PSCADTM

Getting Started with PSCAD v5.0.0

July 19, 2020
Initial
Contents
1. PSCAD PRODUCT EDITIONS ............................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL EDITIONS ...........................................................................................................1
1.2 PURCHASING OR LEASING .....................................................................................................................................1
1.3 OBTAINING A TRIAL LICENSE .................................................................................................................................1
1.4 OBTAINING A TRAINING LICENSE ............................................................................................................................1
1.5 FREE EDITION.....................................................................................................................................................1
1.6 BETA EDITION ....................................................................................................................................................1
2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 2
3. PSCAD IMPOSED BOUNDARIES (ALL EDITIONS AND COMPILERS) ................................................................... 2
3.1 PSCAD IMPOSED BOUNDARIES (ALL EDITIONS AND COMPILERS) .................................................................................2
3.2 EDITION SPECIFIC BOUNDARIES .............................................................................................................................2
3.3 FREE EDITION RESTRICTIONS .................................................................................................................................3
4. SETTING UP YOUR PSCAD SOFTWARE ............................................................................................................ 3
5.1 PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL EDITIONS ...........................................................................................................3
5.2 THE FREE EDITION ..............................................................................................................................................3
5.2 THE BETA EDITION ..............................................................................................................................................3
5. SELECTING AND SETTING UP YOUR FORTRAN COMPILER ............................................................................... 3
6. TUTORIALS AND EXAMPLES TO GET YOU STARTED ........................................................................................ 4
 Getting Started with PSCAD v5.0.0

1. PSCAD Product Editions

PSCAD is available in a few different editions, all of which contain mainly the same feature set, but with
varying capacities. A general overview of each edition is provided below, while a comparison of product
limitations for the released and free editions is listed in Section 3.

1.1 Professional and Educational Editions

The Professional and Educational editions are the two officially released editions of PSCAD. The
Professional edition is our fully-featured edition, and is available to commercial users, as well as to
educational facilities for the purpose of teaching and research.

The Educational edition contains all of the same features as the Professional edition with some
limitations as specified in Section 3.2, and is available only to educational facilities.

1.2 Purchasing or Leasing

The Professional and Educational Edition are available for either purchase or lease. Please contact our
sales desk for a quotation. Please ensure to include your name, organization, and location in your
request.

1.3 Obtaining a Trial License

A temporary trial license for the Professional or Educational edition may be obtained in order to use and
test the suitability of the software, prior to purchase. The trial may be requested by contacting our sales
desk. Please ensure to include your name, organization, and location in your request.

1.4 Obtaining a Training License

When attending an MHI training session, a training license for the Professional edition may be obtained
by contacting our training desk, through our PSCAD Support Desk Portal.

1.5 Free Edition

The Free edition is virtually identical as the released editions, but with several limitations imposed. This
edition is available mainly to allow new users to try out PSCAD, and to test its functionality.

1.6 Beta Edition

The Beta edition represents latest in product development, and is available only to authorized and
experienced users for testing. Feedback generated by the user community helps to drive further
refinement, prior to the official product release.

Feedback from Beta edition users is invaluable to product development: It assists with early detection of
issues, and allows users to directly affect development, by critiquing new features and functionalities.
Contact PSCAD Support Services to request becoming a Beta edition user.

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 Getting Started with PSCAD v5.0.0

2. System Requirements

Requirements for installing, licensing and running PSCAD are specified in this article.

3. PSCAD Imposed Boundaries (all Editions and Compilers)

Any boundaries imposed on your projects will depend on which PSCAD edition you are using. The
following tables list the most commonly encountered boundaries.

3.1 PSCAD Imposed Boundaries (all Editions and Compilers)

3.2 Edition Specific Boundaries

*Contact the PSCAD Sales Desk ([email protected]) for details on increasing this limit.

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 Getting Started with PSCAD v5.0.0

3.3 Free Edition Restrictions

4. Setting up your PSCAD Software

4.1 Professional and Educational Editions

Both detailed and quick start setup instructions are available as follows:

 If using certificate licensing, refer to this article.

 If using lock-based licensing, refer to this article.

4.2 The Free Edition

Instructions for setting up the PSCAD Free Edition software are available in this article.

4.2 The Beta Edition

Instructions for setting up the PSCAD Beta Edition software are available in this article.

5. Selecting and Setting Up Your Fortran Compiler

A third-party compiler is required for building PSCAD projects. PSCAD supports a free, GFortran compiler
that comes bundled with the PSCAD installer, as well as the commercially available Intel® Parallel Studio
Composer Edition for Fortran for Windows. If using the Intel compiler, another third-party software is
also required, Microsoft® Visual Studio. Refer to detailed information on selecting your compiler.

GFortran may be installed alongside PSCAD as per Section 4.1, or it may be downloaded and installed
separately from PSCAD.

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 Getting Started with PSCAD v5.0.0

For selecting and setting up the Intel compiler, please refer to the following references:

 Selecting the Intel compiler version and license type

 Selecting the Visual Studio version and edition
 Setting up the software

Once PSCAD and the compiler are installed, your setup should be tested before building your own
projects.

If you have any compiler selection or setup questions, please forward your questions to our support
desk.

6. Tutorials and Examples to get you started

Resources for becoming familiar with using PSCAD are listed in this article.

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 Getting Started with PSCAD v5.0.0

DOCUMENT TRACKING

Rev. Description Date

0 Initial July 19, 2020

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