Via FAQ

Visualize and analyze MATSim simulations

Frequently Asked Questions

Location of the Logfile

Via writes a logfile which might contain additional information in the case of problems or bugs.

Accessing the logfile from Via

As long as you can start Via normally, accessing the logfile is easy. Start Via and select the Help menu and choose Report Bug/Feedback…. In the window that opens, the location of the logfile is stated at the bottom, along a button Open Directory which opens the directory that contains the logfile in the file explorer (Window Explorer on Windows, Finder on macOS).

Accessing the logfile without Via

If Via does not start, you cannot access the logfile using the aforementioned steps. In this case, you need to navigate to the logfile directory manually:

On Windows

Via stores logfile within the user’s AppData directory. The exact location of this directory might change between the different versions of Windows, even depending if your user profile is a local one or managed in a corporate network environment. For many local installations, you’ll likely find it in a place very similar to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\via.

On macOS

In the Finder, open the menu Go and press the alt (option) key. An additional entry labelled Library will appear, select it. In the opening directory structure, find the folder Application Support and in there the folder Via. The logfile will be in that directory.

On Linux

On Linux, Via writes it’s logfile to ~/.via/via.log.

Using Via behind a proxy server

If Via is not picking up your systems proxy settings, try the following steps to tell Java to use your system’s proxy settings:

Method 1

On Windows

Open the file Via.ini (or Via64.ini) in a text editor. You should see 3 lines already. Add the following 4 lines with the data about your proxy:

vmarg.2=-Djava.net.useSystemProxies=true

On macOS

Right-click on Via.app, and select "Show Package Contents”. Open the file Contents/Info.plist in a text editor. Search for JVMOptions, it should be found around line 62. After that line, there are already some lines containing Strings starting with “-D”. Add the following 4 lines after them:

<string>-Djava.net.useSystemProxies=true</string>

On Linux

Open the file “via” in a text editor. Change the variable JOPTS to contain the additional arguments about using the systme proxy:

JOPTS="-Xmx1500m -DsuppressSwingDropSupport=true -Djava.net.useSystemProxies=true”

Method 2

If the steps described in method 1 do not work, you can directly tell Java the proxy settings to be used. Replace the placeholders proxyHost, proxyPortnumber, proxyUsername, proxyPassword with the corresponding values provided by your IT staff.

On Windows

Open the file Via64.ini in a text editor. You should see 3 lines already (or 4 if you first followed method 1). Add the following 4 lines with the data about your proxy. If you have already the line starting with vmarg.2 from method 1, overwrite that line.

vmarg.2=-Dhttp.proxyHost=proxyHost
vmarg.3=-Dhttp.proxyPort=proxyPortnumber
vmarg.4=-Dhttp.proxyUser=someUsername
vmarg.5=-Dhttp.proxyPassword=somePassword

On macOS

Right-click on Via.app, and select "Show Package Contents”. Open the file Contents/Info.plist in a text editor. Search for JVMOptions, it should be found around line 62. After that line, there are already some lines containing strings starting with “-D”. Add the following 4 lines after them:

<string>-Dhttp.proxyHost=proxyHost</string>
<string>-Dhttp.proxyPort=proxyPortnumber</string>
<string>-Dhttp.proxyUser=someUsername</string>
<string>-Dhttp.proxyPassword=somePassword</string>

On Linux

Open the file via in a text editor. Change the variable JOPTS to contain the proxy information, for example:

JOPTS="-Xmx1500m -DsuppressSwingDropSupport=true -Dhttp.proxyHost=proxyHost -Dhttp.proxyPort=proxyPortnumber -Dhttp.proxyUser=someUsername -Dhttp.proxyPassword=somePassword”

Via hangs when starting

In rare situations, Via might not start due to a corrupted preferences file. To solve the issue, you need to delete your preferences file.

On Windows

Via stores its preferences within the user’s AppData directory. The exact location of this directory might change between the different versions of Windows, even depending if your user profile is a local one or managed in a corporate network environment. For many local installations, you’ll likely find it in a place very similar to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\via. Remove (or rename) the file preferences.xml in that directory and try to start Via again.

On macOS

In the Finder, open the menu Go and press the alt (option) key. An additional entry labelled Library will appear, select it. In the opening directory structure, find the folder Preferences and in there the folder via. Remove (or rename) the file preferences.xml from that directory and try to start Via again.

On Linux

Remove (or rename) the file ~/.via/preferences.xml and try to start Via again.

Via crashes shortly after loading a Network on macOS

On macOS, there were reports of Via crashing due to incompatible third-party software. The symptoms are often similar to the ones outlined in the following:

  1. Start Via
  2. Load network, add Network Layer
  3. Click the tool to “Identify Nodes and Links by Clicking on Them”
  4. Move the mouse pointer onto any link or node
  5. Via crashes immediately

If this happens to you as well, you likely have Karabiner installed, which is not compatible with Java applications. Follow these steps to disable it:

  1. Go to the System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility.
  2. You should there see a list of applications that are allowed to use the Accessibility API of macOS.
  3. Disable Karabiner, restart Via, and try again.

Even if you do not have Karabiner installed but have the same symptoms, try to disable other applications listed in the Accessibility pane and see if it helps, as technically, the problem is not restricted to Karabiner only.

What's the difference between Senozon Via and Simunto Via?

Actually, there is no real difference between Senozon Via and Simunto Via. Development of Via started 2011 at Senozon. In January 2018, ownership of Via was transferred to Simunto, which continues to support Via and will further expand its functionality.

All versions up to and including version 1.8.0 of Via were released by Senozon, while newer version (1.8.1 and up) are released by Simunto.

While Simunto is the main contact for inquiries about Via, Senozon might continue to offer Simunto Via alongside its data products to its clients.

Via is damaged and cannot be opened (MacOS)

If you get a message that Via is damaged and can’t be opened on macOS, open a Terminal window and run xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/Via.app. We’re looking into a more permanent fix.