Setting Up the Polarity Community Edition Client

System Requirements

In order to run the Polarity Community Edition Desktop Client, there are some basic requirements that your computer will need to meet:

Windows

• 64-bit version of Microsoft® Windows® 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7

• 4+ GB RAM

• 2+ GHz Quad Core CPU with Hyper-Threading

macOS

• 64-bit version of macOS 10.9 or greater

• 4+ GB of RAM

• 2+ GHz Quad Core CPU with Hyper-Threading

Linux

• 64-bit version of RedHat, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, or like flavors with a Graphical User Interface

• 4+ GB RAM

• 2+ GHz Quad Core CPU with Hyper-Threading

Client Installation

Prior to installation 

NOTE

Ensure that all system requirements are met.

Download the Polarity Client Installer to your local file system. This will be provided by your Polarity Customer Success team.

The Polarity Client install packages are named like the following (depending on your operating system): 

• Windows

  • PolarityCE-n.n.n-windows-installer.exe

• macOS

  • PolarityCE-n.n.n-osx-installer.dmg

• Linux

  • PolarityCE-n.n.n-linux-x64-installer.run

Windows Users

If you encounter a Microsoft Defender SmartScreen message, there's no need to worry.  Simply click More Info and then Run Anyway on the next screen that comes up to continue installation.

Linux Users

You may need to allow the OS to execute the file as a program.

To do this:

1. Right-click on the installer file.

2. Select “Properties”.

3. Under the Permissions tab, check the box for Allow executing file as program.

Run the executable file.

After Installation

Once the Client is installed it will provide you with the option to start Polarity.  If you click “Yes” then the application will start.

If you do not start Polarity after installing, go to your Desktop, locate the Polarity Icon, and double-click it to start the Client.

Polarity is meant to run in the background of your computer and can be accessed from the system tray or macOS menu bar.

Connecting to the Polarity Server

In order for Polarity to work, a connection to a Polarity Server needs to be configured. Upon first launch, Polarity will prompt you to configure your connection settings.

If it does not provide a prompt, you can access the Sign-In Page by going to File -> Sign-In Page in the application window menu bar.

To add a new server:

1. Click on the Add new server button

2. Populate the form with details provided from your Polarity Welcome email.

   1. Server URL

      1. Should be https://cev5.polarity.io

   2. Username

      1. See the Polarity Welcome email.

   3. Password

      1. See the Polarity Welcome email.

3. Click Sign-in once you have completed the sections above.

Be sure not to include any trailing whitespace if copying your password out of your Welcome email.

Click on Advanced Options to configure Proxy settings.

Determining Connection Status

If you have Polarity pinned to the system tray or the macOS menu bar, the Polarity icon will change appearance depending on Polarity's status. 

Below are examples of the different icon states that you will encounter and their meanings.

• Green, hollowed out Polarity icon - On-Demand Only Mode Enabled

• Solid green Polarity icon - Stream and/or Highlight Mode Enabled

• Orange Polarity icon with two arrows in the center - Not Connected to Server, Attempting to Automatically Restore Connection

• Red Polarity icon with red horizontal line through it - Not Connected to Server, Cannot Automatically Restore Connection

You can also tell if you are having connection issues by opening the Polarity client and looking at the connection status icon in the bottom right corner of the Polarity configuration window. 

• Grey icon - Polarity Not Connected to Server

• Green icon - Polarity Connected to Server

Start on Boot

After the first login to Polarity, you can set whether or not you want Polarity to start up on boot.

To Access the Start on Boot option navigate to the Polarity Menu.

Windows

1. Navigate to Start on Boot by opening Polarity,

2. At the top of the application, find the Polarity file menu.

3. Click where it says File and then check Start on Boot.

macOS

1. Navigate to Start on Boot by opening Polarity,

2. At the top of the macOS application file bar you will see the Polarity Menu. 

3. Click where it says File and then check Start on Boot.

Linux

1. Navigate to Start on Boot by opening Polarity, 

2. At the top of the Linux menu bar you will see the Polarity Menu. 

3. Click on where it says File and then select Start on Boot.