Setting up Open Ephys GUI (v0.6.5) on offline computer

[Ki-Soo Jeong]

Hi Open Ephys,

I'm a doctoral student looking to setup Open Ephys for analog inputs and recordings on an offline computer (due to network constraints, it is best set up on a computer with no network access). Unfortunately, I am having trouble setting up Open Ephys (downloaded as a .zip file) on this computer, in part because the plug-in installer will not load offline. I'm working with an Open Ephys Acquisition Board (pre-Nov 2022) and trying to install the Rhythm FPGA plug-in, but the instructions are predicated on using a network connection to either use the native plugin installer or pull from GitHub. At this time, using the default configuration shows "plugin not installed" even when the acquisition board is properly connected via hardware (presumably because the necessary files cannot be downloaded). How might I go about getting this setup properly? Where would I need to install the plugins and what files would I need to ensure are setup properly? Thanks for all of your help navigating this offline uncertainty.

Best,

Ki-Soo

[Anjal Doshi]

Hi Ki-Soo,

As you pointed out, Plugin Installer requires Internet access in order to function properly. Without network connectivity, it is not possible to retrieve the plugin data and files from the software repositories.

Now, if you wish to manually install the Rhythm plugins for the Open Ephys acquisition board (old FPGA) on Windows, please follow these steps:

1. Firstly, access the software repository by clicking here and download the latest version of the plugin .zip file.
2. After downloading the .zip file, extract its contents. Inside, you will find a folder named "plugins." Move the contents of this folder to the following directory: "C:\ProgramData\Open Ephys\plugins-api8."
3. Similarly, locate the "shared" folder within the extracted files and transfer its contents to the "C:\ProgramData\Open Ephys\shared-api8" directory.
     (Please note that the "ProgramData" directory is a hidden system directory. To access it, enable the "show hidden items" option in File Explorer)
4. Once you have completed the above steps, launch the GUI. You should now be able to see the Acquisition Board plugin listed in the processor list.

Let me know if you have any further questions or require additional assistance.

Best,
Anjal Doshi

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[Ki-Soo Jeong]

Hi Anjal,

Thank you for the step-by-step instructions. I can confirm that the Open Ephys GUI now opens as it would on a computer with network access and that it recognizes the Open Ephys acquisition board when connected. Much appreciated for your assistance.

Best,

Ki-Soo