MOPAC 7 Installation Instructions for Linux

  1. Obtain MOPAC 7
    MOPAC 7 is public domain and the source code mopac7.tar.gz can be obtained from the WebMO website.
  2. Verify that the following packages have been installed on the Linux workstation:
    gcc (or egcs)
    glibc (or libc)
    f2c
    This can be checked using the following command:
    % rpm -qa | grep package

  3. Note that f2c is not installed by default and will likely have to be added. The f2c rpm is found on the Red Hat Linux Powertools Application CD-ROM and can be installed with
    % su
    # mount /mnt/cdrom
    # cd /mnt/cdrom/
    # find . -name "f2c*"
    # cd {RPM directory}
    # rpm -Uhv f2c-19991109-2.i386.rpm
          or
    # rpm -Uhv f2c-20000510-5.i386.rpm
    # cd /
    # umount /mnt/cdrom
    # exit
    f2c is also available for download from the following locations:
    Red Hat 6.X: www.webmo.net, www.redhat.com, www.rpmfind.net
    Red Hat 7.X: www.webmo.net, www.redhat.com, www.rpmfind.net
  4. Uncompress the MOPAC archive
    % su
    # cd /usr/local
    # cp /download_dir/mopac7.tar.z /usr/local
    # tar xzvf mopac7.tar.z
    # chown -R root:root mopac7
  5. Compile MOPAC
    # cd /usr/local/mopac7/mopac_7_source
    # make linux (takes a while)
    # exit
  6. Setup a user to run MOPAC and do a test run
    % cd ~
    % mkdir mopac
    % cd mopac
    % cp -p /usr/local/mopac7/mopac_7_source/examples/test.dat test.dat
    % cp -p /usr/local/mopac7/mopac_7_source/examples/test.out test.out.good
    % /usr/local/mopac7/runmopac test (opens the output file in vi)
    <Ctrl>-f; and <Ctrl>-b; to scroll; <Esc>:q;! to quit
  7. MOPAC documentation
    The MOPAC documentation is available in the mopac7/mopac_7_source/manual directory in a variety of formats. The manual was originally distributed in Tex format (mopac.tex) but it has also be translated into a variety of alternative formats. The Tex file has been processed to a DVI file (mopac.dvi). The manual has also been translated to postscript (mopac.ps) that can be viewed using Ghostview/Ghostscript or printed to a postscript printer. Finally, the manual is available in text format (mopac.txt) with much of the formatting, mathematical expressions, tables, etc., nonexistent or messed up.