CUCC Expedition Handbook - Minimal laptop

Setting up a minimal Expo laptop

Overview

If you are new to expo please use the expo laptop first. You don't need to use your own laptop - which takes most of a day to do it properly.

To set up your own laptop you need to do this:

1. Register an SSH key with an expo nerd i.e 'get a login'. (see "Key Configuration" below)
2. Install git version control software to download ("clone"), view and edit caving data.
3. Clone three expo repositories loser, drawings and expoweb so you have the files on your machine. (Use the git reminder for how to do this, e.g. git clone ssh://expo@expo.survex.com:/home/expo/expoweb
4. Install survex, and therion or tunnel for editing cave data.

Once you have got this working, and if it doesn't do what you want or you don't understand how to use it, look at the full laptop configuration for everything else. And please write some documentation for the next person in your situation.

Cheat lists and quick reminders

• Quick reminders for using git at the command line.
• Quick reminders for using rsync at the command line.

Software

If you are just typing up logbook entries then you don't need any other software. If you are working with survey data download this software (short list):

• git - version control system
• Installing surveying software - survex, tunnel, therion - specifically for expo use
• Survex, including the Aven visualisation tool.
• Tunnel: 2.5D cave drawing program based on Survex-compatible data which can also read PocketTopo files. (Generally called 'tunnel' even though the project and executable is actually 'tunnelx'.)
• Therion - Therion processes survey data and generates maps or 3D models of caves.

Configuration

Follow this link to register a key with the expo server to get upload (i.e. read/write) access. Do this first, Without it none of git, mercurial, scp, ftp or rsync will work.

On a Windows machine you will need to configure pageant (the putty authentication agent) to run at startup to load your key. Note that you are loading your private key, the .ppk file, into pageant and that this key never leaves your laptop.

• Installing PuTTy.
• A Windows laptop for expo - PuTTy and WSL here.

When using Windows please, please be excessively careful when naming files and survex names and be exceptionally careful when using rsync.

Learning how to use this software

• Using Survex, Tunnel and Therion, see the Expo Handbook - Surveying section.
• For more detailed configuration, explanations and help see the full laptop instructions