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Installing and starting the client

You have several options for getting the client:

  1. Plom is included in some software repositories.
  2. Download a compiled client. Available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
  3. Run as a python script, either from pip install or from source.

Your markers will all need to download the client. The last option requires the user to have python and number of additional packages installed – this is not recommended for your markers.

Install from software repositories

  • GNU/Linux users can download the latest client with just a couple clicks from Flathub.

Download the compiled binary

These are available on our Releases page.

  • Linux – compiled on CentOS Linux 7. This should work on any reasonably new linux distribution which runs GLIBC 2.17 or newer. There is a also a version compiled on Ubuntu 18.04: try that if the CentOS file doesn’t work for you.
  • macOS – compiled on OS X 10.13.6.
  • Windows – compiled on Windows 10.

If you wish to run the client an older version of any of the above, then you will need to install it from pip or from source. We do not currently support Android, ChromeOS or iOS (sorry).

Once you’ve downloaded the binary, copy it to a sensible location.

Linux binary

You’ll need to change the permissions on the binary before you can run it. So open a terminal and go to the directory where you saved the binary. Then give the user permission to execute the file

chmod u+x PlomClient-x.y.z-linux-centos7.bin

You can then run from the current directory using

./PlomClient-x.y.z-linux-centos7.bin

macOS binary

The set up should be about the same as the above steps on Linux.

  • Some users have reported a warning about “unverified developer”: if that happens you may need to change something in “Privacy & Security” in “System Preferences”.
  • Some users have reported that double-clicking on the binary opens an archiver tool or gives an error about cpgz. Instead start the client from a terminal as ./PlomClient-x-y.z-macos.bin.

Windows binary

Copy the downloaded binary to the directory of your choice. You should then be able to run the binary just by double clicking on it. Note – the binary must be placed in a directory in which you have read/write access.

Start the client

When you start the client you’ll be presented with the following window

Note that if the font-size is wrong, then the user should adjust it using font-size selection.