Install and update manual

Note

Are you running into problems when downloading or updating the software? Please consult the problem solving section. If the error and/or solution is not mentioned, please contact our Service desk

Installing the Rana Desktop Client

To install the Rana Desktop Client, download and execute the Rana Desktop Client Installer 3.40.7 installer

3Di Models and Simulations settings (first use)

When you start the 3Di Modeller Interface for the first time, you need to set two configuration settings:

  • personal_api_key to be able to use the online functionalities of 3Di. The QGIS Password Manager stores this Personal API Key securely (encrypted).

  • Working directory to store schematisations and simulation results. It is strongly recommended to use a directory on your local drive, not a shared drive.

Note

If you have never used the QGIS Password Manager before, you will be asked to set a master password for the QGIS Password Manager. Fill in a password and make sure you remember it. Check the box ‘Store/update the master password in your Password Manager’ so that you do not have to fill in the master password every time you start up QGIS.

  1. Open the 3Di Modeller Interface

  2. Click on the 3Di Models and Simulations icon (modelsSimulations). You should now see the 3Di Models and Simulations Settings dialog.

  3. The Base API URL default is https://api.3di.live. Change this if you want to connect to one of our other calculation centers. E.g., for Taiwan, the base API URL is https://api.3di.tw/

  4. Click Browse and set a local working directory.

  5. Click Obtain… to obtain your personal_api_key. You will be redirected to the management page where you can create a new Personal API Key.

  6. Create a new Personal API Key by pressing the + NEW ITEM button in the upper right corner.

  7. Fill in a name for the new Personal API Key. Click on ‘Submit’ to the right.

  8. You now have your own Personal API Key. Copy it.

  9. Return to the 3Di Modeller Interface.

  10. Click Set… and paste your Personal API Key. Then click Save.

  11. You are now logged in and your name should appear next to User. You can now easily log out by clicking on the cross.

  12. And log in by clicking on the arrow.

You can now use all online 3Di functionalities of the 3Di Modeller Interface. When logging in is required, the Personal API Key will be read from the QGIS Password manager and be used for logging in.

Note

You can install the Modeller Interface for all users if you run the installer as administrator.

Updating the Rana Desktop Client

The Rana Desktop Client consists of two parts: QGIS and Rana plugins. Each of these components has to be updated in a different way. The Rana Desktop Client is based on the long-term release (LTR) version of QGIS. The LTR is updated annually, in March. It is recommended to re-install the Rana Desktop Client every year at the end of March.

The Rana plugins can be updated in the following way:

  1. Start the Rana Desktop Client

  2. If any schematisation is loaded, remove them before proceeding

  3. In the main menu click Plugins > Manage and Install plugins

  4. At the left side, click Installed

  5. Plugins that can be updated are shown in bold

    Note

    If you update, always update all Rana plugins that have updates available at the same time.

  6. Click the plugin name. At the bottom right, click Upgrade plugin

  7. If you are asked to install or update the Nelen & Schuurmans Dependency Loader, please do so.

  8. Updating the Nelen & Schuurmans Dependency Loader requires a restart of the Rana Desktop Client. Do this when prompted, and also when you get a Python error during installation.

Advanced: separate installation of QGIS and Rana plugins

You can also install QGIS separately with the appropriate plugins. This is not recommended. Do this only if you have specific reasons for it, and you know what you are doing. Do the following:

  • QGIS Standalone Installer (Long term release). Get QGIS .

    After the installation of QGIS, set the interface language and locale to American English. This makes it easier to understand the instructions in this documentation. Some locales do not support scientific notations of numbers, these are required for very small numbers (e.g. 1e-09).

    • Go to Settings > Options > General

    • Tick the box ‘Override System Locale’

    • For User Interface Translation, choose ‘American English’

    • For Locale, choose ‘English United Kingdom (en_GB)’

    • Restart QGIS

  • Add the Rana plugin repository

    • In the main menu click Plugins > Manage and Install plugins > Settings

    • In the section Plugin repositories, click Add

    • As details, fill in ‘3Di’ as Name, and ‘https://plugins.3di.live/plugins.xml’ as URL

  • Install the Rana plugins: in the tab All, install the Rana plugins. Restart QGIS when prompted.

  • Enable project’s embedded Python code: Make sure that this is set to Always in Settings > Options > General > Project files.

Information for system administrators

General information

All applications make use of https traffic over port 443 with public signed SSL/TLS certificates. If certificate errors show, please check any security software. One way of testing this is by visiting https://api.3di.live/v3.0/ in a browser and check the certificate. If it is issued by R3, this is the certificate configured by us. Any other name will point towards the security software in use.

Rana Desktop Client

The Rana Desktop Client is a customized version of QGIS, shipped with several pre-installed plugins and settings, see Technical setup. Its Rana plugins are maintained by Nelen & Schuurmans. QGIS itself and the other pre-installed plugins are not made / maintained by Nelen & Schuurmans.

Install instructions for the Rana Desktop Client can be found in Installing the Rana Desktop Client.

Because the Rana Desktop Client is a customized QGIS, we refer to the QGIS documentation when you run into any issues that are not specifically related to the Rana plugins:

URLs accessed by Rana Desktop Client

Make sure the Rana Desktop Client is allowed to communicate with following URLs: