Tracker 5.1.

x
Copyright (c) 2020 Douglas Brown, Wolfgang Christian

Contents
========
- General description
- Features
- System requirements
- Installed files
- Uninstalling
- Licensing and redistribution
- Contact information

General description
===================

Tracker is a free video analysis and modeling tool built on the Open Source Physics
(OSP) Java framework. It is designed to be used in introductory physics courses.

Features
============

Tracking:
- Manual and automated object tracking with position, velocity and acceleration
overlays and data.
- Center of mass tracks.
- Interactive graphical vectors and vector sums.
- RGB line profiles at any angle, time-dependent RGB regions.

Modeling:
- Model Builder creates kinematic and dynamic models of point mass particles and
two-body systems.
- Model overlays are automatically synchronized and scaled to the video for direct
visual comparison with the real world.
- External Models use data from separate modeling programs such as spreadsheets
and Easy Java Simulations.

Video:
- Free Xuggle video engine plays and records most formats (mov/avi/flv/mp4/wmv
etc) on Windows/OSX/Linux.
- Video filters, including brightness/contrast, strobe, ghost trails, and
deinterlace filters.
- Perspective filter corrects distortion when objects are photographed at an angle
rather than straight-on.
- Radial distortion filter corrects distortion associated with fisheye lenses.
- Export Video wizard enables editing and transcoding videos, with or without
overlay graphics, using Tracker itself.
- Video Properties dialog shows video dimensions, path, frame rate, frame count,
more.

Data generation and analysis:

- Fixed or time-varying coordinate system scale, origin and tilt.
- Multiple calibration options: tape, stick, calibration points and/or offset
origin.
- Switch easily to center of mass and other reference frames.
- Data include units (SI metric units by default, settable length and mass units).
 - Protractors and tape measures provide easy distance and angle measurements.
- Circle fitter tool fits circles to multiple points, steps and tracks.
- Define custom variables for plotting and analysis.
- Add editable text columns for comments or manually entered data.
- Data analysis tool includes powerful automatic and manual curve fitting.
- Export formatted or raw data to a delimited text file or the clipboard.
- Display measured values using custom number formats if desired.

Digital Library resources:

- OSP Library Browser provides easy access to online collections of videos and
Tracker resources.
- Use the Library Browser to find resources by name, author, keywords or other
metadata.
- Use the Library Browser to create, edit and share your own video and resource
collections.
- Save Tracker tabs and videos in Tracker Project files (TRZ) ideal for the
Library Browser.

Other:
- Integrated searchable help and diagnostics.
- Full undo/redo with multiple steps.
- Page view displays html instructions or student notes.
- Annotate videos with colored line drawings and labels.
- User preferences: GUI configuration, video engine, default language, font size,
more.

Installing and upgrading: Windows (XP+)

=========================================

Tracker comes with a bundled 32-bit JRE (Java 9) and Xuggle video engine. On
Windows 8, you may need to run the Tracker installer as administrator.

- Download the installer file Tracker-5.x.x-windows-installer.exe from ComPADRE or

the Tracker home page. Double-click the file to run the installer. Note: on Windows
8 you may need to run the installer as administrator by right-clicking and choosing
"Run as administrator."

- Install the Tracker application and options desired. We recommend you accept the
default installation paths for reliable upgrading and uninstallation.

- Upgrades: when a new version is available, a notification is displayed on the

toolbar. To upgrade, click the notification and choose Upgrade Now from the popup
menu. For more information about the new version, choose Learn More. Most upgrades
are instant: the new version or upgrade installer is downloaded and launched
immediately. Some upgrades will require that you download a new installer from the
Tracker website. Upgrades may include Tracker itself, Java, Xuggle and/or other
components.

Installing and upgrading: Mac OSX (10.5+)

============================

Tracker comes with a bundled 64-bit JRE (Java 8) and Xuggle video engine.

- Download the file Tracker-5.x.x-osx-installer.dmg from ComPADRE or the Tracker

home page. Double-click the file to mount and open the disk image with installer
app Tracker-5.x.x-osx-installer.app. To run the installer, control-click it and
choose Open from the popup menu. Rest assured that Tracker is safe as long as the
installer is downloaded from ComPADRE or the Tracker home page.
 - Install the Tracker application and options desired. We recommend you accept the
default installation paths for reliable upgrading and uninstallation.

- Upgrades: when a new version is available, a notification is displayed on the

toolbar. To upgrade, click the notification and choose Upgrade Now from the popup
menu. For more information about the new version, choose Learn More. Most upgrades
are instant: the new version or upgrade installer is downloaded and launched
immediately. Some upgrades may require that you download a new installer from the
Tracker website. Upgrades may include Tracker itself, Java, Xuggle and/or other
components.

Installing and upgrading: Linux (tested on Ubuntu)

============================

There are separate Tracker installers for 32-bit and 64-bit Linux machines. Tracker
comes with a bundled JRE and Xuggle video engine.

- Open a Terminal window and type the command uname -a to determine if your Linux
OS is 32- or 64-bit. If the output ends with "i386 GNU/Linux" or "i686 GNU/Linux"
it is 32-bit; if it ends with "x86_64 GNU/Linux" it is 64-bit. (Note: other 64-bit
architectures such as IA64 are not supported.)

- Download the appropriate installer file Tracker-5.x.x-linux-32bit-installer.run

or Tracker-5.x.x-linux-64bit-installer.run from ComPADRE or the Tracker home page.

- Type sudo chmod 755 ~/Downloads/Tracker-5.x.x-linux-yybit-installer.run (change

x.x and yy to the numbers for your installer) and enter your password to make the
installer executable. Note: this and the next step assume the installer was
downloaded to ~/Downloads/. If your download is different, change the command
targets appropriately.

- Type sudo ~/Downloads/Tracker-5.x.x-linux-yybit-installer.run to run the

installer (note: if you get an installer error about the user-dirs file, run this
command to fix it: sudo xdg-user-dirs-update). Install the Tracker application and
options desired. We recommend you accept the default installation paths for
reliable upgrading and uninstallation.

- Upgrades: when a new version is available, a notification is displayed on the

toolbar. To upgrade, click the notification and choose Upgrade Now from the popup
menu. For more information about the new version, choose Learn More. Most upgrades
are instant: the new version or upgrade installer is downloaded and launched
immediately. Some upgrades will require that you download a new installer from the
Tracker website. Upgrades may include Tracker itself, Java, Xuggle and/or other
components.

Installed files: Windows

========================

In the Tracker home directory (Program Files (x86)\Tracker by default):

- Tracker.exe
- tracker.jar
- tracker-5.x.x.jar
- tracker.ico
- trk.ico
- tracker_icon.png
- tracker_install.log
- Tracker_README.txt
- uninstall_Tracker.exe
 - uninstall_Tracker.dat
- tracker.prefs.default
- tracker_start.log (only after Tracker is launched)
- xuggle-xuggler.jar
- logback-core.jar
- logback-classic.jar
- slf4j-api.jar
- tracker_start.log (only after Tracker is launched)
- jre subdirectory (bundled JRE)
- Xuggle subdirectory (video engine)

In the user home directory:

- tracker.prefs
- AppData\Local\OSP subdirectory with tracker.prefs and Cache subdirectory

In the videos and experiments directory (My Documents\Tracker by default):

- experiments subdirectory
- videos subdirectory
- tracker_start.log (only after Tracker is launched)

In the Start Menu Tracker directory:

- Tracker shortcut
- Uninstall Tracker shortcut

Installed files: Mac OS X

========================

In the Tracker home folder (hidden /usr/local/tracker by default):

- Tracker_README.txt
- tracker_install.log
- uninstall_Tracker.app
- tracker.prefs.default
- archives folder (only if an older version of Tracker was overwritten)
- share folder (only if videos and experiments installed--see below)

In the /Applications folder:

- Tracker.app (contains the following hidden folders and files)
- Contents folder
- Info.plist
- PkgInfo
- Java folder
- Tracker.cfg
- tracker_starter.jar
- tracker.jar
- tracker-5.x.x.jar
- xuggle-xuggler.jar
- logback-core.jar
- logback-classic.jar
- slf4j-api.jar
- tracker_start.log
- MacOS folder
- Tracker
- libpackager.dylib
- PlugIns folder (bundled JRE)
- Resources folder
- tracker.icns
- trk.icns
- Tracker_README.txt
 - Xuggle folder (video engine)

In the application support folder (~/Library/Application Support/OSP):

- .tracker.prefs

In the OSP cache (~/Library/Caches/OSP) (only if the digital library browser has
been accessed):
- multiple osp-xxx folders and Search folder

In the user Documents folder (~/Documents):

- Tracker folder
- Tracker.app symlink
- tracker_start.log (only after Tracker is launched)
- resources symlink to videos and experiments folder
- videos folder containing video files
- experiments folder containing .trk experiment files

Installed files: Linux

======================

In the Tracker home folder (/opt/tracker by default):

- tracker.jar
- tracker-4.x.x.jar
- tracker_starter.jar
- Tracker_README.txt
- tracker_install.log
- tracker.desktop
- tracker.sh
- tracker_icon48.png
- uninstall_Tracker
- uninstall_Tracker.dat
- .tracker.prefs (hidden file)
- xuggle-xuggler.jar
- logback-core.jar
- logback-classic.jar
- slf4j-api.jar
- share folder (only if videos and experiments installed--see below)
- Xuggle folder (video engine)
- jre folder (bundled JRE)

In the videos and experiments folder (/opt/tracker/share by default):

- videos folder containing video files
- experiments folder containing .trk experiment files

In the applications folder (/usr/share/applications):

- tracker.desktop

In addition, if installed by a user (i.e., using sudo) rather than a superuser

(root):

In the user Documents folder (~/Documents or equivalent):

- Tracker folder
- tracker_start.log (only after Tracker is launched)
- resources symlink to videos and experiments folder

In the user OSP configuration folder (~/.config/OSP):

- .tracker.prefs and osp.prefs
- Cache folder (only if the digital library browser has been accessed)
Uninstalling Tracker: Windows
=============================

The "uninstall_Tracker.exe" file is in the Tracker home folder (Program

Files\Tracker by default). To run the uninstaller, double-click it. You can also
run this uninstaller from the Add/Remove Programs control panel or by choosing the
Uninstall Tracker menu item in the Start Menu. If there is no uninstaller, you may
delete the Tracker home directory and other installed files by hand. However, this
will not remove Windows registry entries.

Uninstalling Tracker: Mac OSX

=============================

The "uninstall_Tracker.app" file is in the Tracker home folder (/usr/local/tracker/

by default). To run the uninstaller, double-click it. Enter your password to
complete the uninstallation.

Uninstalling Tracker: Linux

===========================

The "uninstall_Tracker" file is in the Tracker home folder (/opt/tracker/ by

default). To run the uninstaller, open a terminal window and type "sudo
/opt/tracker/uninstall_Tracker". Enter your password to complete the
uninstallation. Note: the uninstaller requires the data file
"uninstall_Tracker.dat" in the same folder to operate.

Licensing and redistribution

============================

Tracker is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Tracker is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

Contact information
=====================

Tracker developer: Douglas Brown, dobrown@cabrillo.edu

Tracker home: http://physlets.org/tracker/

OSP development team: Wolfgang Christian (leader), Mario Belloni, Douglas Brown,
Anne Cox, Francisco Esquembre, Harvey Gould, Bill Junkin, Aaron Titus and Jan
Tobochnik.

OSP home: http://www.opensourcephysics.org/

I appreciate and welcome any comments, feature requests and bug reports.