Updated installation instructions

INSTALLATION.md

@@ -13,13 +13,21 @@ Several tools exist that can both manage virtual environment and install Python
 * If you already have Anaconda/Miniconda installed on your computer, [click here](#installing-using-conda) for instructions using **Conda**.
 
 ### Installing using Mamba
-1. Download Miniforge3 (which contains Mamba) for your operating system [here](https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge#download).
-2. Double-click on the file you just downloaded and follow the prompts on the new window to install Miniforge3. When the "Advanced Installation Options" prompt comes up, check the box next to "Add Miniforge3 to my PATH environment variable". All the other default selections should work.
-3. After installation completes, open a command prompt or terminal window and copy/paste the following code to confirm Mamba installed correctly. If installed correctly, the terminal should print both a Mamba and Conda version number (since Conda is used for some Mamba functions):
+1. Download and install Miniforge3 (which contains Mamba) for your operating system:
+
+    * **Windows**: Download Miniforge3 from this [link](https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge#download). Double-click on the file once it is downloaded, and follow the prompts on the new window to install. When the "Advanced Installation Options" prompt comes up, check the box next to "Add Miniforge3 to my PATH environment variable". All the other default selections should work.
+    * **MacOC or Linux**: Open your terminal and run the following commands:
+        ```bash
+        curl -L -O "https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge/releases/latest/download/Miniforge3-$(uname)-$(uname -m).sh"
+        bash Miniforge3-$(uname)-$(uname -m).sh
+        ```
+        Follow the prompts that appear in the terminal to install Miniforge3. When the `Do you wish the installer to initialize Miniforge3 by running conda init [yes|no]` prompt appears, select "yes".
+
+2. After installation completes, open a command prompt or terminal window and copy/paste the following code to confirm Mamba installed correctly. If installed correctly, the terminal should print both a Mamba and Conda version number (since Conda is used for some Mamba functions):
     ```bash
     mamba --version
     ```
-4. Copy/paste the following code to create a new virtual environment named `wot`, activate the environment, and install WecOptTool and its dependencies in the environment. Feel free to replace `wot` in the first two lines with a different environment name if you would like:
+3. Copy/paste the following code to create a new virtual environment named `wot`, activate the environment, and install WecOptTool and its dependencies in the environment. Feel free to replace `wot` in the first two lines with a different environment name if you would like:
     ```bash
     mamba create -n wot
     mamba activate wot
@@ -28,9 +36,15 @@ Several tools exist that can both manage virtual environment and install Python
     ```
 
 ### Installing using Conda
-1. Download Miniconda3 (which contains Conda) for your operating system [here](https://docs.conda.io/projects/miniconda/en/latest/index.html).
-2. Double-click on the file you just downloaded and follow the prompts on the new window to install Miniconda3. When the "Advanced Installation Options" prompt comes up, check the box next to "Add Miniforge3 to my PATH environment variable". All the other default selections should work.
-3. After installation completes, open a command prompt or terminal window (close any command/terminal windows you had open previously) and copy/paste the following code to confirm Conda installed correctly. If installed correctly, the terminal should print a Conda version number:
+1. Download Miniconda3 (which contains Conda) for your operating system [here](https://docs.conda.io/projects/miniconda/en/latest/index.html). For MacOS, the `bash` option installs via the terminal and the `pkg` option installs via an interactive window, choose whichever you prefer.
+2. Install Miniconda3 for your operating system:
+
+    * **Windows or Mac `pkg`**: Double-click on the file you just downloaded and follow the prompts on the new window. When the "Advanced Installation Options" prompt comes up, check the box next to "Add Miniforge3 to my PATH environment variable". All the other default selections should work.
+    * **Linux or Mac `bash`**: Open your terminal and run the following command:
+    ```bash
+    bash Miniconda3-latest-$(uname)-$(uname -m).sh
+    ```
+3. After installation completes, open a command prompt or terminal window and copy/paste the following code to confirm Conda installed correctly. If installed correctly, the terminal should print a Conda version number:
     ```bash
     conda --version
     ```

README.md

@@ -10,14 +10,19 @@ The Wave Energy Converter Design Optimization Toolbox (WecOptTool) allows users
 Refer to [WecOptTool documentation](https://sandialabs.github.io/WecOptTool/) for more information, including project overview, tutorials, theory, and API documentation.
 
 ## Getting started
-**If you are brand new to Python and/or want detailed installation instructions, [click here](https://github.com/sandialabs/WecOptTool/blob/main/INSTALLATION.md).**
+**If you are brand new to Python and/or want detailed installation instructions, [click here](https://github.com/sandialabs/WecOptTool/INSTALLATION.md).**
 
-WecOptTool requires Python >= 3.8. Python 3.10 & 3.11 are supported.
-It is strongly recommended you create a dedicated virtual environment (e.g., using [`conda`](https://www.anaconda.com/), [`mamba`](https://mamba.readthedocs.io/en/latest/), `venv`, etc.) before installing WecOptTool.
+WecOptTool requires Python >= 3.8. Python 3.9 & 3.10 are supported.
+It is strongly recommended you create a dedicated virtual environment (e.g., using [`conda`](https://www.anaconda.com/), [`mamba`](https://mamba.readthedocs.io/en/latest/), `venv`, etc.) before installing `wecopttool`.
+
+```bash
+conda create -n wot pip
+conda activate wot
+```
 
 From your dedicated environment, you can install WecOptTool via `conda`, `pip`, or `mamba`:
 
-**Option 1** - using `Conda` (requires having `conda-forge` added as a channel in your environment, see instructions [here](https://conda-forge.org/docs/user/introduction.html#how-can-i-install-packages-from-conda-forge)):
+**Option 1** - using `Conda`:
 
 ```bash
 conda install -c conda-forge wecopttool