Morpho User Guide

 

Help Index

PreviousIntroduction       The Main Welcome ScreenNext

 

Getting Started

 

Download Morpho

The first thing you should do is install the Morpho software. Go to "http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/morphoportal.jsp" and choose the appropriate link. You will have the option of downloading Java along with Morpho if you do not already have it. Follow the directions in the installer.

N.B. We recommend that you download the full version of Morpho with Java, since there are some minor incompatibilities with Morpho if you do not have the correct version of Java 1.4.2 or higher. Morpho's installation of Java will only be used by Morpho, and will not disrupt any earlier versions of Java which you have already installed.

Morpho 1.5 is a Java application that runs on Mac OSX and Windows 2000, XP, and higher. It also runs on Linux, but as of this version there are some minor display problems. We recommend installing Morpho on a newer, more powerful system, ideally a fast G4 Mac or Pentium 4 PC or higher, with 256MB of RAM or more. Morpho 1.5 is compatible with Ecological Metadata Language 2.0.0.

 

Register for the KNB Network

After installing Morpho (but before using Morpho), register yourself on the KNB web site. Go to "http://ldap.ecoinformatics.org/cgi-bin/ldapweb.cgi" and fill out the form pictured below. Write down your name and password somewhere secure. Registering with the KNB Network will provide you with access to some advanced metadata and data services from the KNB, and does not install any networked spyware on your system, nor does it require that you be on a network in order to use Morpho.




Open Morpho and Create a Morpho Profile

Open Morpho by double-clicking on its icon, or the file called "Morpho.bat".

 

The first time you execute Morpho, you will be asked to create a new profile. This profile allows you to use Morpho locally on your personal computer and, once registered for the KNB network (see preceding "Register for the KNB" section), will allow you to create, access, edit and search for data sets on the KNB network.

If you are upgrading Morpho from a previous version, you will still be prompted to create a new profile. If you want to continue using your old profile(s) (so that your locally-stored data continues to be visible), simply enter a "new profile" with the same name as the old one, and you will be prompted if you would like to use the existing profile. For example, if your old profile is named "jdoe", then enter "jdoe" as the name of the new profile, and when you finish the profile wizard, Morpho will ask if you want to keep your existing profile -- click "Yes". This will only work if you logged into your computer with the same account under which your old profile existed.

Enter your profile name, and your first and last names, under "Basic Information" in the New Profile screen, pictured below. Your profile name does not have to be the same as your Metacat (KNB) network username.

 


Click "Next" to move on to the "Metacat Account Information" screen, pictured below. Here you should enter the Metacat username and the organization name which you registered on the "http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/index.jsp" site. If you are not on the Internet, or you do not want to register with the KNB, you can enter any username here and Morpho will still work. But if you do not reference a valid KNB account here, and associate it with this profile, you will only be able to store your metadata files locally, and not be able to login to the KNB to take advantage of the advanced storage, access, and querying capabilities provided by Metacat.

 

 

Click "Next" to move to the "Miscellaneous Information" screen, pictured below. The identifier prefix that you enter will become the prefix of your stored metadata file names. For example, jdoe.xml.

 


Click "Finished" to move on to the "Metacat Login" screen, pictured below, where you should enter your Metacat password. Alternatively, you can login on the main welcome screen of Morpho, described in the next section.

 


! By entering your password and clicking the "Login" button you will be able to create, edit, search, access and manage data that is stored both locally (on your computer) and on the KNB network. By selecting "Skip Login" you will be able to do all the previous operations locally, and may search for data sets on the KNB network. However, you will not be allowed to create or edit data sets on the KNB network unless you are logged in via a valid KNB account.

 

The next screen you will see after logging in is The Main Welcome Screen. Read about it in the next section.

 

Help Index

PreviousIntroduction       The Main Welcome ScreenNext