.. include:: vars.rst

.. _section-starting-sd:

Starting System Designer
========================

You can run |SD| from *Launcher* or from the distributed
command-line executable.

In *Launcher*, go to the **Tools** tab and click the |SD| button:

.. figure:: static/launcher_start.png
    :alt: Start the tool
    :name: Figure_launcher_start
    :align: center
    :figwidth: 100%

You can also start |SD| with the
``rtisystemdesigner[.bat]`` script in the ``bin`` directory of your
*Connext DDS* installation. The |SD| script will start the tool, try to open
your default browser, and point to the right address.

If the browser won't start, open a new webpage and go to:

  http://localhost:5000/index.html

.. tip::
   By default, |SD| uses port 5000. If that port is not available, you can
   change it by setting ``RTI_SD_PORT`` to be a valid port for your system.

.. note::
   |SD| automatically shuts down the server if there hasn't been a connection
   in the last five minutes. This is important when running |SD| from *Launcher*,
   since clicking the |SD| button again won't create a new server instance until
   the five-minute period has passed. (Clicking the |SD| button again while the
   previous instance is running will just open your default browser.) To open a
   new |SD| instance from *Launcher*, wait at least five minutes or kill the
   running instance.

When you start |SD|, the application will allow you to:

-   **Open…** |br|
    Browse the filesystem for an existing *System Designer*
    project (.rtisdproj)
-   **Import Zip…** |br|
    Browse the filesystem to import a *System Designer*
    project that was previously exported and sent to you (.zip)
-   **Create New…** |br|
    Create a new project
-   **Open Selected…** |br|
    Open one of the listed Recent Projects (the list
    is empty right after the first execution)

.. figure:: static/first_exec_open.png
    :alt: Opening a project  
    :name: Figure_first_exec_open
    :align: center