Setting up quick starting for STAC
This section will show the process for Windows users. Linux users will already know how to set their PATH.
Method 1 (recommended): Add STAC to the PATH variable
1) (Optional) Move the STAC directory
Move your STAC folder to a fitting place. The “Downloads” folder is not a fitting place.
In my example I will create a directory “Portable_Software” in C:/.
You could just as well use anything like the C:/Program Files or C:/ProgramData directories or any user directory like C:/Users/yourname/Software.
2) (Optional) Create a “Shortcuts” directory
It is a generally cleaner to store shortcuts to frequently used programs in a common directory rather than scattered all over the system. Having such a directory removes all further pain from adding other programs to your PATH variable.
Create a directory called “Shortcuts” or something similar you like (maybe even “bin”, though we will use it only for links to applications instead of the real binary applications themselves) in a well-accessible location like your system root (e.g. C:/Shortcuts).
Create a shortcut to stac.jar, make sure its name is stac.lnk and put it into your new directory.
3) Open the Environment Variables editor
1) Press WIN+Pause to open the System Properties Dialog.
2) Select “Advanced system settings” from the left menu.
3) Select “Environment Variables…”
4) Choosing the correct PATH variable
If you selected a user directory (anything within C:/Users/yourname) follow step 4a.
If you selected a system directory (anything not within C:/Users/yourname) follow step 4b.
4a) Choosing the user-PATH variable
From the upper block (“User variables for”) select “Path” or “PATH” and click the upper “Edit…” button.
4b) Choosing the system-PATH variable
From the lower block (“System variables”) select “Path” or “PATH” and click the lower “Edit…” button.
5) Add the correct directory
If you followed the optional steps 1 and 2 (recommended), add the directory you created in step 2.
If you only followed the optional step 1 but not 2, add the directory you created in step 1.
If you only followed step 3 and forward, add whatever directory stac.jar is currently located in.
6) Done.
You can now start STAC from the “Run” dialog (WIN+R) or from the terminal by calling stac.
Method 2 (the “casual” way)
1) (Optional) Move the STAC directory
Move your STAC folder to a fitting place. The “Downloads” folder is not a fitting place.
In my example I will create a directory “Portable_Software” in C:/.
You could just as well use anything like the C:/Program Files or C:/ProgramData directories or any user directory like C:/Users/yourname/Software.
2) Create a shortcut to the .jar file.
Right-click stac.jar and select “Create shortcut”.
Move the shortcut to any place you like, e.g. your Desktop.