update, on release of that maintenance version. Typically, an update will not usually take much in excess of 3 minutes. You will be required to agree to the (standard) licence terms and conditions.
Install and Uninstall
You will need to run Help>Install Licence at the point at which you have purchased an installation key (32 characters in blocks of 4), which is copied and pasted into the License Key box seen below. Once you have installed this key you do not need it again in order to download an update – the two operations of down¬loading/updating the software and authenticating your PC to run it (the latter being what the installation key is all about) are quite separate processes.
You might also need the above dialog to Uninstall Licence (i.e. de-authenticate it), e.g. if you get a new PC and need to move the software to it from your old one. All PRIMER 7 single-user licences will allow two simultaneous installations. To transfer an authentication to a new PC, on the old PC you must either run Help>Install Licence>Uninstall Licence (the inoperable software is then left on the machine) or take the standard Windows Uninstall a program, removing the soft¬ware as well as the authentication. There is, however, a limit to the number of Uninstall/Install cycles permitted.
The primary need for Save License and Load License is in off-line authentication (for which you need to contact the PRIMER-e office). Note that they do not offer a means of saving the key and using it to authenticate the software on a new machine – you need the full License Key for that. Your main flexibility to cope with problems (e.g. a serious unrecoverable machine failure which stops you carrying out an Uninstall) is the second simultaneous install¬ation permitted for the key. Or you may prefer to use the second licence for a home machine or a travel laptop, but keep your installation key secure (give it to someone else and you lose control of your installation options!
Example data
Help>Get Examples V7 will take you to the data sets used throughout this manual [and Help>Get Examples Add-on will make available the data sets used in the PERMANOVA+ manual]. You are prompted for a directory in which to store the data files, i.e. a location in which you will find it convenient to access them in future, under the folder \Examples v7 [or \Examples add-on].