Overview
This is a step-by-step guide to installation of Wolfram Mathematica and covers both OSU managed and personal machines. Both are covered by our license.
Wolfram Alpha Pro
OSU's license also includes Wolfram Alpha, which is a web based version with a subset of features, including step-by-step explanation of its answers.
Go to https://www.wolframalpha.com and click the orange Sign in button in the upper right. When prompted enter your name.#@osu.edu then select SSO: The Ohio State University to use single sign on (SSO).
Installation on OSU Managed Machines
Insead of downloading from Wolfram, go to Ohio State Univeristy Self Service (Macintosh) or Software Center (Windows) and install Mathematica.
On ASC Linux machines Mathematica you can type module load mathematica.
Licensing
For mobile machines we recommend doing the same signle sign on steps as for personal machines below, when prompted to "Sign In to Activate Your Product".
For fixed on campus machines contact ASCTech so we can point your machine at the on campus license server.
Installation on Personal Machines
These screen shots were taken from a Windows computer, and some details of the installation will be different on macOS and Linux.
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Navigate to https://wolfram.com. Depending on whether you on on or off campus, the site will either know that you are coming from OSU and are entitled to access products, or it will offer to help you check. (See lower part of the screenshot at left.)
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Enter your name.#@osu.edu address. |
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To access the download for Mathematica for desktop, use the button in the lower left.
Do economize on space for the KB, we used a small browser window for the screen shots. On https://www.wolfram.com/siteinfo/ you will see, after authentication, additional web-accessible products like Wolfram Alpha Pro.
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Pick "...Or sign in with Single Sign-On (SSO)..." We could have made a very short version of this KB and simply wrote, "Whenever you are given a choice, use Single Sign-on (SSO)". This is a detail that confuses folks, especially if they already had a Wolfram account before Wolfram offered SSO. |
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Use your OSU credentials to authenticate.
After authentication, you will be offered the opportunity to download a small pre-staging app. The the pre-staging app will in turn download the 5-6GB of files that are required for the install. At this point you will have a different experience depending on whether you are using Windows, macOS, or Linux. You will also need access to local administrator privileges or sudo. The installation process itself is otherwise straightforward. The authentication for download (preceding steps) and activation (following steps) are the details that confuse folks, so this KB focuses on those.
Please note that Mathematica is also available on Jamf Self Service (macOS) and Software Center (Windows). These allow for installation if you do not have local administrative privileges on your ASCTech-managed system.
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You are about to be presented with authentication options. Press Continue.
Note: If you are on a "fixed" workstation on campus managed by ASCTech, you can use a license server. This can help you avoid yearly re-activation. Send email to asctech@osu.edu for details on the use of the Mathematica license server.
Activation per system is the best model for personally-owned and mobile systems. The only disadvantage is that you will need to re-activate every year in late summer.
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It is again important to pick "Or sign in with Single Sign-On (SSO)" A stand-alone Wolfram ID does not provide much advantage because our SSO gives you access to all products licensed to OSU.
We will skip the next few screens, since they show the process we already illustrated above: You will be asked for your name.#@osu.edu email address, and then you will get the OSU identity query page where you enter your name.# and OSU password.
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After you authenticate, you will see this screen. After you press Activate, you will get another screen asking for agreement with terms and conditions. |
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When you see this screen, you are ready to use Mathematica. You will notice that the desktop application is named Wolfram, some re-branding on the vendor's part from earlier versions.
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