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Launching on Windows

Launching Mari on High-Resolution Monitors

On Windows 8.1 and 10, QT5 does not handle scaling properly on high-resolution monitors. Windows includes an in-built mode, called --dpiscaling=native, which displays Mari with the correct resolution. If you need to disable this mode, you can use the --dpiscaling=none mode.

To set the --dpiscaling=none mode:

1.

Before launching Mari, Shift+right-click on the Mari shortcut icon and select Properties.

The Mari 4.0v3 Properties window opens.

2.

In the Shortcut tab, in the Target field, type --dpiscaling=none after "C:\Program Files\Mari4.0v1\Bundle\bin\Mari4.0v1.exe". For instance, "C:\Program Files\Mari4.0v1\Bundle\bin\Mari4.0v1.exe" --dpiscaling=none.

Note:  The --dpiscaling=native mode is set by default but does not display in the Target field.

Launching Mari

1.

Click Start > All Programs > The Foundry > Mari 4.0v3 > Mari 4.0v3.

2.

If you haven’t installed a license for Mari, you need to choose from one of the options for Licensing on Windows. Once you’ve done so, click Launch in the Mari Licensing dialog.

3.

Mari checks for the most frequently used graphics cards, and if a graphics card configuration is detected that's not in the tested GPU hardware list, a dialog displays warning you about it. Depending on the configuration detected, you have the option to Quit or Continue and, in the case of configurations with known issues, also Ignore Permanently.

Note:  If you ignore the warning and run Mari anyway, you may experience instability or performance issues. If a tested graphics card configuration is detected, Mari runs as normal.

4.

If you are launching Mari for the first time, Mari selects a default cache directory for its project files. You can change this directory and select one of your own. In the Confirm Projects Directory dialog, navigate to the directory you want to use and click Choose.

The Mari graphical interface displays.

Please note that the project directory should be:

• empty

• local to the machine (not a network mount)

• as fast as possible

• a location that's not temporary (to avoid the data disappearing)

• a directory that the user has read and write permissions to.

Project cache locations are directories that Mari uses to store project data files. These directories must be persistent; not in temporary locations. If more than one project location is specified, Mari spreads each project’s data files across all locations. Once a project has been created for a given set of project cache locations, that set must not be changed. In order to move a project between different sets of caches, archive the project.

Note:  Do not add, remove, or amend project locations once they have been set unless they are empty. Once projects have been created for a given set of project cache locations, that set must not be changed or project corruption will occur.

Note:  If the MARI_CACHE environment variable has been set, its value is used to determine the location of the project files. In this case, Mari does not prompt you to select the project directory. For more information on environment variables that Mari understands, please refer to the Mari User Guide.

Note:  You can also launch Mari in verbose mode by selecting Start > All Programs > Mari 4.0v3 > Mari 4.0v3 (Verbose Output). This way, Mari provides a running log of each action that it performs. You can see this log in a command line window.

5.

If you are upgrading, Mari prompts you if you'd like to import your user preferences from your previous installed version of Mari.

If you are launching Mari from the command line, you can run the application in one of two safe modes: --safe and --safer. The --safe mode:

• Disables startup Python scripts

• Disables custom user plug-ins

• Bypasses user Python libraries.

The --safer mode performs all of the above options as well as:

• Bypasses user settings.

• Bypasses user environment variables.

These safe modes are primarily used for debugging purposes. For advanced debugging methods, please see Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting.