Installation instructions

Install or Update the SPPAS Package

SPPAS provides a single package version that is independent of the operating system.

The installation process is simple: all you need to do is download the package from the website and place it in a location within your user directory. Since the package is compressed and zipped, you will need to decompress and unpack it after downloading it. Once unpacked, you're ready to install the external programs. See the next section for details on how to install them.

About the location of the uncompressed package

You need to choose a location within your user directory. SPPAS provides customizable solutions; therefore, each user must have their own installation of SPPAS and must have 'write' permissions for the chosen location.

About the name of the uncompressed package

• Do not use the name "sppas". You can choose any name you like (e.g., SPPAS, SPPAS-4, SPPAS-Love-Forever, ...) but "sppas" is reserved for the source code folder and cannot also be used as the name of the software folder.
• Preferably use only US-ASCII characters — i.e., a-z and A-Z, in both the path and the filename.
• Preferably choose a name without any whitespace in both the path and the filename.

Install external programs

This is a two-stage process:

1. install the required ones;
2. launch setup to install the optional ones.

1. Required external programs

Under Windows

Launch the Microsoft Store. Search the Microsoft Store app for “Python 3”. Select the App with the name Python 3.9, or 3.10, or 3.11. Ensure that the app you select is published by the Python Software Foundation.

Get details about this installation procedure

Under MacOS

1. Install Homebrew.
2. Python 3.9 is already installed. However, if you want to install a more recent version, open the Terminal application and launch the command:

   brew install python

Under Linux

Check if Python >= 3.7, then use either apt/yum/brew or any other tool to install the packages:

1. python3
2. python3-venv
3. python3-pip
4. gstreamer (optional)

1. IMPORTANT!   Use Python... Do NOT use Anaconda: it will crash.
2. For a full experience of SPPAS, choose Python 3.9 - 3.11
3. Installing one and ONLY ONE version of Python is highly recommended!

2. Enable features: setup

External programs must be installed on your operating system to enable certain features of SPPAS. You need to do this each time you install a new version of SPPAS or change the version of Python on your computer.

The SPPAS setup was tested with Firefox only. Using another web-browser is at your own risk.

Under Windows

Solution 1: Let's SPPAS installing the programs

Double-click the `setup.bat` file. After a few seconds, it will open a new tab in your preferred web browser—hopefully, Firefox. Then, follow the instructions.

Once it's done, you can close the web browser tab.

Solution 2: Install the programs manually

1. Launch either 'cmd.exe' or the 'PowerShell' application or the 'PowerShell with Admin rights' application
2. Change location to the unzipped SPPAS package
3. Launch the command:

   python.exe -m venv .sppaspyenv~

4. Launch the command:

   .sppaspyenv~\Scripts\python.exe sppas\bin\preinstall.py

   Then choose the features to be installed.

Under MacOS or Linux

You may need to change file permission to add the "execution" right. Open a terminal, change directory to SPPAS folder and execute: chmod +x *.command

Solution 1: Let's SPPAS installing the programs

Double-click the `setup.command` file. After a few seconds, a new tab will open in your preferred web browser – ideally Firefox. You may be prompted to enter the administrator password in the terminal application.

On Linux, this procedure is supported only if either "brew" or "dpkg/apt" is available.

Solution 2: Install the programs manually

1. Open a Terminal application
2. Change location to the SPPAS package
3. Launch the command:

   python3 -m venv .sppaspyenv~

4. Launch the command:

   .sppaspyenv~/bin/python sppas/bin/preinstall.py

   Then choose the features to be installed.

Solution 3: Full manual procedure

Perform steps 1 to 3, of Solution 2.

Below are most of the programs and Python packages to be installed either in your OS, or in the python virtual environment, with pypi. Take a look at the file sppas/etc/features.ini for the full list and versions.

• REQUIRED: the pypi packages of AudiooPy, WhakerPy, and ClammingPy:

  .sppaspyenv~/bin/python -m pip install AudiooPy WhakerPy ClammingPy

• OPTIONAL: the pypi package of WxPython allows interacting with SPPAS with the Graphical User Interface - GUI:

  .sppaspyenv~/bin/python -m pip install wxpython

• OPTIONAL: the pypi packages of OpenCV and of Mediapipe to enable image and video processing:

  .sppaspyenv~/bin/python -m pip install opencv-contrib-python-headless

  .sppaspyenv~/bin/python -m pip install opencv-contrib-python

  .sppaspyenv~/bin/python -m pip install mediapipe

• OPTIONAL: the pypi package PyAudio" to allow playing sounds in the 'Edit' page of the GUI:

  .sppaspyenv~/bin/python -m pip install pyaudio

• OPTIONAL: the CSR Engine Julius, is used by the automatic annotation 'Alignment'. The HVite command of HTK 3.4.1 can also be used by the automatic annotation 'Alignment' but there are license restrictions.

F.A.Q.

External programs installation ISSUES