Installation

Latest version: 2024b. See Version History for release notes.

You will be up and running in no time. Installation can be done offline. Simply download the packages from this website and copy them onto the target computer.

Read and agree to the terms of the license agreement on the Downloads page.
(1.2 GB) Download the Expert 2024b installation package.
Unzip the package.
(< 3 minutes) Run IVS Expert Drivers.exe. You will need administrator rights.
Expert is now installed (sort of). Simply run Expert.exe from inside the Expert folder. Expert should now work in equation mode (no hardware connectivity). The Expert folder contains the executable and a few system files. Put it somewhere convenient on your PC. You can move and rename the whole folder (Expert) and its contents, but do not move (individually), rename, delete or edit any of the files or subfolders within it unless instructed. Moving the folder or running the executable does not require administrator rights. Note that you cannot put it anywhere in C:\Program Files. The next release should fix that, and will include a proper installer.
Install the drivers for your hardware - see below.
Obtain a License. This must be requested via email, so allow some time for us to get back to you. A free 12 month trial license is available.
We strongly recommend that you change the default path for saving data. This will initially be set to the executable folder, which creates the risk that you inadvertently delete system files. We recommend C:\data. You will also have to create this folder. The default setting is contained in a file called default settings.txt which is in the same folder as the executable file. This file is automatically generated if it does not already exist. So if you think you have broken it, rename or delete it and let the software create a new one for you. For a change to default settings.txt to take effect, refresh the data acquisition hardware list (see Setup Tab).

Upgrading

Upgrading to the latest version of Expert is as simple as copying the latest executable file into your executable folder (without replacing any of the other files). Administrator rights are not required, because you do not need to reinstall the installation package. The executable can be downloaded separately and is a much smaller file (3 MB).

Data Acquisition Hardware and Drivers

National Instruments (NI) Drivers

(2.8 GB download plus 15 minutes installation time) Administrator rights are required.

Download and install version 21.8.0 of NI DAQmx. It is available as a web based and an offline install. The offline option is probably easiest. This can be obtained from the NI website or from our downloads page, however make sure you get the specified version if you are downloading from the NI website. If using the offline version, open the iso file and run Install.exe.

Use all the default settings, except that you do not need to provide your contact information when prompted, and we suggest declining automatic updates.

Even if you have NI software already installed on your computer, you will probably need to install these drivers. They should not interfere with your existing installation.

Data Translation Drivers

(500 MB) Download and extract DataAcqOMNI_V7.8.9.zip from the downloads page.

Run setup.exe. This requires admin rights.

Install required software (left menu, top).

Install now (bottom of screen).

Follow the prompts until all components are installed. Select Complete (not Custom) setup type when prompted.

Quit Installer (left menu, bottom).

If there are any issues, try running QuickDAQ, select Continue Evaluation and check that your hardware is listed under available devices.

Virtins DAQ

The Virtins DAQ does not require separate drivers. It uses the windows sound card. Note that changes to your system's volume settings can affect scale. Always calibrate your whole system (not just your sensor!) when you use it.

Note also that it does not support software selectable voltage mode, however it is possible to measure voltage by modifying the hardware.

Computer Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Windows 10 (version 21H2 or higher) or Windows 11
Intel or AMD x86-64 processor with two or more cores. x86-64 refers to a 64 bit operating system with the x86 instruction set. This is standard for modern windows machines, just check that it is 64 bit.
8GB RAM.
At least 10GB of free storage space.

Recommended:

A processor with AVX2 instruction set support. To check this, search for your processor at intel.com or amd.com. The technical information will list AVX2 if it is supported.
16GB RAM or more.
SSD hard drive with plenty of storage space for data.
A hardware accelerated graphics card supporting OpenGL 3.3 (or higher), with at least 1GB GPU memory.
NVIDIA® GPU architectures with compute capability 5.0 to 9.x. To check your GPU's compute capability, look up your device on the NVIDIA website (search for nvidia compute capability). If it is not there, try techpowerup.com - it should list the OpenGL version, and the compute capability will be listed under CUDA, eg "CUDA: 8.9".
Upgrade to the latest graphics drivers.