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Computing@RensselaerFall 2001

Division of the Chief Information Officer

.cio

About This Document…Welcome to Rensselaer!

Here at Rensselaer, computing plays a major role in the everyday educational experience, and students and faculty alike have access to a broad range of computing tools for their coursework. You'll find that many courses use computing extensively in their curricula, and you'll also use computing as a tool to access library collections and services for your coursework and other information needs.

But there are so many new things to try to remember!

Don't panic! In fact, relax. We have tried to anticipate as many of your questions as we possibly could, and have put together this document in hopes of answering them. **

The first section of this document will help you start using your recently acquired laptop computer.

The remaining sections provide general information about computing here at Rensselaer.

All entries in the Table of Contents have been hotlinked to help you navigate to specific sections of this document more easily. You'll also find other hotlinks within the text that allow you to cross-reference other sections of the document, access URLs, and even direct e-mail to the DotCIO staff.

Therefore, please refer often to this user's guide! We think you'll find it to be a useful source of information to which you can return again and again.

The Staff of the Division of the Chief Information Officer (DotCIO) *

* The Division of the Chief Information Officer (DotCIO) was recently formed as a result of the reorganization of the former Computing and Information Services (CIS). Because some departments are still in transition and some of these reorganization-related changes will take time to accomplish, you may continue to see references to CIS -- and/or its related departments -- in this document, as well as on many of our existing printed and electronic publications for a while. We'll appreciate your patience during this transition period!

** The information in this document is current as of August 20, 2001.

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About This Document Fall 1999

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ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT…

….................................................................................................2INTRODUCING YOUR LAPTOP..........................................................3

Unpacking the Box..................................................................................................................................3Hardware Features.................................................................................................................................4Setting Up the Laptop.............................................................................................................................8Software Features..................................................................................................................................10A Brief Description of Your Laptop's Disk Drive..............................................................................11Test-Driving Your New Laptop...........................................................................................................11Installing Software................................................................................................................................21Uninstalling Software............................................................................................................................21Caring for Your Laptop.......................................................................................................................22

A BRIEF SOFTWARE TOUR.............................................................30Displaying Complete File Extensions..................................................................................................30Starting Programs.................................................................................................................................30Switching between Programs...............................................................................................................30Closing Programs..................................................................................................................................31Maple 7...................................................................................................................................................31Microsoft Word.....................................................................................................................................32Microsoft PowerPoint...........................................................................................................................35Microsoft Excel......................................................................................................................................37Connecting to Other Host Computers via SecureCRT......................................................................40Web Browsers: Netscape and Internet Explorer..............................................................................42

GETTING HELP AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.............................45The ThinkPad Button...........................................................................................................................45Help Desk Locations..............................................................................................................................45Documentation.......................................................................................................................................45RPInfo....................................................................................................................................................46Short Courses.........................................................................................................................................46The Kiosk...............................................................................................................................................46rpi.computing.news Usenet newsgroup...............................................................................................47The DotCIO Homepage........................................................................................................................47

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE RENSSELAER COMPUTING SYSTEM........48About Your RCS Account....................................................................................................................48Choosing and Changing Your RCS Account Password....................................................................48Using Your Account Responsibly: Some Words of Wisdom............................................................50Appropriate Account Uses....................................................................................................................50Prohibited Account Uses.......................................................................................................................51Using Electronic Mail............................................................................................................................52Setting Options for Various E-Mail Programs...................................................................................53

Table of Contents Fall 2001

Using the Student Information System (SIS)......................................................................................58Using WebCT: Web-Based Coursework at Rensselaer....................................................................59Logging in to a Public PC.....................................................................................................................60Finishing Up and Logging Out.............................................................................................................60Mapping a Network Drive....................................................................................................................61Sharing Files across RCS......................................................................................................................61

PRINTING....................................................................................64Public Printers.......................................................................................................................................64Printer Naming Conventions................................................................................................................65Printing Allocations and pagestatus....................................................................................................66Choosing a Printer and Printing from Public PCs.............................................................................67Installing a Network Printer on Your PC...........................................................................................67For More Information…......................................................................................................................67

RESOURCES AND SERVICES..........................................................73Computing Labs and Classrooms........................................................................................................73The Campus Computer Store..............................................................................................................73Academic and Research Computing...................................................................................................74Rensselaer Computer Repair...............................................................................................................74Telecommunications..............................................................................................................................74The Rensselaer Libraries......................................................................................................................76Scanning and Digital Video Capabilities.............................................................................................77

CAMPUS COMPUTING NETWORK INFORMATION..............................79Facilities Overview................................................................................................................................79

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT UNIX BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK…................................................................81

Establishing a UNIX Session................................................................................................................81Communicating with UNIX..................................................................................................................82Managing Your RCS Account.............................................................................................................82Printing...................................................................................................................................................83UNIX Files and Directories..................................................................................................................85Some Basic UNIX Commands..............................................................................................................86For More Information About UNIX…................................................................................................88

SOME UNIX WORKSTATION BASICS...............................................89Using a UNIX Workstation..................................................................................................................89

GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND TERMS..........................................92USEFUL URLS, E-MAIL ADDRESSES, AND PHONE NUMBERS.............93


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INDEX.........................................................................................96


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Introducing Your LaptopUnpacking the Box

The laptop computer you've just received is an IBM ThinkPad T22 Model 2647-6EU/RSU. As you unpack the box, please take a few minutes to make sure you have -- and hang onto -- the materials listed below.

Materials to Keep

Laptop computer

Power cord and AC adapter

Floppy diskette drive

IBM Li-Ion battery pack

Bag containing an extra TrackPoint cap, a telephone cord, and a security screw for the laptop's hard drive

Getting Started -- Microsoft Windows 98 Manual (Second edition)

IBM ThinkPad T22 Setup Guide and Checklist for Unpacking

IBM ThinkPad T22 Service and Troubleshooting Guide

Miscellaneous advertisement documents and brochures

Introducing Your Laptop Fall 2001

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Hardware FeaturesFront View

1. The system status indicators consist of a series of indicator lights, and show the computer's current status in green or orange. (A close-up view of the system status indicators appears on the following page, along with a list of their descriptions.)

2. The power switch turns the computer on and off.

3. The battery, standby mode, and UltraBay status indicators. Full descriptions of these indicators appear on the following page.

4. The bay latch allows you to eject and remove the Ultrabay 2000 device, should you ever need to replace it.

5. The eject button ejects various storage devices, such as DVD or CD-ROM drives, from the Ultrabay 2000 device (6).

6. The Ultrabay 2000 device accepts storage devices, such as a DVD drive or a CD-ROM drive.


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7. The TrackPoint pointing stick is a built-in pointing device that provides a function similar to that of a mouse.

8. The TrackPoint buttons work with the TrackPoint stick (7) and provide functions similar to those of mouse buttons.

9. The ThinkPad button provides you with built-in, one-button access to information you need, along with ThinkPad portals for mobile solutions, service, support, and more.

10. The volume and mute buttons allow you to control the volume level on your laptop.

Note that your laptop also comes equipped with the ThinkLight feature that makes it easy for you to see your keyboard in low-light conditions, such as when you're giving a presentation, or if you're using your laptop on a plane.

The System Status Indicators

1. Device Access indicator. This will appear in green while data is being read from or written to the hard disk drive, the diskette drive, or a drive in the Ultrabay 2000. Do not put the computer into standby mode or turn off the computer while this indicator is on.


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2. Numeric lock indicator. Indicates that the numeric keypad on the keyboard is enabled. To enable or disable the keypad, press and hold the Shift key, and then press the NumLk (Scrlk) key.

3. Caps lock indicator. Indicates that the Caps Lock mode is enabled.

4. Scroll lock indicator. Indicates that Scroll Lock mode is enabled, and you can use the arrow keys as screen-scroll function keys. Note that the cursor cannot be moved with the arrow keys while this function is enabled, although not all applications support this function.

5. Power on indicator. Indicates that the laptop is powered on and ready to use. This light remains on whenever the computer is powered on and not in standby mode.

6. Battery indicator. When green, this indicates that the battery is fully charged. When blinking green, it indicates that the battery is being charged, but has enough power to operate the machine. When orange, it indicates that the battery is being charged but that the power is still low, and when blinking orange, it indicates that the battery needs charging.

7. Standby indicator. When green, this indicates that the computer is in standby mode. When blinking green, the computer is entering either standby or hibernation mode, or is resuming normal operation.

8. Ultrabay indicator. When green, this indicates that a device, such as a CD or DVD, is installed and in use in the drive. When blinking green, it indicates that the Ultrabay device is in the process of being detached. When not illuminated, this indicates that the Ultrabay 2000 drive is not in use.

Rear View


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1. The security keyhole allows you to connect the security cable, which you received with your laptop, to help prevent it from being stolen.

2. The video-out (S video) connector allows you to connect your computer to an external television receiver.

3. The serial connector allows you to connect a serial mouse, serial printer, or serial device and to transfer data between devices.

4. The parallel connector allows you to connect a diskette drive, a Centronics interface printer, or some other parallel device, and to transfer data between devices.

5. The external monitor connector allows you to attach an external monitor.

6. The modem connector is used for connecting your computer to a telephone line.

7. The Ethernet connector is used for connecting your computer to a local network. Please note that you should not connect your telephone line to this connector.

8. The power jack allows you to connect the AC adapter cable.

9. The universal serial bus (USB) connector allows you to connect any device that conforms to the USB interface. Many recent digital devices comply with this new standard.

10. The external-input-device connector allows you to attach a mouse or external numeric keypad to the computer. You may also attach an external keyboard to this connector using an optional keyboard/mouse cable.

Bottom View


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1. The built-in stereo speakers provide the sound for your laptop computer.

2. The battery pack is a built-in power source for the computer, whenever you do not have an AC adapter available.

3. The battery-pack latches lock or release the battery pack.

4. The docking connector allows you to connect your laptop to a Thinkpad Dock or ThinkPad Port replicator.

5. The mini PCI card slot contains a card that acts as both your modem and Ethernet card.

6. The dual inline memory module (DIMM) allows for memory expansion. (The system has 256MB of memory standard.)

7. The PCMCIA card slots accept PC cards. (Note that your machine has both an upper and a lower card slot.)

8. The PC card eject button ejects the PC card from the PC card slots (7).

9. The infrared port allows the computer to communicate with other devices that have infrared data-transfer capability.

10. The stereo headphone jack, a 3.5mm diameter jack, allows you to connect a stereo headphone or external speakers.

11. The stereo line-in jack, a 3.5mm diameter jack, allows you to connect an external stereo audio device.

12. The microphone jack, another 3.5mm diameter jack, allows you to connect a stereo microphone.

13. The hard disk drive consists of the computer's large-capacity, built-in hard disk drive.

14. The LCD latches open the laptop cover when pressed.

Setting Up the Laptop

Recording Your Windows Product Key

Before you begin setting up your new laptop, take a minute to turn it over and locate the Windows Product Key that appears on the special laminated sticker on the bottom of your machine.

Enter this product key information at the top of your Laptop Configuration/Installation Checklist, and also copy it down on the "Introducing Your Laptop handout" that you received with your laptops. You will need it to initialize -- or if you ever need to re-install -- Windows.


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Connecting the PiecesConnecting the Power Cord

To connect the power cord, first insert the two-pronged "jack" end of the power cord into the matching receptacle of the AC adapter, then plug the other end into a standard electrical outlet. Insert the yellow-coded plug on the AC adapter cord into the matching yellow-coded power jack (labeled as #8 on the rear view on page 7) located on the back of the laptop.

Connecting the Network Cable

Insert one end of the grey network cable into the Ethernet connector receptacle at the back of the laptop (labeled as #7 on the rear view on page 7) until it clicks into place, and the other end of the cable into a laptop jack.

Opening the Machine

There are two small spring-loaded latches (LCD latches, labeled as #14 on the bottom view on page 8), on the front of the laptop, toward either side of the machine. Use your thumbs to push these two switches out away from each other, toward the sides of the laptop. Then, still holding the switches outward, push up the lid of the laptop.

Powering on the Laptop

To power on the laptop, push the round power button (labeled as #2 on the front view on page 4) located above the keyboard and to the right of the system status indicators (labeled as #1 on the front view on page 4).

Entering the Required Information

When the laptop has powered up completely, a Windows 98 Setup Wizard window will appear, asking you for some user information. You must enter your name in the Name: field. In the Company: field, you may either keep "Rensselaer" as the default, or leave the field blank altogether. Click the Next button at the bottom of the window.

A License Agreement window will appear. After you have read the terms of the agreement, select the option saying that you accept the terms of the agreement, and click the Next button to accept those terms.

Another window will appear, asking for your Windows product key information; type the product key in the fields provided. (You don't have to use the Tab key; the cursor will automatically move from field to field as you type. Similarly, you don't have to press the Shift key to enter capital letters; letters will appear as capitals automatically.) Double-check what you have typed to make sure you have entered the product key correctly, then click the Next button.


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A Start Wizard window appears. Click on the Finish button to continue starting Windows 98.

Wait a moment for the Supply Rensselaer Credentials window to appear. Enter your assigned RCS userID -- which consists of the first five letters of your last name, the first initial of your first name, and possibly a digit or two to make it unique-- in the top field of this window. Enter the name of your dorm building as your workgroup name. (The system will require you to enter a workgroup.) Off-campus users should enter offcampus as their workgroup name.

Click the OK button.

THE LAPTOP WILL NOW AUTOMATICALLY RESTART. WAIT A FEW MOMENTS FOR THIS PROCESS TO COMPLETE.

Connecting to the Network and Obtaining Your Adapter Address

When the machine finishes booting, an Enter Network Password window will appear; your RCS userID should already appear in the Name: field. Enter your RCS password (remember, your password is case-sensitive) in the Password: field, and click OK.

A Set Windows Password window will appear. Your RCS password will have already been entered in the New password: field. (It will appear as a string of asterisks.) Enter your RCS password again in the Confirm new password: field and click OK.

The Welcome to Windows 98 window will appear. At this point, either click the Close ("X") button in the upper right corner of the window, or the Close button, to close this window. (Clicking on the Continue option would start up a guided tour of Windows 98, but please don't do this now. However, you should go back and go through this guided tour later.)

Double-click on the Winipcfg icon in the lower right corner of the desktop. An IP Configuration window appears. If the adapter is listed as PPP Adapter in the top field of the window, click on the small drop-down arrow beside that field and select the 10/100 Mini PCI Ethernet Adapter option . When you do this, the remaining IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway information will appear in the appropriate fields.

Record the machine's adapter address (shown in the Adapter Address field) on your Laptop Configuration/Installation Checklist.

(Please note that whenever the network connection does not appear to be working, left-click on the Release button and then on the Renew button to obtain a new IP address.)

Left-click on the "X" in the upper right corner of the IP Configuration window to close it.

You should now be connected to the network.

Software FeaturesAn Overview of the Included Software

Your laptop has come pre-loaded with a number of software packages, including:


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Microsoft Office XP Professional -- Microsoft's Office suite of Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, Frontpage, and PowerPoint packages will provide you with word processing, spreadsheet, database, e-mail, HTML, and presentation capabilities, respectively.

Maple 7 -- This symbolic algebra package allows you to integrate, differentiate, solve equations, and plot functions.

SecureCRT 3.3 -- This package provides a secure connection to the RCS UNIX systems.

Microsoft Visual C++ -- This package provides a C++ programming/development environment from Microsoft. The rest of the Visual Studio package, including Front Page 2000, J++, FoxPro, and Visual Basic, is available on CD ROM at the VCC Help Desk.

LabVIEW -- National Instruments' LabVIEW package provides data acquisitions and control, data analysis, and data presentation capabilities. Please note that only sub-sets of this package have been pre-installed on your machine; you can obtain the remaining components on CD from the VCC Help Desk.

Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer -- Both of these browsers allow you to access the World Wide Web.

MapInfo Professional -- Through a process known as Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), MapInfo Professional turns your word processing and spreadsheet applications into mini MapInfo programs in which you can create, display, and edit a map for use in a presentation or report, or even for publishing.

Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 This product allows you to view, navigate, and print PDF files across all major computing platforms.

SolidWorks 2001 -- This package provides powerful, easy-to-use solid modeling capabilities.

EZ-Snapshot-- This service provides you with a scheduled, automated means of backing up and restoring your files. We strongly recommend that you sign up for this service by filling out and returning the application form you received with your laptop.

Norton Anti-Virus Corporate Edition -- This software helps protect your laptop against possible virus contamination and related problems.

A Brief Description of Your Laptop's Disk Drive

Your laptop's disk drive consists of one main 32-gigabyte hard disk drive, which is partitioned into a 27862MB system partition, and a 2695 hidden partition that houses the IBM Product Recovery image.


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Test-Driving Your New LaptopUnderstanding Some Basic Terms

Active Window – Refers to the window in which you're currently working. The active window has the color title bar, (not the gray one).

Control Menu Box – Obtained when you right-click on a window's title bar (see description below), this box provides options to restore, move, size, minimize, maximize, or close an application.

Desktop – Consists of the entire screen. There is only one desktop.

Menu Bar -- Provides commands applicable for use in the application. A sample menu bar appears below.

Scrolling

The Vertical scroll bar is located on the right side of the window and is used to scroll up and down the page.

The Horizontal scroll bar is located at the bottom of the window, and allows you to scroll to the right and left of the window.

The Scroll box is another way to scroll either vertically or horizontally. Click on the scroll box and drag the box up or down, or left or right, to change your position within the window.

Task Bar

The Task Bar contains the Start button, an area that displays buttons for each program you have open and the time. You can relocate the Task Bar by left clicking on it and dragging it to either the top of the screen or to either the far left or right side of the screen.


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Vertical Scroll Bar

Horizontal Scroll Bar

Scroll Box or Bubble

Tile – An option that allows you to arrange your active windows either vertically or horizontally, or cascade them by right-clicking on the Task bar and selecting the appropriate option.

Title Bar – Displays the name of the application and the document filename.

The Title Bar also contains the following icons:

Close Button ( ) Located in the upper right corner of a window on your screen, this icon provides one way to close an application.

Maximize button ( ) Located in the upper right corner of a window on your screen, this icon maximizes the window to full-screen size.

Minimize button ( ) – Also located in the upper right corner of a window on your screen, this icon reduces the application to an icon on the Task Bar (the portion of the screen which contains the Start button, and an area that displays buttons for each program you have open and the time).

Restore button ( ) – Restores the window to the size it was prior to using the Maximize button.

Wallpaper/Background – Refers to the image that covers the desktop or appears in the center of the desktop.

Window – Refers to one of the large rectangular boxes on the screen in which you can run various applications, etc. You can have several windows open at the same time on your desktop.


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Identifying Some Desktop Features

Start Button

You can use the Start Button to start a program, open a document, change system settings, get Help, and find files, folders, or another networked computer. When you click on the Start button, the following menu appears:

The Start Menu consists of the following commands:

This Command

Does this….

Programs Displays a list of programs that you can select to start. You can also customize this list. **

Documents Displays a list of recently opened documents

Settings Displays a list of settings that can be changed such as Control Panel, Taskbar and Start Menu

Find Allows you to search for a file, folder, or computer

Help Opens the Windows 98 Help Topics window

Run Allows you run a program by entering the appropriate command

Shut Down Displays a list of options that allow you to shut down, restart the computer, or log off and log in as a different user


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** When you select the Programs option from the Start menu, all of the applications should appear listed alphabetically, with all folders listed first, and then all programs. If this list of applications should ever get out of order, you can restore it to alphabetical order by doing the following:

1. Open the Start menu and select the Programs option.

2. Right-click on the pop-up sub-menu that appears, and select the Sort by Name option. All of the listed folders and programs should once more appear in alphabetical order.

Using the TrackPoint and Buttons

The TrackPoint consists of the stick on the keyboard and the three click buttons located below the keyboard.

The amount of pressure you apply to the non-slip cap on the stick controls the movement and speed of the cursor on the screen. As you press the stick away from you, the cursor moves toward the top of the screen; similarly, moving the stick toward you moves the cursor toward the bottom of the screen. To move the cursor to the right, press the stick toward the right and vice versa. (Please note that the TrackPoint sometimes "drifts". This isn't a defect.)

The left and right click buttons function in the same way as those on a traditional desktop PC mouse. (Of course these functions also depend on the software that you are using.) The center button can be used to scroll, or as a magnifying glass by customizing the TrackPoint settings. Please refer to your IBM User's Reference manual for instructions on how to customize the TrackPoint buttons.

Using the ThinkPad Button

When you first press the ThinkPad button, an Access ThinkPad window may appear, summarizing how you can add programs to your laptop using the Software Selections CD that was included with your new laptop. If you wish to simply close the window at this time, you may either click on the OK button or the "X" in the upper-right corner. If you do not wish to see this window appear again, first select


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the "Do not show this notice again" option, and then close the window as described above.

When you exit the Access ThinkPad window, another window will appear, listing a number of help categories:

Up & Running

About Your ThinkPad

Everyday Essentials

Problem Solving

How to reach IBM

This screen even includes a Quick Search field that allows you to run a search for a specific topic.

To get started, position your cursor on the Everyday Essentials link; you should see a pop-up sub-menu appear. Next, position your cursor over the Everyday use option (it will appear highlighted in yellow) and then click on it to select that option. A new window containing lots of helpful information appears; using the ThinkLight keyboard light, the TrackPoint, and the Ultrabay 2000, playing a CD or DVD, managing the battery power, and familiarizing yourself with the machine's many keys, buttons, and indicator lights are just a few of the numerous topics you'll find listed.

Please note that, as an alternative to pressing the ThinkPad button, you may also access the laptop's built-in information by opening the Start menu, and selecting the ThinkPad Assistant option.

However you access it, we think you will find the ThinkPad Assistant to be an extremely valuable tool, so always remember to use it as an excellent source of help and information any time you may have a question as to how to use your new laptop!

Identifying the Desktop Icons

Note that the icons marked with a double asterisk (**) require that you be connected to the network in order for you to access and use them properly.

Double-click on this icon to display your computer’s contents, including the available drives and printers, the control panel, and dial-up networking.


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** When you initially double-click on this icon, the only entry you will see is "Entire Network." When you select that option, you will receive an "Unable to Browse the Network" error message; this occurs because file and print sharing are not enabled on your laptop by default.

If you wish to enable file and print sharing on your laptop, open the Start menu, select the Settings option, and then select the Control Panel option. In the window that appears, double-click the Network icon, and then click on the File and Print Sharing… button. In the window that appears, click in either (or both) of the file and print sharing options, and click the OK button. Please note that your enabling this feature does not actually share any resources on your laptop; use the Sharing tab on the Properties window to specify the drive or directory you want to share.

Use the Recycle Bin as a temporary "storage" place for deleted files. As long as you haven't emptied your Recycle Bin, you can use it to retrieve files that you accidentally deleted. To completely delete any files you have placed in the Recycle Bin, first right-click on the Recycle Bin icon, then select the Empty Recycle Bin option from the pop-up sub-menu that appears.

Double-click on this icon to access the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler.

** Double-click on this icon to access the documentation assembled especially for laptop users.


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** Double-click on this icon to access the web site for Rensselaer's on-campus Advising and Learning Assistance Center.

Double-click on this icon to access the Maple 7 symbolic math package.

Double-click on this icon to access National Instruments' LabVIEW package, which provides data acquisition and control, data analysis, and data presentation capabilities.

** Double-click on this icon to access file and print sharing on the RCS UNIX platform. You must double-click on this icon and login using your RCS userID and password to be able to print to a network printer.

Double-click on this icon to access the Microsoft Access database program.

Double-click on this icon to access the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program.


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Double-click on this icon to access the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation software program.

Double-click on this icon to access the Microsoft Word word-processing program.

Double-click on this icon to access the SolidWorks 2001 solid modeling program.

** Double-click on this icon to access the Internet Explorer Web browser.

** Double-click on this icon to open a SecureCRT session, which provides a secure connection to the RCS UNIX systems.


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** Double-click on this icon to launch a session of the TSM EZ-Snapshot file backup service.

** Double-click on this icon to obtain IP address, subnet mask, and other configuration information about your laptop. (Please note that whenever you run this utility and an IP address does not automatically appear, you should left-click on the Release button and then the Renew button, to obtain a new IP address.)

Customizing Your Desktop

You can customize your desktop in several ways. To do this, right-click anywhere on the desktop; from the pop-up sub-menu that appears, select the Active Desktop option, then Customize my Desktop.

Click on the Background tab; you can now specify what image you want to display on your desktop. (Please note, however, that using colorful backgrounds and/or images on your machine may cause certain programs such as Maple to fail.)

You can choose to display the image in the center of your screen or the entire screen. Click on the Apply button to see a ‘preview’ of your selected image. If satisfied with your choice, click on OK.

If you click on the Screen Saver tab, you can select a preexisting screen saver or marquee (which allows you to enter your own screen saver message). You can also choose the amount of time you want to wait before the screen saver is activated when the desktop has been idle.

Clicking on the Appearance tab allows you to customize the color scheme of the desktop, icons, active and inactive title bars, menus, windows, etc.

Moving and Resizing Windows

To move a window, left-click on the application's title bar, as shown below, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the window to a different place on the desktop.

To resize a window, place your mouse button over one of the four corner edges of the window until your cursor turns into a double-ended arrow ( ) ,as shown in


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the upper left corner of the title bar below. Once you have the double-ended arrow, click and hold down the left mouse button and drag the window to the desired size.

Moving a Window in Front of Other Windows

To move one window in front of another, left-click on any portion of the window that you wish to bring to the front. (You may need to move the windows around a bit in order to see the window you wish to bring forward.)

Using Scroll Bars to View the Entire Contents of a Window

You can click on the small arrows at the top and bottom of the vertical scroll bar, located on the right side of the screen, to scroll up and down the page.

If your window has a horizontal scroll bar located at the bottom of the screen, you can click on the small arrows on either side of the scroll bar to scroll and see what text may run off the left and/or right side of the screen.

You may also use the scroll bubble located inside the scroll bar to scroll either vertically or horizontally. To do this, click on the scroll bubble and drag it up or down in the vertical scrollbar, or left or right in the horizontal scrollbar, to change your position within the window.

Working with Keyboard Shortcuts

Using shortcuts can save a lot of time and mouse/TrackPoint maneuvering. A list of some helpful keystroke shortcuts appears on the following page. (For each of the following shortcuts, hold down either the Ctrl or Fn key while pressing the other key shown.)

Action Keystrokes

Copy Ctrl + c

Cut Ctrl + x

Paste Ctrl + v

Turns off the LCD display, leaving the screen blank. To turn the LCD display back on, press any key or the TrackPoint stick. Fn + F3

Turns standby mode * on. To return to normal operation, press Fn + F4


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the Fn key.

Toggles between the LCD screen and an external monitor. Fn + F7

Turns screen expansion on or off. Fn + F8

Turns hibernation mode * on. Fn + F12

Turns the ThinkLight on or off. Fn + PgUp

Increases the brightness on the LCD. Fn + Home

Decreases the brightness on the LCD. Fn + End

*For more information on suspend and hibernation modes, please refer to the "Conditioning and Charging the Battery and Increasing Battery Life" section of this document.

Using the DVD Player

To play a digital video disk (DVD) in the Ultrabay 2000 device:

1. Press the small blue eject button (labeled as #5 on the front view on page 5) on the Ultrabay device. The disk tray should open slightly.

2. Gently pull the tray out until it is completely open. (DO NOT FORCE IT.)

3. Insert the videodisk in the tray just as you would any music or software CD, with the mirror-finish side facing downward. (If your video disk has two mirror-finished sides, check it carefully for any labels that indicate the first and second sides of the disk, and place the disk in the tray so that the first side -- for example, Side A -- faces up.)

4. Gently press the videodisk straight downward until it clicks into place. Make sure you seat your videodisk correctly! If you do not, it may not engage properly or may actually become jammed in the machine.

5. Once you have seated the disk properly, gently press the disk tray back into the laptop until it clicks into place. If you have loaded the disk correctly, the small green LED to the left of the eject button will briefly flash as the disk spins up.

Please note that your viewing options may vary from DVD to DVD. For example, some DVDs allow you to view the film in a wide-screen format, in different languages, or with the use of subtitles and closed captioning, and so on. Therefore, you may need to explore each DVD's options carefully, to make sure you get the desired viewing effects.

Adjusting the Sound

There are two ways to adjust the sound:

Click on the small yellow “horn” icon located in the bottom right corner of the taskbar. A small window containing a volume-control slider will appear. Press


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and hold down the left TrackPoint button (see #8 on the front view on page 5), then use the TrackPoint itself to position the cursor over the slider and move it up or down to control the volume level as you wish.

Use the volume control buttons (labeled as #10 on the front view on page 5) that appear in the upper left corner of your laptop keyboard, immediately to the right of the ThinkPad button. The first button is the "volume down" button, the second button is the "volume up" button, and the third button is the mute button, which turns the sound off altogether.

Powering off the Laptop

First, exit all programs you have running. Next, open the Start menu and select the Shut Down… option. The system will prompt you if you are sure you wish to shut down the computer. If so, click Yes. Otherwise, click No, or Help for additional information. The laptop will shut itself off after a few seconds.

Installing Software

When you purchase new software for your laptop, it may help to know that some applications will automatically start the installation setup once you insert the software CD in the CD/DVD drive. Other packages, however, may require you to load the software from floppy disks. (Also, when purchasing software, make sure that the package is labeled for Windows PCs, and not for Macintosh computers.)

To install software, open the Start menu and select the Run option. Type the letter of your CD drive in the window that appears, and click on Browse. Look for the setup.exe file in the list of files that should appear.

Uninstalling Software

To uninstall a piece of software from your laptop, first open the Start menu and select the Settings option. From the pop-up sub-menu that appears, select the Control Panel option. In the Control Panel window that appears, double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. An Add/Remove Programs Properties window will appear. If the software you wish to remove appears in the list at the bottom of the window, click on the software you wish to delete to select it, then left-click on the Add/Remove button. Follow the prompts that appear on the screen to finish uninstalling the software.

If the software you wish to uninstall does not appear in the list at the bottom of the Add/Remove Programs Properties window, open the Start menu and select the Programs option. From the pop-up sub-menu that appears, select the name of the software you wish to remove, and see if there's an uninstall option available for that package. If so, click on the uninstall option and follow the prompts to finish uninstalling the software.


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Still other software packages require you to re-run the program's setup/installation procedure from the original media, in order to uninstall the software.

Caring for Your Laptop

While your laptop is designed and tested to hold up to a lot of use, common sense should tell you that you should not misuse your machine. As a result of some hard lessons students have learned in the past few years, we offer you the following advice, emphasizing the top three items:

DON'T:

Have liquids, especially sweet, sticky drinks like soda, nearby when using your laptop. Spills can cause serious damage to the machine and can be costly to repair.

Crush your laptop by stuffing too many books around it inside your backpack.

Pile heavy objects on top of it.

Drop, jar, or bump your laptop.

Pick up or hold your laptop by the screen, or scratch, twist, hit, or push the surface of the display.

Leave a pen or pencil on your laptop when you close it. Doing so will break the screen.

Disassemble or attempt to repair your laptop yourself.

Leave the laptop's base resting directly on your body (your legs or torso) for an extended period of time. It can get hot!

Use your laptop in or near water.

Use or store your laptop at temperatures above 95 F or below 41 F.

Place your laptop closer than five inches from any electrical appliance that generates a strong magnetic field, such as a television, refrigerator, etc.

Touch the lens on the CD-ROM tray or the surface of the compact disk.

Insert a floppy disk at an angle.

DO:

Condition your battery. (Please see the "Conditioning and Charging the Battery, and Increasing Battery Life" section of this document for more information.)

Replace the plastic bezel when you exchange drives.

Use a soft cotton cloth, such as a handkerchief, moistened with non-alkaline detergent to clean your computer. The Campus Computer Store recommends -- and sells -- Kensington's "Screen Guardian" cleaner for this purpose. Since different types of the "Screen Guardian" cleaner are available, make sure that you purchase the small spray bottle


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cleaner that is made especially for laptop computers, and anti-glare and polarized computer screens.

Use a carrying case that provides good protection for your laptop, such as the backpack you received with it.

Register your laptop with IBM in case it is lost or stolen, and also to receive upgrade notices.

Physically Securing the Machine

Always remember to use the security cable that you received with your laptop! This is especially important whenever you need to leave your machine for a few moments, whether you're looking for a book in the library, asking a question at the VCC Help Desk, or getting your lunch in one of the dining halls.

You may want to seriously consider using some of the following tips and tricks to make your machines more secure:

It may sound like common sense, but keep your laptop with you as much as possible, and never leave it unattended and unsecured. For example, let's say you need to run into the Union Bookstore to buy a book; you know you'll only be in there a minute. Think you can just leave your backpack -- with your laptop in it -- on the open shelves inside the door? Well, think again! Sure, it may be tempting to leave your laptop and backpack unattended, especially if you know you'll only be gone for a short period of time, but the truth is that the potential for someone to walk off with your laptop is high.

So keep your machine with you, whenever you can. And whenever you go into the Union Bookstore, take advantage of their free lockable storage to secure your laptop and other belongings until you've finished your shopping.

Protect your data by requiring the use of a password.

Consider using a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) password, which you can add for additional security; they won't prevent the actual theft of your machine, but they will protect the data on it. However, please note that you should exercise extreme caution when setting any of these passwords, as setting and then forgetting them can have serious consequences, as explained below.

The Power-on Password prevents unauthorized users from starting up the ThinkPad. You must enter the correct power-on password prior to starting an operating system. Rensselaer Computer Repair (RCR) on an IBM repair facility can reset this password if you forget it.

The Supervisor Password protects the system information stored in the BIOS in such a way that a user can change the computer's configuration only after entering the correct supervisor password. Important note: If you forget the supervisor password, RCR or an IBM repair facility will


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have to replace the system motherboard. This expensive repair is neither covered under the IBM warranty nor by insurance.

The Hard-disk Passwords (master and user) protect the information stored on your hard disk in that you can only access the information on a hard disk after entering the correct hard-disk password. Important note: If you forget the hard-disk password, RCR or an IBM repair facility will have to replace the hard disk, and you will be unable to recover the information from the hard disk. This expensive repair is neither covered under the IBM warranty nor by insurance.

Getting Warranty Information

The laptop you obtained from Rensselaer has a three-year warranty and is eligible for on-campus service and repair, provided you've only subjected it to normal wear and tear and haven't misused or abused it. (See the "Caring for Your Laptop" section of this document for a list of helpful hints regarding the care of your laptop.) Laptop batteries come with a one-year warranty. You should have also received a copy of the appropriate warranty information in the box along with your laptop.

Getting Your Laptop Repaired

Tempting as it may be, don't ever attempt to repair any hardware portion of your laptop yourself. Instead, first take it to the VCC Help Desk to verify the hardware problem, and then take it to Rensselaer Computer Repair (RCR), located in the lower level of the Voorhees Computing Center, and let their staff look over your machine and repair it for you. RCR also has a number of loaner laptops available for use in case they can't repair your machine in a day or two.

If you find that your laptop does require service while you're off-campus, you have several options:

You can call IBM for assistance. For domestic calls, call 1-800-497-7426; from outside the US, call (248) 740-1215. IBM will issue a certificate authorizing international service at any worldwide IBM reseller.

You can return your machine to:Rensselaer Computer RepairRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteVCC 115110 8th StreetTroy, NY 12180-3590

RCR will repair your machine under warranty, but you will be responsible for paying all shipping, customs fees, insurance, and other handling charges. NOTE: If you do returnyour machine, you should insure it at its suggested retail replacement cost; please refer to the URL http://www.rpi.edu/dept/computer_store/ to access the Campus ComputerStore's price information.


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http://www.rpi.edu/dept/computer_store/

And if you're off-campus but within the United States, you may choose to take your machine to a local IBM reseller for service.

Getting Help if Your Laptop is Stolen

We like to stress to all students that the first and most important step in safeguarding your laptop against theft is to keep it with you at all times, and to keep it properly secured if you do need to leave it for a moment.

However, in the event that your laptop is stolen:

If you're on-campus, contact Public Safety immediately by calling ext. 6603 (Investigations) or ext. 6611 (Emergency) to report the theft.

If your laptop is stolen while you're off-campus, contact the local police authorities where the theft occurred and file an official police report.

In either case, it's very important that you be able to supply the officers with your laptop's serial number, so make sure that you have that information recorded.

You should also check to see if your insurance company offers a policy that will offer monetary compensation if your laptop is stolen. (Rensselaer's laptop lease program includes theft and damage insurance, provided you have only subjected the laptop to normal wear and tear and have not misused or abused it.)

Conditioning and Charging the Battery and Increasing Battery Life

Your laptop is equipped with a Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery, and, while it has been programmed to save power whenever and however possible, you'll have to initially condition your battery, as well as recharge it from time to time. Use the following tips to obtain the best condition for your battery and extend its rundown time.

Conditioning the Battery

If your battery is brand new, and you are using it for the first time, it may not be charged to full capacity. To obtain maximum battery performance, cycle the battery three times. To do this, plug your laptop into a standard electrical outlet to fully charge the machine, then run the laptop off the battery until it is fully discharged. (This procedure is also recommended if you have stored the battery for a few months.)

Tips for Charging the Battery

Do not charge the battery until it is completely out of power. (Check the small green battery-shaped icon on the right-hand side of your laptop's taskbar to check your machine's current battery capacity.) Partial charge or discharge may cause a degradation of your laptop's performance.


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Once you have started charging the battery pack, do not use it until it is fully charged.

Increasing the Life of Your Battery

You can also use the following "power management" techniques to help extend the life of your battery:

Suspend mode

Hibernation mode

Intel ® SpeedStep ™ technology

Suspend mode (Fn+F4) - Although your laptop appears to be powered down when it's in suspend mode, the machine's memory contents are actually kept active at very low power. You can bring your machine out of suspend mode by pressing any key. Your laptop can remain in suspend mode for about three days before the battery is drained.

Hibernation mode (Fn + F12) - This mode uses no power until you restart your laptop; the machine stores its active memory to the hard disk and then turns off the ThinkPad. Entering a single keystroke should bring it back up, without the need to reboot. Your laptop can remain in hibernation mode indefinitely.

Intel ® SpeedStep ™ technology also helps you to increase the life of your laptop's battery by using two performance modes:

Maximum performance mode for top performance while your machine is plugged in to an external power source.

Battery-optimized performance allows for balance between performance and battery life whenever you're operating your laptop on battery power. In this mode, the MHz speed is reduced to approximately 80% of the maximum performance (MHz speed) with approximately 50% of the power consumption to conserve battery power.

Your laptop is configured to operate in battery-optimized mode by default whenever you are running your laptop off its battery. However, if you ever wish to override this default:

1. Double-click on the SpeedStep ™ icon, which appears as a small blue-checkered flag on the right-hand side of the laptop's taskbar.

2. Click on the small drop-down arrow next to the Running on batteries: field, and select the Maximum Performance option.

Protecting Your Laptop against Computer Viruses

Computer viruses pose a constant threat to the security and safety of the data stored on your laptop, so you need to use anti-virus software, and keep it up-to-date to provide the best possible protection for which it has been designed. Every month, the virus protection software vendors publish updates to the virus signature databases that the software uses to detect or clean a new virus, should it find its way to your system.

The Norton AntiVirus package, has been installed on your laptop. To update this anti-virus software:


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1. Make sure you're connected to the network.

2. Open the Start menu and select the Programs option. From the pop-up sub-menu that appears, position your cursor over the Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition option.

3. From the next pop-up sub-menu that appears, select the Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition option.

4. In the window that appears, click the LiveUpdate… button.

5. A Virus Protection Update window appears. Check field labeled "How do you want to connect to a LiveUpdate server?". The current setting should be Internet. If it is not, left-click on the drop-down arrow beside the text box, and change it.

6. Click the Next button to begin downloading the anti-virus software files. An In Progress window will appear and indicate the various stages of the update's progress. A Transfer Completed window will appear when the files have finished loading.

7. Click the Finish button to complete the update procedure.

Remember, it is your responsibility to keep your laptop virus-free. We strongly recommend that you use some anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date for your own security and peace of mind.

Another Helpful Security-Related Tip

As long as we're talking about viruses, here's a simple step you can take to make sure that you don't open a certain type of file, such as one that may contain a virus: show the filename extensions on your laptop!

To do this, first double-click on the My Computer or Windows Explorer icon on your machine's desktop, and select a disk (for example, your C: hard drive). Pull down the View menu and select Folder Options… In the separate View Options window that appears, left-click on the View tab, and select the Show all files option (if it isn't selected already). Finally, ensure that a checkmark does not appear to the left of the "Hide file extensions for known file types" option.

As we mentioned before, taking this precaution is really important when you don't want to open a certain type of file, especially to avoid spreading a virus. A good example is with the Anna Kournikova virus that has affected campus in the past; if you don't show filename extensions on your machine, the virus file appears as a simple .JPEG file, and you don't see that the file really has the .VBS extension.

So, do yourself a favor and take a minute to show the complete file extensions on your laptop!


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Accessing Software Patches and DriversYou may update some of your laptop's software by opening the Start menu and selecting the Windows Update option. Doing this will close many security vulnerabilities on your machine as well as add functionality and correct any software defects.

You may also use the following URLs to access various software update patches and drivers:

Microsoft Office http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/

Visual Studiohttp://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/updates.asp

And, since many machine security vulnerabilities occur via Web browsers, Internet Explorer users should consider accessing security updates at the following URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/default.htm

Backing Up Your Critical Files

Using the EZ-Snapshot Backup Service

Although the EZ-Snapshot utility, which provides file backup service exclusively to the members of the Rensselaer community, has been pre-installed on your laptop, you must still register for the service before you can use it. Students are entitled to as much of 8GB of storage a year free-of-charge; an annual fee of $25.00 will be charged for each additional 2GB allocation. You should have received an EZ-Snapshot application form with your laptop; we strongly recommend that you apply for, and take advantage of, this important backup service.

You may find more information about the EZ-Snapshot service on-line by first selecting the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the main RPInfo homepage (located at URL http://www.rpi.edu/rpinfo), and then clicking on the EZ-Snapshot link from the resulting ARC homepage. Should you need additional application forms, this page provides links to the printable forms, which are available in both Word (.doc) and PDF formats.

Return your completed registration form to the VCC Help Desk. If you would like more information on the EZ-Snapshot service, have specific questions, or wish to report a problem, you may contact the support staff by directing electronic mail to [email protected].

Using ZIP Drives

The VCC Help Desk has a number of 250MB ZIP drives that you can use to back up your critical files. You may also purchase ZIP disks and drives at the Campus Computer Store, located on the main floor of the Voorhees Computing Center.

Re-Imaging Your Machine

Should your machine ever suffer from irrecoverable system errors that cannot be repaired by normal means, you now have the ability to re-image your laptop and restore it to its "as-shipped" state.


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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.rpi.edu/rpinfo

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/default.htm

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/updates.asp

http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/

if you ever experience any problems with your machine, get in touch with the ARC Help Desk first, and explain your problem to them. Chances are good that they will be able to help you, or direct your problem to a staff member or department who can.

IN OTHER WORDS, USE THIS PROCEDURE ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!REMEMBER, RE-IMAGING YOUR MACHINE WILL ALSO DELETE ALL FILES FROM YOUR MACHINE!! This is an excellent reason to make sure you back your files up regularly; please refer to the "Backing Up Your Critical Files" section of this document for important information on applying for, and using, the EZ-Snapshot backup service.)

To restore your laptop's "as-shipped" image:

1. Power on your machine as usual. The following message will appear every time you power on your laptop:

"To start the IBM Product Recovery Program, press F11."

2. Press the F11 button.

3. After a moment, a Main Menu window appears, with the Full Recovery option highlighted in white on the screen. Press the Enter key to accept the Full Recovery option.A Terms and Conditions window appears.

4. Read the text carefully to make sure you understand the terms of re-imaging your machine, then enter Y to accept the terms and conditions of the procedure.

5. Another window appears, stating that it is about to remove all of the files from your system. Enter Y to begin running the Product Recovery program.

6. The system will prompt you a final time to confirm that you wish to begin the re-imagine process. Press Enter to begin the procedure.

7. A progress bar will appear on the screen, showing you the progress of the re-imaging process. The procedure usually takes less than an hour.


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A Brief Software TourThe following sections provide a brief introduction to these commonly-used applications:

Maple

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Excel

SecureCRT

Web browsers

If you try the exercises in each section, you will get a feel for how each application works. As you become more familiar with the application, use on-line Help to learn more.

Displaying Complete File Extensions

As we mentioned in the "Another Helpful Security-Related Tip" section of this document, it's important to display filename extensions to avoid infecting your laptop with a virus. However, showing full file extensions on your machine can often be a great convenience in more general situations as well. For example, without extensions, it's hard to know if your graphics file is of a JPEG or GIF format.

So, again, take a moment to set up this file extension display on your laptop.

Starting Programs

On most machines, you will find an icon on the desktop for each of the applications. If it isn't there, click on the Start button and scroll up to Programs. A list of the available programs will display. Once you locate the application you want to start, click on it.

Note: When you see a small arrow next to a folder name, this indicates that if you click on this folder, another menu will appear, displaying more options. Also note that you don’t need to keep the mouse button depressed to navigate through the menu.

Switching between Programs

Once you start a program, a button that represents the program appears on the Task Bar. To switch from one program to another, simply click on the appropriate program button on the Task Bar.

A Brief Software Tour Fall 2001

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For example, the Task Bar above shows that Microsoft Word and Maple 7 are both running. To switch between the two programs, left-click on the button of the desired application..

Closing Programs

First, ensure that you have saved all of your most recent work. You may then use one of several ways to close a program:

You can click on the "X" button located in the top right-hand corner of the window.

You can single click on the program's File menu, then select the Exit or Close option.

You can double-click on the upper left-hand corner program icon. (For example, for Microsoft Word it would be the "W" logo.)

Note: If you haven’t saved your work before closing the program, the system will prompt you to do so.

Maple 7

If you're taking Calculus, it's very likely that a good portion of your coursework will use Maple, a program that performs symbolic, numeric, and graphical mathematical computations. The package's many capabilities include the ability to:

Calculate Manipulate variables Solve equations analytically and numerically Differentiate and integrate Compute limits Create two- and three-dimensional graphs

Starting Maple

Double-click on the Maple icon on the desktop. Or, if the icon is not visible, open the Start menu, select the Programs option, select Maple 7, then select Maple 7.

When the program starts, an "Untitled" Maple worksheet will appear as a sub-window inside the main Maple window.

Trying Some Maple Commands

Academic and Research Computing has put together a helpful on-line tutorial you can use in order to familiarize yourself with the Maple 7 package. To access it:


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Open the Start menu and scroll up to select the Programs option. From the pop-up sub-menu that appears, select the Maple 7 option, and finally select the RPItutorial2.mws option.

Once the window appears, work through the various exercises, entering the commands at the Maple prompt (>). Also remember that all Maple statements must end with a semicolon (;).

Finding Documentation and Getting Additional Help

Maple also has a built-in on-line help facility. To access it, either click on the Help button at the top of the Maple window, or enter a question mark (?) at the Maple prompt. You may also access additional introductory material by clicking on the Help button at the top of the Maple window and then selecting the Introduction option.

Quitting the Program

To exit Maple, pull down the File menu and select the Exit option. The program will prompt you if you wish to save your work. (Select the No option at this time.) As you become more familiar with Maple, you'll find that you can use other options on the File menu to save and print your Maple worksheet.

Microsoft WordStarting Word

To start Word, double-click on the Microsoft Word icon on the desktop. A new blank document, as shown below, will open, ready for you to enter text. Most of the tools and commands you need are on the menus; however, the Standard and Formatting toolbars, displayed just below the menu bar, provide quick access to commonly used commands.


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Getting Help

If you need help, click on the Help menu, select "Microsoft Word Help," type your question in the Office Assistant, and then click Search (or press Enter). Alternatively, you can type your question in the box that appears at the top right of the main Word window.

Entering Text

The blinking vertical line in the work area of the document, called the insertion point or cursor, is the location in the document where text will be inserted and where certain editing options will take place. To enter text, simply begin typing. You won't have to press Enter at the end of the line, since Word will automatically wrap the text to the next line when you reach the right margin.

As you type, don't worry if you make a mistake. You can correct mistakes by either pressing the Backspace key to erase the characters to the left of the cursor, or by pressing the Delete key to erase the characters to the right of the cursor. The Edit menu provides commands to cut, copy, and paste text.

Before you start typing, you may want to go to the View menu and select Normal. This gives the best all-purpose view for typing, editing, and viewing the text,


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although page boundaries, headers and footers, and some graphics do not appear. To see the complete page layout, use Print Layout view.

Creating a Document

When using Word, it's easiest if you remember the rule: "Select, then do." That is, first select the text and then do the command; e.g., bold, copy, delete, etc.

1. Type some text appropriate for a title, such as "A Test Document" and press Enter.

2. Select the text you just typed (by dragging the mouse over it), then:

a) Click on the centered-lines icon ( ) on the toolbar to center it.

b) Click on the font name down-arrow ( ) and select Arial.

c) Click on the down-arrow next to the font size (12) ( ) and select 22 to make it large.

d) Click on the B ( ) on the Formatting toolbar to make it bold.

3. Click outside the title to deselect it. The cursor should now be positioned at the beginning of the next line.

4. Click the font size down-arrow and select font size 11 to change the text of your document to a smaller font size.

5. Type a few sentences. Press Enter to start a new paragraph; press Enter twice to get a blank line between paragraphs.

6. Open the File menu and select the Page Setup… option. In the window that appears, change the left and right margins to 1.5.

7. If you don't like the result, press the "undo" icon ( ) on the Formatting toolbar.

8. To make a bulleted list, click on the bulleted list icon ( ) on the Formatting toolbar. Now, each time you press return, you will get a new bullet. Click the icon again to end the bulleted list.

Saving Your Work

It's a good idea to save your work frequently as you're working on a document. To do this, pull down the File menu and select the Save option.

If you're saving a file for the first time, a window will appear on the screen, and you need to:


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Specify where to save the file. (Word will save the file in the current folder by default, but you can select another disk or folder in the Save In: field.)

Provide a filename in the File Name: field.

Specify the file type. Word will save the file as a Word (.doc) file by default, but you may also click on the drop-down arrow in the Save as type: field and select one of the other available options.

To save an existing file under another name and/or location:

Open the File menu and select the Save As… option. Enter the new filename and/or location, respectively, in the File Name: and Save In: fields in the window that appears, and click the Save button. Doing this will save the edited file under the new filename, and will leave the other file as it was, under its original filename.

Quitting Word

Quit Word by going to the File menu and selecting Exit. (Alternatively, you may click on the Close (X) button on the title bar or press Alt-F4.) If you haven't already saved the document, the system will prompt you if you want to save your changes. Select the No option at this time. If you say Yes, the program will prompt you to enter a filename. (Word will supply the standard filename extension ".doc" by default.) As you become more familiar with Word, you'll find that you can use other options on the File menu to save and print your Word document.


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Microsoft PowerPointStarting PowerPoint

To start PowerPoint, Microsoft's presentation software, double-click the PowerPoint icon on the desktop. As in Microsoft Word, the Standard and Formatting toolbars appear along the top of the PowerPoint screen just under the menu bar. The Drawing toolbar appears along the bottom of the screen. The toolbar buttons are shortcuts that duplicate menu items. Creating a New Presentation

When PowerPoint opens, you should see a "New Presentation" pane on the right side of the window. Under the heading "New From Template," click on General Templates…, then select the Design Templates tab. PowerPoint provides a variety of templates using different designs and colors. If you click on the different designs, a preview of each will appear on the right side of the dialog box.

The following steps describe how to create a simple presentation using the Beam template.

First, select the Beam template and click OK. Your screen should look like the picture below.

PowerPoint has three main views: normal view, slide sorter view, and slide show view. You can switch between them by clicking the appropriate icon at the bottom left of the window, just above the Drawing toolbar.

Normal View, shown in the picture above, is the main editing view that appears when you first start using PowerPoint. This Tri-Pane view makes Outline, Slides, and Notes panes available simultaneously. You can adjust the size of each pane


Outline

Pane

Slide Pane

Notes Pane

View Buttons

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by dragging the pane borders. To work in Outline mode, click the Outline tab. This is an efficient way to organize your presentation; however, you may only insert text. If you click on the Slides tab, you will see how your slide will actually look, and you can insert objects as well as text. To see only the slide pane (and hide the Outline and Notes panes), click the X tab. (To get the three panes back, click on the Normal View button at the bottom of the window.)

Slide Sorter View allows you to see all your slides at once and rearrange them if you wish.

Slide Show View displays your slides in full-screen size, one at a time. Use this view to give your presentation.

To follow the steps below, start working in the Slides pane.

1. Click in the top text box and type a title; click in the bottom text box and type a subtitle.

2. From the Insert menu, select New Slide (or click on the New Slide icon on the toolbar).

3. Notice the Slide Layout pane at the right, which provides a choice of layouts for your slides. The Bulleted List layout is selected by default.

4. Type in a title for the new slide, and then type in 3 or 4 items for the list.

5. Insert several more Bulleted List slides and add some text to them.

a) Working in Slide View: Prepare one slide at a time, inserting or changing text using the buttons on the Formatting toolbar (bold, italic, bullets, font changes, etc. You can change the level of the list items by using the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent icons on the toolbar. And don’t forget the undo button (arrow curving to left) on the Standard toolbar. Add new slides by using the New Slide button or the Insert menu. Move from slide to slide using the up and down double arrows at the bottom of the scroll bar.

b) Working in Outline View: Click the Outline tab. You can type the text of several slides at once. If you pull down the View menu and select Toolbars then Outlining, you can control the levels of the headings (including whether it’s a new slide) by using the green promote and demote arrows on the toolbar.

Inserting Clip Art

First, using Slide View, insert a new bulleted-list slide, and type in the title and one or two items for a list. To insert a picture, follow the steps below.


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1. From the Insert menu, select Picture and then Clip Art. In the Insert Clip Art pane that opens on the right side of the screen, type the subject of the clip art you need and press Search. Thumbnails of the clip art will appear. You can see a preview by pointing to a thumbnail image, clicking the arrow that appears, and selecting Preview/Properties.

2. Once you've made a selection, drag it to your slide. Click on it to make the white dots appear that show it is "selected."

3. To resize the object, first make sure it is selected. Then move the left mouse button over a corner until a diagonal double-ended arrow appears and drag the mouse to achieve the desired size. Use the green dot to rotate it. Click outside the image to deselect it. To move the object, move the cursor over the object (the cursor will become a 4-headed arrow) and drag it to the desired location.

Viewing Your Presentation

1. Select the first slide by using the scroll bar or arrows along the right side of the screen.

2. From the View menu, select Slide Show (or click on the Slide Show button along the bottom left of the screen).

3. Click to move to the next slide.

4. Leave the Slide Show at any time by pressing Esc.

Quitting PowerPoint

Quit PowerPoint by going to the File menu and selecting Exit. (Alternatively, you may click on the Close (X) button on the title bar or press Alt-F4.) If you haven't already saved the document, you will be asked if you want to save your changes. Select the No option at this time. If you say yes, you will be asked to give your document a name. PowerPoint will supply the standard filename extension ".ppt" by default.

Microsoft ExcelStarting Excel

To open the Excel spreadsheet program, double-click on the Excel icon on the desktop. A blank worksheet, similar to the one shown below, will open, ready for you to enter information. Underneath the menu bar at the top of the page, you will notice the Toolbar for use while opening, editing, and saving a worksheet and the Formula Bar for editing cell entries.


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The Excel worksheet contains columns and rows. The place where a column and row intersect is called a cell. Each cell has an address that consists of the column letter and the row number (for example: A1, B4, C6).

Notes on Entering Data

To enter data or a formula into a cell, first select the cell and then start typing. Press Tab or Enter to register what you have typed. When you type in a cell, the cell’s address appears in the left corner of the Formula Bar, and what you type appears in the Formula Bar text box. Note that to change the entry you edit the text in the Formula Bar, not in the cell itself.

You can enter many types of data in an Excel worksheet, such as text, numbers, dates, times, formulas and functions. It is easiest to type your data first and format the data (using the Format menu) when it is completed. Therefore, don’t type commas, dollar signs, or percent signs while entering data.

To enter a formula, select a cell and then start by typing an equal sign (=). Use parentheses to force the order of operation: exponentiation (^), multiplication (*), division (/), addition (+), and subtraction (-).

Getting Help

If you need help, click on the Help menu, select "Microsoft Excel Help," type your question in the Office Assistant, and click Search.


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Creating a Worksheet

To get started with Excel, make a short grocery list with prices for each item and sum the result (including tax) to see what you will owe. The steps below will guide you through one way of doing this. When you are finished, the result should look like the picture shown below.

1. First type in the headings: Click in cell A1 and type Quantity. Type the remaining headings by using the Tab key to move to the next cell. Select the entire first row by clicking on the row heading (the 1 at the left). In the Toolbar, click B (for bold).

2. Leave a blank row after the headings, then click in cell A3 and type the number 1.

3. Press the Tab key to move to the next cell. (Notice that Excel recognizes that you typed a number and right-justifies it.)

4. In cell B3, enter lb; in cell C3 enter apples and in cell D3, enter .99.

5. Do not type anything in column F; Excel will calculate this for you!

6. For the next row, click in cell A4 and enter the remaining rows of data the same way. Row 9 (notebooks) will have an empty cell for Units. In cell E9, type .08; do not type the % sign.

Formatting the Data. To put column D in a $ format, first select all of column D by clicking on the D at the top of the column. Then, from the Format menu, select Cells… and then Currency. Click OK. Do the same for column F, which will contain the totals.

To format column E as a percentage, first select column E; from the Format menu select Cells… and then Percentage. Click OK.

Entering Formulas. To make totals in Column F, we want to add column D (unit cost) to Column D times column E (figure the tax) and multiply that sum by Column A (quantity).

1. Click in cell F3. Type =a3*(d3+d3*e3) and press Enter.

2. Click in cell F3 and drag to cell F9 to select cells F3 through F9, then go to Edit menu and select Fill and then Down. Presto! The formula from cell F3 is applied to all selected cells.


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3. For the grand total, click in cell F11, double-click the AutoSum button () on the Toolbar, and press Enter.

4. To finish, click in cell E11 and type the text Total.

Creating a Chart

You can display Microsoft Excel data graphically in a chart. To insert a chart, select the cells that contain the relevant data. If you want the column and row labels to appear in the chart, include the cells that contain them in the selection. (If the columns are not adjacent, hold down the Ctrl key to select them both.) From the Insert menu, select Chart, and follow the instructions in the Chart Wizard.

Quitting Excel

Quit Excel by going to the File menu and selecting Exit. (Alternatively, you may click on the Close (X) button on the title bar or press Alt-F4.) If you haven't already saved the document, you will be asked if you want to save your changes. Select the No option at this time. If you say Yes, you will be asked to give your document a name. Excel will supply the standard filename extension ".xls" by default.


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Connecting to Other Host Computers via SecureCRT

You can use your laptop and public PCs to connect to RCS or other UNIX systems over the network. When you do this, you should use SecureCRT to ensure that all communication with the remote host is automatically encrypted. (This is in contrast to a conventional way of establishing a session using telnet, which transmits your userID, password, and other private information in an easily readable format.) As a result of SecureCRT's greater security, we strongly recommend that all PC users use this program.

SecureCRT is installed in the public PC labs, and students who receive laptop computers should already have SecureCRT automatically installed as part of their machine's image. However, SecureCRT is available to everyone; we have purchased enough SecureCRT licenses for the entire Rensselaer community. If you need to install the software, it costs $10 per license; this fee will appear as part of the printing charges on your Bursar's bill.

Obtaining SecureCRT

Instructions for obtaining the license are on the Web; to access them, first click on the Academic & Research Computing link under the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage. From the resulting ARC page, select the Software to install link, and then the SecureCRT link.

Getting Help

Once installed on your PC, SecureCRT is easy to use. Extensive help is available from the Help menu.

A Sample SecureCRT Session

To establish a connection to one of the RCS UNIX remote hosts, double-click on the SecureCRT icon on the desktop. A Connect window will appear:

1. Select a host from the Session List (for example, rcs-ibm2.rpi.edu) and click Connect.

2. The first time you connect to a given host, a dialog box will pop up saying, "The host key database does not contain an entry for the hostname…." Choose the option Accept & Save.

3. Enter your RCS userID and password at the prompts.

4. A UNIX window will appear. You are now ready to enter UNIX commands at the prompt. (Note that this connection does not give you access to applications that require an X-windows display, such as FrameMaker.)


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Once you've established your SecureCRT connection, try out some basic UNIX commands by typing the following commands in the UNIX window and then pressing Enter, as shown in the following examples:

To check how much disk space you have in your UNIX account:

fs lq

This command stands for "filesystem list quota." The amount in the Quota column shows your total disk space (in kilobytes). The percentage in the %Used column tells you how much of your allotted disk space you have used. (The Partition percentage is not relevant to your individual account.)

To list the names of the files and directories in your home directory:

ls

The names you will see are the subdirectories initially created for you. The directory called public_html is the place to put personal Web information. There are no files in your account unless you create them.

To check the print queue on the double-sided printer in the VCC machine room:

lpq -Pvclw

The full name of this printer is "VCC LaserWriter." You can check the queue for any of the networked printers by entering the printer name after the -P option.

Every student is given $12.50 of free printing per semester. To check how much of your printing allocation you have used, enter the command:

pagestatus

Be sure to exit your UNIX session by entering the command:

logout

Quitting SecureCRT

Quit SecureCRT by going to the File menu and selecting Exit. (Alternatively, you may click on the Close (X) button on the title bar or press Alt-F4.)

Please refer to the "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about UNIX but Were Afraid to Ask" section in this document for much more information on using Rensselaer's UNIX workstations.


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Web Browsers: Netscape and Internet Explorer

Web browsers allow you to find and view information on the World Wide Web. The public computer labs and the Rensselaer laptops have the two most commonly used browsers: Netscape and Internet Explorer.

Starting the Browser

To start Internet Explorer, double-click on the Internet Explorer icon.

To start the Netscape browser, open the Start menu, select Programs, then select Netscape Communicator, and then the Netscape Navigator option. (Selecting the Netscape Messenger option would access Netscape's mail program.)

The window displays a default home page, the page you see each time you start the browser. On Rensselaer computers, both browsers are pre-set to display RPInfo, the on-campus home page.

Near the top of the browser window, there's a box that contains the address of the page being viewed. In Netscape, the name of the box is Location; in Internet Explorer it's called Address. This address is called a URL (Universal Resource Locator). Each page on the Web has its own unique URL that identifies its location.

Much of the time, especially when you're browsing within RPInfo, you won't need to know a page's URL because you will go to a page by clicking on "active" text called a link. However, if you can't get to the page by clicking a link, you will have to type the specific URL of a page.

Viewing Other Web Pages

Try the following steps by using links to navigate between Web pages. Note that, to retrace your steps, you click the Back button on the toolbar. To return to the RPInfo home page, click the Home button.

1. Under the main heading Computing, click on the link for Academic & Research Computing. (You might have to scroll down using the arrow at the bottom of the right side of the window.)

2. Look for the Documentation link and click on it. A page will appear that contains links for Memos and Quick Studies on a variety of topics.

3. Click on the Home button to return to the RPInfo page.

Now try viewing a page by entering its URL. When typing a URL, you must enter the characters exactly as specified. For example, the home pages of individuals at Rensselaer begin with the tilde character (~), which designates a particular home directory on a server.

1. Click in the Location or Address field, type the following URL, and then press the Enter key: http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive/

2. Read the latest cartoon.


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http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive/

3. Scroll down until you see a calendar and click on a date.

4. Read the cartoon for that date, then click the Back button to return to the main Dilbert page. If you want, look at cartoons for some other dates.

5. If you would like to return to the Dilbert page another time without typing the URL, you can add the page to your Bookmarks (Netscape) or Favorites (Internet Explorer):

a) In Netscape, click on the Bookmarks button from the Location Toolbar, then click on Add Bookmark.

b) In Internet Explorer, click on the Favorites menu, then click on Add to Favorites…. A dialog box will appear, giving you the opportunity to select a folder. Click on Create In<<.

6. When you are tired of Dilbert, click the Home button to return to RPInfo.

Working with Bookmarks/Favorites

Bookmarks provide you with a quick, easy way of accessing those Web sites you know you'll want to visit again and again. The chart below outlines the steps you'll need to add to, and edit, your bookmark list using Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer.

If you want to… …and you're using Netscape Communicator…

…and you're using Internet Explorer…

Add a bookmark for the Current Page

Click on the Bookmark button from the Location Toolbar, then click on Add Bookmark. Alternately, you may pull down the Communicator menu, select the Bookmarks option and then select File bookmark. This gives you the option up front to place the bookmark in the folder of your choice.

Pull down the Favorites menu and select the Add to Favorites… option. Click the Create In>> button; the system will prompt you to specify where you want to place the bookmark.

Edit Your List of Bookmarks

Pull down the Communicator menu, select the Bookmarks option and then select Edit bookmarks, or click on the Bookmarks button. A Windows Explorer style window will appear, and you can then move a bookmark to an existing folder by clicking and dragging, or create a new folder in which to place the bookmark.

Pull down the Favorites menu and select the Organize Favorites… option. A Windows Explorer style window will appear. You can then move a bookmark to an existing folder by clicking and dragging or create a new folder in which to place the bookmark.


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Getting Help

Both Netscape and Internet Explorer have extensive help available from the Help menu.

Additional Tools

Both browsers also include tools for electronic mail and participating in newsgroups. In Netscape, you access these tools from the Communicator menu or by clicking the Tool buttons at the bottom right of the window. In Internet Explorer, use the Tools menu.

Quitting the Browser

Quit the browser by going to the File menu and:

Selecting the Exit option in Netscape.

Selecting the Close option in Internet Explorer.

(Alternatively, you may click on the Close (X) button in the upper right corner or press Alt-F4.)


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Getting Help and Additional InformationYou can find plenty of help and useful information from the sources listed below.

The ThinkPad Button

The ThinkPad button provides you with a one-touch link to the incredible amounts of built-in information that IBM has provided on your laptop: hardware-specific information, how to care for the machine, and how to use it while you're traveling are just a few of the help topics you'll find when you press the ThinkPad button. (Alternatively, you may also open the Start menu, and select the ThinkPad Assistant option.) However you access it, we think you'll find this to be an invaluable source of information and answers to your questions about your new laptop.

Help Desk Locations

Academic and Research Computing (ARC) offers two Help Desk locations.

During the school year, ARC has one Help Desk location on the main floor of the Voorhees Computing Center and another in CII 3111. (The CII Help Desk is closed during the summer.) You can contact the student consultants and full-time staff who work at these two Help Desk locations by either stopping in, phoning ext. 7777, or by directing e-mail to [email protected].

Regular VCC Help Desk hours:

Monday - Thursday 8:30am - 10:00pmFriday 8:30am - 4:00pmSaturday ClosedSunday 4:00pm - 10:00pm

Regular CII Help Desk hours:

Monday - Thursday 10:00am - 10:00pmFriday 10:00am - 4:00pmSaturday ClosedSunday 4:00pm - 10:00pm

Documentation

Academic and Research Computing (ARC) and Communication & Collaboration Technologies divisions often work together to produce documentation on how to use many campus computing services, facilities, and applications. Quick Studies are one-page, instructional documents; Memos provide much more detailed information.

Printed copies of the Quick Studies and Memos are available in the documentation racks outside the VCC Help Desk. You may also access them on-line; to do this,

Getting Help and Additional Information Fall 2001


select the Academic & Research Computing link under the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage, then select the Documentation link. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Docs/docs.html

RPInfo

Rensselaer has a diverse and dynamic presence on the Web. And while you may already be familiar with Rensselaer's website for visitors and prospective students (located at the URL http://www.rpi.edu/), now that you are on campus, you will want to use our internal information system, known as RPInfo, located at http://www.rpi.edu/rpinfo. Information from all corners of campus can be found there, from class schedules and academic programs to Union clubs, library information, computing-related news and documentation, and much more.

RPInfo aims to bring this all together in an efficient and accessible manner. For instance, you may reach the Student Information System and register for classes on-line by starting at RPInfo, located at the URL http://www.rpi.edu/rpinfo, or you might navigate to the Athletics section of the RPInfo homepage and choose an intramural team to join. You can also navigate to the Academic and Research Computing homepage for computing-related help. No matter what your interest, RPInfo will lead you to many valuable on-line resources.

Users who have questions about webpage authoring, linking, and training may direct electronic mail to [email protected].

Short Courses

From time to time during the school year, and sometimes during the summer, both Academic and Research Computing and the Libraries offer non-credit short courses; ARC provides instruction on how to use various computing utilities and applications, and the Libraries offer short courses on how to access and use the many databases and other resources that they have available.

Upcoming courses are often announced in campus publications such as The Poly, The Review, and The Kiosk, and are also posted on-line via ARC's and the Libraries' homepages.

The Kiosk

The Kiosk, DotCIO's departmental newsletter, is published at regular intervals during the school year to keep the Rensselaer community informed of news and information from all departments within the Division of the Chief Information Officer.

The Kiosk is available by subscription free-of-charge. To subscribe and have the newsletter sent to your on- or off-campus address, please send your name, address, and Rensselaer affiliation via electronic mail to [email protected]. You may also pick up hardcopies of the newsletter from the VCC Help Desk and in the Folsom Library.


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http://www.rpi.edu/


Current and back issues of The Kiosk are available on-line. To access them, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage and then select the The Kiosk link from the resulting page.

Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Kiosk/Kiosk.html

rpi.computing.news Usenet newsgroup

Academic and Research Computing recommends that you regularly read the rpi.computing.news Usenet newsgroup to stay up-to-date on all the latest important computing-related information, such as new releases of software, system bulletins (power and server outages, etc.), announcements of short courses, and more.

To learn more about how to read Usenet newsgroups, please see Memo RPI:116, Usenet News, and Quick Study #7, Reading News Groups Using Netscape Communicator.

The DotCIO Homepage

The homepage for the Division of the Chief Information Officer points you to answers to many of your most frequently-asked questions, including help with computing, telecommunications, and library services. The DotCIO page also lets you find out more about the department itself and any related news and projects, and includes links to staff lists for DotCIO's various sub-departments.

If you'd like to check out the DotCIO homepage, simply click on the Division of the CIO link located under the "Computing" section of the main RPInfo homepage.


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http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Docs/QuickStudies/quick7/quick7.html


http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Docs/Memos/rpi116/rpi116.html

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Kiosk/Kiosk.html

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An Introduction to the Rensselaer Computing SystemAbout Your RCS Account

The Rensselaer Computing System, or RCS, consists of hundreds of networked personal computers, UNIX workstations, and laptop jacks. As a member of the Rensselaer community, you are given an RCS account (known by your RCS userID), which provides access to the campus network, printing facilities, the World Wide Web, and electronic mail, as well as disk space. Using your RCS userID and password, you can sit at any campus workstation or personal computer, or use your laptop, to use public software, access your own or other publicly-available files, or connect to any of several host computers on the network.

Your RCS userID, which is public information, is derived from the first five characters of your last name followed by your first initial and, in some cases, a number to ensure its uniqueness. Your password, however, is private, and it is very important to maintain that privacy in order to safeguard the information and resources in your account. You should change your password as soon as you have an opportunity.

Choosing and Changing Your RCS Account Password

It might seem like a very simple thing, but choosing a good RCS password actually takes some careful thought, and it might take you a while to think of an appropriate one. Your password is the key that unlocks your RCS userID and provides access to your files, so you'll need to think of a good one.

So what can be so tough about that? Well, you need to pick a password that you can remember without writing it down, but which others cannot easily guess. That is, don't use a password that might be fairly obvious, especially to anyone who knows you, such as the names of people, cars, months, or rock groups, or any real words that you can find in a dictionary.

Your password must contain exactly eight (8) characters, including at least one digit or punctuation mark in the middle of the password. (Please note that it is best to avoid using uppercase characters in your password, as they can cause problems on some platforms.) Using these techniques should greatly reduce the chance of anyone guessing your password.

When you think you have chosen a good password, use a web browser to access the password-changing program, which you can access via the Academic and Research Computing homepage. (To do this, first select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the main RPInfo homepage. From the resulting homepage, click on the Accounts link, and then on the subsequent Changing Your RCS Account Password, and Change your password links.) The system will prompt you to verify your identity by entering your RCS userID and current password. Then follow the instructions on the screen to change your password. (Please note that the system also allows you to test your potential password before you actually set it.)

An Introduction to the Rensselaer Computing System Fall 2001

It is also possible to change your password by issuing the UNIX passwd command. Please refer to page 88 in the "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about UNIX" section of this document for more complete information on how to do this.

If you would like additional help in choosing your RCS password, or if you forget your password and need a new one, please contact the Help Desk in the VCC.

Changing Your Windows Password

If you change your RCS password, it’s a good idea to also change your Windows password to match as well. To do this:

1. Double-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop.

2. Next double click on the Control Panel icon in the window that appears.

3. Finally, double click on the Passwords icon. The Passwords Properties window, as shown below, will appear.

4. Click on the Change Windows Password…. button. The Change Windows Password window, as shown on the following page, will appear.


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Enter your old Windows password, new password and confirm new password in the corresponding fields. Click OK.

The following window will appear, stating that your Windows password was successfully changed.

Using Your Account Responsibly: Some Words of Wisdom

We'd like to take a minute to discuss something that we take very seriously here at Rensselaer, and that is the issue of computing ethics. As we've already mentioned, all students, faculty, and staff members are given a computing account -- known as your RCS userID -- that allows access to the Rensselaer Computing System (RCS) and its many resources. However, the same ethical principles that apply to everyday academic life also apply to the use of the campus' computing resources -- having many computing privileges means you also have many responsibilities. When you received your computing account userID and password, you were asked to read and accept an agreement to abide by Rensselaer's Conditions of Use statement, and to use your account in an appropriate and responsible manner.

You can find Rensselaer's official policy on electronic citizenship on-line; to access it, select the Rights/Responsibilities link from the "Computing" section of the "internal" RPInfo homepage, then select the Commission on Electronic Citizenship link. Alternatively, you can specify the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window.

http://www.rpi.edu/web/comec/

The Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities also outlines your responsibilities to read and understand these guidelines. We've listed some of the appropriate and prohibited uses of your computing account below for you.


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http://www.rpi.edu/web/comec/

Appropriate Account Uses

Coursework and Research. The primary reason that Rensselaer funds computing is to support an academic program that gives you technological training to enable you to function effectively in the working world, and you will find that many of your courses here at Rensselaer will use some form of computing in their curricula. You can also make use of the campus' computing resources for research, such as using SolidWorks for special design projects, or using Rensselaer's Numerically Intensive Computing (NIC) facility.

Writing a Paper, Thesis, or Résumé. The Rensselaer Computing System offers a number of document-preparation applications on its various platforms, including Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker, and LaTeX.

Electronic Mail. E-mail provides a fast and convenient way to stay in touch with your professors and fellow students here on campus, as well as with your friends and family around the world.

Searching the World Wide Web. "The Web" provides you with a connection to the vast amount of information that resides both inside and outside Rensselaer, so feel free to "surf" around on-line to take advantage of this important resource. You will also find that many Rensselaer students and faculty members have created their own homepages on the Web.

Prohibited Account Uses

Sharing your password with others. We cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to keep your password private; anyone who has access to your password can, either unintentionally or with malice, read, delete, or change your files, as well as read your e-mail or send e-mail using your name, and use your printing allocation. Therefore, to avoid the chance of these things happening, change your password frequently, and use proper means to share your files.

Sending, replying to, or forwarding chain mail. When you send chain mail, you ask all of the recipients of your message to forward that message to as many people as they know, and each of those people will in turn send the message to everyone they know, and so on. Simple arithmetic will show you the burden this can place on a mail machine. Basically, chain mail does little more than take up space on the system and waste your time! So, if you ever consider starting up a chain mail letter, please…think twice. And if you ever receive one, "just say no," and forward it to [email protected]. Similarly, if you receive e-mail about a virus and are asked to forward it to everyone you know, please don't! Again, send a copy of the message to [email protected]. If a real virus threat does exist on campus, the appropriate staff will notify the campus.

Sending anonymous, harassing, obscene, or forged mail. This behavior can range from "merely" inappropriate to downright illegal. Hey, think about it…you don't want to receive this kind of mail either via the US Postal Service or via computer, so why should anyone else? Sending this kind of mail could result


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in the loss of your RCS privileges, or even disciplinary or legal action. And if you ever receive electronic mail that is in any way threatening or harassing, or which you feel might be a forgery, forward the message to [email protected] soon as possible.

Sending large amounts of mail. As with chain mail and other types of inappropriate mail, sending "mail bombs" irritates people and ties up the system, degrading mail service. Sending such mail could also possibly result in disciplinary and/or legal action.

For commercial purposes. Rensselaer's licensing agreements prohibits commercial use and using your account for such purposes could jeopardize the Institute's position as a member of the Internet community.

Displaying offensive materials. It's all too easy to access, view, and copy sexually explicit and other potentially offensive materials on-line, and, by right, Rensselaer cannot forbid users from obtaining these files. However, because it is nearly impossible to avoid seeing large images displayed on other users' computer screens, Rensselaer considers the display of such material within its labs to be public display, which creates a hostile working environment in violation of Rensselaer's policy regarding sexual harassment. In addition, the practice of publicly displaying sexually explicit or similarly offensive material is a Class A misdemeanor under New York Penal Law 245.11. Therefore, view such material elsewhere to avoid offending others.

Putting Copyrighted Material on Your Homepage. Unless you receive a person's express permission to do so, using any material that appears on their webpage is considered stealing.

To access more information on copyright issues, first select the RensSearch link from the "Libraries" section of the RPInfo homepage, then select the Information, Library Policies, and Copyright Law Highlights and "Fair Use" Guidelines links from the respective pages that appear. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:

http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/information/policies/lawhighlights.html

Using Electronic MailUnderstanding Your E-Mail AddressYour e-mail address consists of the userID you received with your computer account, such as smithj, appended with @rpi.edu; for example, [email protected] Various E-Mail Programs

You don't need to use the same e-mail program as your friends in order to send or receive mail messages. Many users send and receive e-mail either via Internet Explorer, Netscape, Eudora, or Outlook on their PCs.

Z-Mail is the default mail package on the UNIX platform. Some users choose to use other mail programs, such as mh or pine, but we do not support these packages.


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Finding Others' E-Mail Addresses

It's very important to make sure that you provide the correct e-mail address before you send out e-mail to ensure that you send that message to the correct person. When you don't know someone's e-mail address, don't just guess it! Sending e-mail to the wrong person can cause possible embarrassment, or even disciplinary action, depending on the message's content, etc.

For locating Rensselaer student, faculty, and staff, you can use the campus directories that are available via RPInfo; to access these, select the Campus Directories link under the "People & Places" section of the main RPInfo homepage. You may then enter the person's first and/or last name; if the system finds a personnel match, it will often display that person's e-mail address along with their name, office location, phone number, and department.

Often, the easiest way to find an off-campus friend's e-mail address is simply to ask them: face-to-face, on the phone, or via the U. S. mail. However, you can also try using an on-line search engine to conduct an on-line search for your friend's school's homepage, and then see if you can access some sort of student directory from there. However, please note that this procedure may not always work, since not all schools choose to make their students' e-mail addresses public. In addition, it's possible that new students might not receive their e-mail addresses right away, so you might have better luck looking up someone who's been on campus at their school for a month or two.

Once you know someone's e-mail address, you can create an alias to save the address. This not only allows you to delete the other person's message (rather than save it simply so you have a record of their e-mail address), but also lets you enter a single word as the e-mail address, instead of having to enter a longer, complicated address.

Setting Options for Various E-Mail ProgramsConfiguring Netscape Mail

Start Netscape Messenger. From the window that appears, open the Edit menu on the menu bar and select the Preferences… option. A Preferences window, as shown below, will appear. Click on Mail & Newsgroups in the Category: field, then Identity. Complete the Your name: and Email address: fields as shown below, where xxxxxx is your RCS user ID.


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Next, click on the Mail Servers option listed in the Category field. Enter mail.rpi.edu in the Outgoing mail (SMTP) server field, as shown on the following page.

Next, click on the Edit… button to edit the Incoming Mail Servers listed in the window above. A separate Mail Server Properties window, shown below, will appear. Click on the General tab, and enter mail.rpi.edu in the Server Name: field. Make sure that the Server Type is POP3 Server. Finally, enter your RCS userID in the User Name: field.


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Next, click on the POP tab. Select both options, as shown on the following page. (The Leave messages on server option allows you to pick up your e-mail from multiple computers.)

Formatting Netscape to Send Mail as Plain Text

It is often a good idea to compose and send your mail messages in plain text because some users' mail programs cannot read files such as Word documents, HTML files, etc. To do this, open the Edit menu on the menu bar and select the Preferences… option. In the Preferences window that appears, click on Mail & Newsgroups in the Category: field, then on the Messages option.

Click on the small drop-down arrow that appears to the right of the By default, forward messages: field and select the Inline option. (You should consider doing this simply because some users' mail programs are unable to open and read attachments.)


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Next, click on the Formatting option in the Category: field of the Preferences window. At the top of the resulting window, select the Use the plain text editor to compose messages option; at the bottom of the window, select the Send the message in plain text and HTML (uses more disk space) option.

When you have finished editing your Netscape mail preferences, click on the OK button.

Configuring Outlook Mail

Start Microsoft Outlook. Open the Tools menu and select the Options… option. A separate Options window, as shown below, will appear. Click on the Mail Setup tab.

The following E-mail Accounts window will appear. Make sure the default setting of "Add a new e-mail account" is selected, then click on the Next button.


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Another E-mail Accounts window, as shown below, will appear. Select the POP3 option, then click on the Next button.

The following window will appear. Enter your name (for example, Joe Smith) in the Your Name: field, and your RCS userID in the E-mail address field, in the format


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[email protected]. (Under the Logon Information field, your RCS userID will automatically appear in the User Name field.) Click the Next button.

The following window will appear. Enter your e-mail address (for example, [email protected]) in the E-mail address: field and click on the Next button. It is very important that you remove the checkmark that appears by default next to the Remember password option!

Click on the More Settings… button, then click on the Outgoing Server tab, as shown below.


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Select the My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication option (that is, make sure a checkmark appears next to it). Click on OK, then on the Next button. Doing this should return you to the Options window.

Click on the Mail Format tab. In the drop-down box that appears next to the "Compose in this message format" field, select the Plain text option. Click on the Apply button, then on OK.

The following window will appear. Click on the Finish button to finish configuring your Outlook mail.

Formatting Outlook to Send Mail as Plain Text

As mentioned earlier, it is often a good idea to compose and send your mail messages in plain text because some users' mail programs cannot read files such as Word documents, HTML files, etc. To do this:

Open the Tools menu and select the Options… option; a separate Options window will appear.. Click on the Mail Format tab. The following window will appear.


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In the drop-down box that appears to the right of the Compose in this message format: field, select the Plain Text option. Click OK.

Using the Student Information System (SIS)

The Student Information System, or SIS, allows you to:

Register on-line, view your class schedule, and add and/or drop classes

View the Registrar's listing of your campus and home address information

View your grades

Retrieve your various balances and account information

View general information from the Financial Aid Office

Visit the Academic Advising Site, which provides academic advising information, as well as study tips

Check the status of your laptop

Accessing SIS from RPInfo

To access the Student Information System, start RPInfo, then click on either the Student Information System or Registration/Drop/Add link under the "Student Information" section of the RPInfo homepage. Alternately, you can enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser's window:

http://sis.rpi.edu/

Whichever method you use, the Student Information System page will appear. You may access the information that appears under "Announcements," Troubleshooting," and "References" without entering a password to authenticate yourself, but you will need to enter your Student Number and PIN (Personal Identification Number) if you select the Student Login information link. Please remember that your Student


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http://sis.rpi.edu/

Number and PIN are different from your RCS password. The SIS web pages will provide you with a lot of on-line help to guide you through the registration process. If you forget your PIN, go to the Registrar's office for a new one.

Safeguarding Your RCS Account and SIS Information

It all comes down to keeping your PIN and password confidential. The first time you use the SIS system, you must change your PIN to a six-digit numerical string that only you know. And, as with your RCS password, you should not share this information with anyone.

Using WebCT: Web-Based Coursework at Rensselaer

Web Course Tools (WebCT (Web CourseTools)) is a suite of tools developed to deliver sophisticated Web-based courses. Currently being used by universities and colleges all over the world to deliver on-line learning, WebCT provides a learning management system that allows Rensselaer instructors to make their course materials and activities available to students.

Faculty and students at Rensselaer are finding value and convenience in WebCT's many web-accessible functions, such as threaded discussion groups, the table of course contents, on-line quizzes, and a shared calendar. Staff members in Academic and Research Computing (ARC), the Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education (CIUE), the Folsom Library, and Professional and Distance Education are available to assist faculty and students with the use of WebCT.

You can access WebCT course information on-line via RPInfo. To do this, select the WebCT Courses link from the "Student Information" section of the main RPInfo homepage. The page that appears gives a brief explanation of how WebCT is used in coursework here at Rensselaer, and provides links to a variety of different departments that are using WebCT courses. Other links provide users with access to a quick reference guide and an overview of available WebCT functions.

Please refer to the URLs below for more specific help and information on using WebCT.

For General Information about WebCT at Rensselaer

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/webct/webctinfo.html

For Course Listings (Current Semester Only)

http://webct.rpi.edu/

For Quick Reference Guides:

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/webct/qr.html


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http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/webct/qr.html

http://webct.rpi.edu/

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/webct/webctinfo.html

To access Academic and Research Computing's self-study courses on WebCT:

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/workshops/

Logging in to a Public PC

To log in on a Windows NT machine

1. In the "Enter your network password for Microsoft Networking" dialog box, type your RCS userID at the User name: prompt and press the Tab key.

2. Type your RCS password at the Password: prompt and press the Enter or Return key.

3. Double-click on the RCS File and Print Sharing icon on the desktop; a Connect to RCS window will appear.

4. Click on either (or both) of the check boxes that allow you to connect to your RCS home directory or to the RCS public areas, then click the OK button. (You must click on at least one check box in order to be able to print on the lab printers.)

To log in on a Windows ME or Windows 2000 machine:

All labs running the Windows 2000 Professional client now require RCS authentication. You must change or "refresh" your password before using your RCS credentials. To change your password from a Windows 2000 lab:

1. Logon as PWGUEST (you won't need to enter a password). This will take you directly to the on-line page where you can change your password.

2. Use the on-line site to make the desired changes to your RCS password. Please note that it can take up to five minutes for the changes to take effect.

3. Enter your RCS userID in the "Enter your RCS username" field and click OK.

4. Logoff as PWGUEST and logon using your own RCS credentials.

You will need to follow the above procedure only once to enable your RCS account for access to any of the Windows 2000 labs that are members of the campus' WIN domain.

Finishing Up and Logging Out

Wherever you're working on campus, it's a good idea to save all of your work and quit out of all applications. If you're working at a public PC, you should also consider copying any files that you want to save to either a floppy disk or over to your RCS UNIX file space.

To log out from a Public PC: Open the Start menu in the lower left corner of the desktop, and select the Logoff userid option, where userid is your own RCS userID (as on a Windows ME or Windows 2000 machine). If this option does not appear, select the Close all programs and log on as a different user option.


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Please, keep your account secure…always remember to log off!

Mapping a Network Drive

If you do not have the RCS File and Print Sharing icon on your desktop, you can still connect to RCS via sambasrv by mapping a network drive yourself. To do this, right-click on either the My Computer or the Network Neighborhood icon on the desktop and select the Map Network Drive… option from the sub-menu that appears.

The Map Network Drive window appears, as shown below.

Type in the desired network path (e.g., \\sambasrv\public) in the Path: field.

The system may prompt you to enter a password in order to connect to either the public space or your RCS space. If so, enter your RCS password and click on the OK button.

Please refer to Quick Study #9, Mapping an RCS Drive on a PC, for more information on mapping a network drive.

Sharing Files across RCSUsing sambasrv

The RCS server, sambasrv, connects Windows machines to the networked campus printers and to the RCS files. Before you can print from Microsoft Windows systems, you must first authenticate yourself by entering your RCS userID and password, then connect to RCS through sambasrv. (Please refer to Quick Study #11, Sharing PC Files Using RCS (sambasrv) for more information on using sambasrv.)


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You must also specify a specific printer and have the necessary printer drivers on your PC in order to print.

The sambasrv.rpi.edu server allows you to access RCS directories and files from your Windows PC by translating between RCS and Windows to make the files appear as if they're on an additional PC drive. For example, let's say that you have a file named GroupProject located in your Projects folder on your PC, and you want to make it available to your classmates in your RCS public folder. (See the "UNIX Files and Directories" section of this document for more information about this and other RCS directories.) You can easily copy that information between the two locations by using drag-and-drop editing. To do this:

1. Arrange the program windows so that both your source file (the GroupProject file in your Projects folder) and your destination (your RCS public folder) are open and visible. You must be able to see the information you want to drag as well as the location where you want to drop it.

2. Select the file, and then use the right mouse button to drag the source file to its new location in the other folder.

Using Microsoft Networking Features: Some Important Information about File Sharing between PCs

A Bit of Background

All Microsoft operating systems have provided the capability to share resources, such as files and printers, with other networked computers. The security provided to protect these resources falls into two categories:

User level sharing, which is provided by Windows 2000, provides authentication based on a user name and password combination, which allows greater control and accountability when giving access to other networked users.

Share level sharing, used by Windows 98, provides only password protection to resources. (Please note that there are ways to provide user level access within Windows 98 to locally share resources when configured in conjunction with an NT server, but that is beyond the scope of this document. There are numerous books and articles written on the subject for those interested.) All further references to sharing in this section refer to share level sharing.

It is apparent that the original intent in providing share level access was for use in a small workgroup environment where access was from known and trusted users. Since this form of sharing requires only a password (and that password can be blank!), it is often difficult to determine exactly who is accessing your resources once you distribute the password in an academic environment such as Rensselaer's. And, because share level access can be configured to provide full access and allow other users to read, write, copy, change, or delete your files, you must take care to protect your files when you decide to share them.

Protecting Your Shares

First and foremost, you need to protect all your shares by setting an actual password; if you leave the required password blank, any anonymous user can gain access to your files.


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Second, take special care when providing full access to shares, for not only can users having such access alter or delete your files, they can also use all of your available disk space, since there is no way of restricting disk usage. As a result, we generally recommend that you do not give full access to shares using share level access. And when you are required to provide full access, it should be for a specific reason, and also for a short period of time, so as to reduce exposure.

You may also find it advantageous to make use of a sharing feature that allows hidden shares. To do this, use a dollar sign ($) as the last character in the sharename when you name a share; doing this will prevent the share from being displayed when other users are browsing the network neighborhood. If another user wishes to access the share, he or she needs to explicitly map it using the "Map Network Drive" option by right-clicking on the My Computer icon on the desktop, selecting the Map Network Drive option, and then providing the appropriate sharename in the path field. (The format of the path field is \\computername\sharename; you may include the $ as part of the sharename if you wish.)

Enabling File and Print Sharing

Most computer vendors ship their computers with file and print sharing disabled, but if you do decide you wish to enable sharing, you may use the following steps to do so. (Important note: these steps assume a workgroup environment that does not depend on Internet naming conventions and resolution (DNS) to find a particular computer on the network. Name resolution relies solely on Microsoft methods, namely the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) and broadcast.)

(1) Open the Start menu and select the Settings option, select the Control Panel option, and then double-click the Network folder in the window that appears.

(2) Click on the File and Print Sharing… button, and select either the file sharing and/or the print sharing option(s) in the File and Print Sharing window that appears, then click OK.. (Please note that this step does not actually share any resources on your laptop; it simply loads and configures the necessary software to allow sharing.)

(3) To share files, use the Windows Explorer to select the folder you wish to share. To do this, highlight the folder by left-clicking once on the folder, then right-clicking once and selecting the Sharing… option from the pull-down menu that appears.

(4) Select the Shared As: radio button and provide a sharename in the Share Name field. (Note that this sharename does not have to be the same name as the folder being shared; this allows you to use the trailing $ previously described.) By default, "Read-Only" access is enabled as shown by the selected radio button.

IT IS IMPORTANT that you DO NOT select Apply or OK at this point. If you do this without supplying a password, the share will be open to everyone, since you haven't specified a required password.


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(5) Select Read Only, Full, or Depends on Password, and supply a password. The system will prompt you to confirm your password selection.

Please note that the Depends on Password option allows you to share the folder with both Read-Only and Full access; the type of access given is based on the password supplied.

Once you have enabled sharing, your machine will be known on the network by the workgroup and computer names previously specified. To find these, open the Start menu, select the Settings and Control Panel options, double-click on the Network icon in the window that appears, and then click on the Identification tab.

In conclusion, we’d like to stress that, while share level access has been available and used for years, you should take great care to ensure that you grant access only to your intended users.


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PrintingAll the workstation labs/classrooms contain networked public printers that print both PostScript and plain text. You can access these printers from any network-connected PC, laptop, or RCS UNIX workstation. Although most of the printers print in black-and-white, several color and color overhead (transparency) printers are also available. The VCC houses a printer dedicated to printing labels, as well as two PostScript plotters capable of producing color output on continuous paper 36 inches wide.

Most of the printers are self-service. However, some of the printers in the VCC, such as the duplex printer, the label printer, some of the color printers, and the PostScript plotters, are located in a restricted area. Once each hour, the operations staff places output from these printers in special output racks located in the corridor outside VCC South. (Output from the color plotters has a longer turnaround time.)

Public Printers

Networked PostScript printers are located in many places across the campus, including the VCC, all the workstation lab/classrooms, and the various PC labs. Most of the public printers, including those in the residence halls and the computer labs, are black-and-white printers that produce letter-size PostScript output at six cents per page and two cents per job.

Academic and Research Computing's printing-related web site, which you can access by clicking on the Printing link from the ARC homepage, provides information on the individual printers, but we've provided some details here, including printer name and printing cost and information, about some of the more specialized printers below.

VCC Print Room Printers

Printer Printer Name Printing Cost

Lexmark Optra T616 vclw two-sided: $0.08/page + $0.02/job

one-sided: $0.05/page + $0.02/job

HP 5000 (duplex 11" x 17") vcblw two-sided $0.08/page + $0.02/job

one-sided $0.05/page + $0.02/job

HP LaserJet 4 vclbl30 30-up labels $0.25/page + $0.10/job

Color Printers


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CII 3112 Phaser 350 ci3112p3 $0.40/page

CII 3111 200i ci200let $0.50/page + $.20/job

CII 3111 200i Overheads ci200ovr $1.00/page + $.20/job

CII 3116 Phaser 200i ci3116p2 $0.50/page

CII 6208 Phaser 200i ci6208p2 $0.50/page

JEC 3207 Phaser 350 ec3207p3 $0.40/page

VCC Phaser 850N - Lobby vcpap3 $0.40/page

VCC Phaser 850DP - Printroom vcph3let $0.40/page + $.20/job

VCC Phaser 350 - VCC South vcsop3 $0.40/page

VCC 750DP Paper - Printroom vc750let $0.50/page + $.20/job

VCC 750DP Overheads - Printroom vc750ovr $1.00/page + $.20/job

PostScript Plotters


VCC HPDesignJet 1055CM - vcplt $0.75 to $1.75/foot, Printroom based on options selected

VCC Textronix Phaser 600 vcplt600 (same as above)

Printer Naming Conventions

Printer names on the RCS network consist of three parts, usually {building}{room}{type} or {building}{type}{form}. The short form of the name uses a two-character building code, up to four characters for a room, location, or type, and a two-character type or form code.

Some of the more common printer types and forms appear below.

Printer Types and Forms

LW A Lexmark Optra or similar black-and-white letter-size PostScript printer.

P3 A Tektronix Phaser 850 or similar color PostScript printer that prints on letter-size paper.

200 or P2 A Tektronix Phaser 200i color PostScript printer that uses either letter paper (LET suffix, or no suffix) or transparencies (OVR suffix).

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LBLxx A black-and-white PostScript printer that prints labels. LBL stands for "label"; the xx indicates the number of labels per page.

Examples

You're bound to become familiar with the various printer names as you print more and more documents, but we've provided a few examples here to give you a general idea of how the names work.

The printer name ci3112lw follows the {building}{room}{type} convention; ci represents the CII (Center for Industrial Innovation, also known as the Low Building), 3112 is the room number, and lw indicates that the printer is a Laser Writer.

The printer name vcph3let follows the {building}{type}{form} convention. The vc indicates that the printer is located in the VCC (Voorhees Computing Center), ph3 indicates a Tektronix Phaser 850 printer, and let indicates that the printer produces letter-size output. (NOTE: Although this printer still uses the "ph3" as part of its name, it has actually been replaced by a Phaser 850.)

Printing Allocations and pagestatus

At the start of each fall and spring semester, you will receive a free allocation of $12.50 for black-and-white printing; if you use up this allocation, you will be billed for any additional printing charges.

Please note that this printing allocation does not cover color printing; you will always be billed for this.

To see how much is left in your printing allocation, start a UNIX session (you can use SecureCRT for this), and issue the following command from a UNIX prompt:

pagestatus

The information that appears on the screen will list all of your most current print jobs: what you printed and where, etc. At the bottom of all of this information, you should see a line reading something like "Remaining page allocation for < > on <date> is <$$$>." Divide this figure by 8 cents (to allow for various printing costs) to determine approximately how many more pages you can print free-of-charge.Using the RCS User Account Statistics Program

A Web-based program is in place to let you access much of the information about your RCS account and resource usage. To access this account information page, click on the Academic & Research Computing link under the "Computing" section of the main RPInfo homepage, and then on the RCS Account User Statistics link from the resulting ARC homepage.

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Printing Refund PolicyAcademic and Research Computing will grant refunds for unusable print jobs due to printer errors, including refund requests for low toner, overheads printed on regular paper, jobs where the plotter or printer ran out of ink before the print job was completed, jobs where only the header sheet printed, etc. ARC will not issue credit to those users who printed the wrong file, sent their job to the wrong printer, printed multiple copies to compare, or did not pick up their printouts before they were removed from the output racks. ARC will review those requests for credit based on issues of print quality and/or color variation on a case-by-case basis. If you find that you are having difficulty achieving a desired print quality or integrating images into your printed document, you should request help from a Help Desk consultant or staff member before continuing to print the document.

To request a refund, you must fill out a Print Refund Request Form, available at the VCC Help Desk or on-line via the Forms link from the Academic and Research Computing homepage, and return it, along with your header sheet, to the VCC Help Desk.

YOU MUST COMPLETE AND RETURN YOUR REFUND REQUEST WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF THE DATE THE JOB WAS PRINTED. The Help Desk staff will process any approved funds within seven days of receiving a refund request.

Choosing a Printer and Printing from Public PCsAuthenticating Yourself

To print from a public Windows ME machine, you must have first authenticated yourself by entering your RCS userID and password at the login prompts when you started working at the machine. In addition, on all public PCs, you must connect to the network by double-clicking on the RCS File and Print Sharing icon on the desktop. (Please refer to the "Logging In to a Public PC" section of this document for instructions on how to do this.)

Printing from an Application

In most cases, you can select the Print option from an application's File menu to send your file to the printer.

In the dialog box that opens, the name of the default printer should appear. (Make a mental note of this, so you will know where to pick up your output.) You can select a different printer by clicking on your new choice from the pull-down list of available printers. Then, click OK to send your job to the specified printer.

Checking the Print Queue

To check the queue on a specific printer, start a SecureCRT session to rcs.rpi.edu and use the lpq command from a UNIX session, as follows, where printername refers to the name of the specific printer:

lpq -Pprintername

For example, you would enter the following to check the queue for the printer located by the stairway on the main floor of the Folsom Library:

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lpq -Pli2f1lw

Similarly, you could type either of the following commands at a UNIX prompt to check the print queues for either of the printers on the first floor of the Folsom Library:

lpq -Pli1f1lw

lpq -Pli1f2lw

For More Information…

You can find additional printing information, including a list of public printers, on-line via RPInfo. To do this, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage, then select the Printing link from the ARC homepage that appears

Installing a Network Printer on Your PCPreparing to Install a Network Printer

Before you can install a network printer, you must complete some preliminary configuration by going through the steps below. Note that on Rensselaer laptops, these three steps have already been done for you.

Buy and install an Ethernet card (available at the Campus Computer Store)

Configure your computer for network access by installing Microsoft's TCP/IP stack. (For instructions, please refer to Quick Study #12, Installing and Configuring a TCP/IP Stack: Dynamic and Static IP Addresses, available at the VCC Help Desk or via the URL http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Docs/docs.html.)

Update the registry by downloading the appropriate file from the list below. Save this registry to the desktop and then double-click on it.

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/consult/pc.software/ibm/win98/sambasrv/98_PlainPassword.reg

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/consult/pc.software/ibm/winnt/sambasrv/NT4_PlainPassword.reg

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/consult/pc.software/ibm/win2000/sambasrv/Win2000_PlainPassword.reg

Right-click on the appropriate .reg file for your operating system; a separate Save As window will appear, allowing you to save the file to the desktop.

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http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/consult/pc.software/ibm/win2000/sambasrv/

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/consult/pc.software/ibm/winnt/sambasrv/

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/consult/pc.software/ibm/win98/sambasrv/




For more information on installing a network printer, please refer to Quick Study #8, Installing an RCS Printer on Your PC, which is available at the VCC Help Desk, as well as on-line via the URL http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Docs/docs.html.

Authenticating and Connecting to the RCS Network

First, on an Windows ME machine, be sure you have supplied your RCS userID and password in the Windows login dialog box, displayed at Windows startup.

Next, connect to RCS through sambasrv, the server that connects Windows machines to the networked campus printers and to RCS files and directories, as follows:

On a Rensselaer laptop: Double-click the RCS File and Print icon on the desktop. In the connect window that appears, check either (or both) of the boxes that allow you to connect to your RCS home directory or to the RCS public areas. Click OK.

On a desktop PC or non-Rensselaer laptop: Follow the instructions to map a network drive. (More information on how to do this is available in the "Mapping a Network Drive" section of this document and in Quick Study #9, Mapping an RCS Drive on a PC. You may also access the information via the Academic and Research Computing homepage by first selecting the Printing link, and then selecting the Your own PC link under the "How to print from" section of the resulting page.)

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Installing the Printer Driver

Before installing a printer driver, you need to know:

The name of the printer you wish to install, for example, tr2012lw (the black-and-white LaserWriter in Troy 2012)

The recommended printer driver for the chosen printer

To find this information, see the list of public printers in RPInfo. (From the Academic and Research Computing homepage, click Printing, then Public Printers, then Sorted by location or Sorted by type.) From the resulting list, you can click on the name of any printer to find out the recommended driver.

For almost all the black-and-white, one-sided printers on campus, we recommend the driver Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS. (This driver is on the hard drive for the laptops and most other Windows computers.) A few printers have special features: for example, the printer in the VCC machine room called vcblw, is an HP LaserJet 5000, configured to print on B-size (11"x17") paper. To take advantage of such special features, you will need to install the printer driver for that particular model printer.

Now you are ready to install the printer. The steps below illustrate the procedure for Win98/ME; however, Windows 2000 machines have their own wizards with similar steps.

1. Click the Start button and select Settings, then Printers.2. When the Printers window appears, double-click Add Printer, which should

appear as the first item. 3. When the Add Printer Wizard window, as shown below, opens, click on the

Next button.

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4. In the next window that appears, select the Network printer option to connect to one of the public printers, and click on Next. (If you are installing a local printer, connected to your PC, select Local printer, and skip to step 6.)

5. You will now be asked to type the network address for the printer in the Network path or queue name field. This address is defined by the server name (\\sambasrv\) followed by the RCS printer name. For example, to connect to the printer in Troy 2012, you would type \\sambasrv\tr2012lw, as shown in the figure below. Be sure to type backslashes (\), not forward slashes (/)! Click on Next>.

(Note: if you get the message that the printer is currently offline, it probably means you typed the name wrong. Go Back and make sure you type the name exactly as shown.)

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6. Next, you need to specify the driver for the selected printer. Select Apple from the Manufacturer's list, and choose the Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS driver, which is recommended for almost all campus black & white one-sided printers. Click on Next >.

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If you get the message that this driver is already installed, select Keep existing driver and click on Next.

7. Now you need to select a name for the printer. You should use the RCS printer name, in this case, tr2012lw. Click on Next>.

8. Finally, the system will prompt you to print a test page. Select the Yes (recommended) option and click on Finish.

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The printer is now installed, and you should be able to select it from within application programs in Windows 98.

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Resources and ServicesWhile here at Rensselaer, you will probably find many of the following to be invaluable resources and services

Computing Labs and Classrooms

Rensselaer's campus houses hundreds of computers for you to use: these are mostly Wintel PCs, and SGI and IBM UNIX workstations. Other classrooms and study areas contain connections for laptop computers.

Lab and Classroom Hours and Software

For a complete listing of computer classrooms and labs and their hours, as well as what software is contained in each lab, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage, then select the PC Labs/Software link from the ARC homepage that appears. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/pcinfo/pcinfo.html

This site also includes information on any special lab hours, such as those during exam week, over the summer, during holiday breaks, and for any specially scheduled classes.

Laptop Classroom Locations

The following campus labs will house laptop jack connections. An asterisk (*) indicates that the room will act as a "hybrid" lab that will house both laptop connections and desktop PCs.

Amos Eaton 215 JRSC 2C14 Sage 2715Amos Eaton 216 JRSC 2C22 * Sage 3101CII 3112 JRSC 2C30 Sage 4101CII 3116 Lally 002 Sage 5101CII 4034 Lally 102 Troy 2012 *CII 4040 Lally 104 Troy 2015 *CII 6208 MRC 136 Troy 2018JEC 3204 Pittsburgh 4114 * VCC South*JEC 4201 Pittsburgh 4206 Walker 5113 *JRSC 2C06 * Sage 2704 Walker 6113 *

The Campus Computer Store

Located on the main floor of the Voorhees Computing Center and operated as part of Academic and Research Computing, Rensselaer's non-profit Campus Computer

Resources and Services Fall 2001


Store offers educational discounts on hardware, software, and computing accessories exclusively to the Rensselaer community at competitive prices. The store also offers a variety of accessories to meet users' laptop needs, including replacement batteries, external mice, USB hubs, and much more.

For more information on the Campus Computer Store, select the Campus Computer Store link under the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:


Academic and Research Computing

Academic and Research Computing (ARC) offers many important computing-related resources, such as maintaining computer labs all across campus, giving technical and consulting help, offering short courses on various computing topics, and helping to provide the campus community with on-line and paper documentation.

ARC has its own website; to access it, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field of your browser window:

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/

Rensselaer Computer Repair

Rensselaer Computer Repair (RCR) provides a resource for the repair of computers and peripherals, and supports the Campus Computer Store by providing warranty service on IBM, Dell, and Apple computers, as well as Lexmark printers. RCR will also repair out-of-warranty computer equipment, including peripherals such as laser and ink jet printers.

Other RCR services include memory and hard disk upgrades, and driver and patch installations on PCs and laptops. RCR also offers repair service for IBM ThinkPad computers to support the Mobile Computing program.

If you have a problem with your computer hardware, please contact RCR by phoning ext. 7777 to register a trouble call with the Help Desk. You may also contact RCR directly by phoning ext. 8178 or by directing electronic mail to [email protected].

RCR also has its own webpage; to access it, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage, then select the Personal computer repair link.


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Telecommunications

The Telecommunications office, located in Room 215 on the main level of the Voorhees Computing Center, provides a variety of phone-related services, including: Telephones and related equipment. All student residence hall rooms come

equipped with telephones. If the phone in your room isn't working properly, please call the Help Desk at ext. 7777 to place a trouble ticket. If you are missing your telephone altogether, or if you are missing a telephone cord, you may pick these items up in the Residence Life office.

Voice mail. Having voice mail is like having your own personal answering machine, 24 hours a day, and Telecommunications provides this service to you free-of-charge.

You can get your voice mailbox and password via RPInfo, Rensselaer's campuswide information system. To do this, first enter the URL http://www.rpi.edu/dept/tele/ at the top of your browser window to access the Telecommunications homepage. Under the Student Information section of the resulting page, click on the How Can A Student Activate Voice Mail? link, then click on the here link to begin activating your voice mailbox and password. The system will then prompt you to authorize yourself by entering your RCS userID and password.

Pre-paid calling cards. These cards are great to use whenever you're away from campus and want to place a phone call. You can purchase a prepaid calling card from the Campus Computer Store, located on the main floor of the Voorhees Computing Center.

Long-distance calling authorization codes. Telecommunications provides long-distance calling service via the use of a confidential nine-digit authorization code, which you should have received at your home. Please remember to keep this code in a safe place, and never give others access to your authorization code.

If you lose your authorization code, contact the Telecommunications office immediately at ext. 6258 during the regular business hours shown on the following page; after business hours, call the VCC Help Desk at ext. 7777. If you forget your authorization code, you will need to stop by the Telecommunications office in person. Please be sure to bring your valid Rensselaer ID card with you.

Long-distance rates for calls within the continental United States are seven cents per minute, any day or any time. International rates will vary, based on what country you are calling, but we think that you'll find many of our international rates much lower than industry standards.

Please contact the Telecommunications office at ext. 6609 if you have questions about international rates.

Billing for long-distance, operator-assisted, and collect calls will appear on your tuition bill, and all payments will be credited to your tuition bill as well. If you would like to receive a copy of your monthly phone bill, please send your request via electronic mail to [email protected], including the following information:

Name Rensselaer Identification Number (RIN) Dorm and room number, or off-campus address


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http://www.rpi.edu/dept/tele/

Telephone extension RCS account (e-mail) if we have any questions and need to contact you

Your request will be processed in 24 to 48 hours.

Telecommunication business hours are 8:30am - noon and 1:30pm - 4:30pm, Monday through Friday, with the exception of staff holidays.

If you would like more information about Telecommunications and its services, please direct electronic mail to [email protected], or call the Business Office at ext. 6258. You can also access Telecommunications' homepage via RPInfo by entering the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:


The Rensselaer Libraries

The Rensselaer Libraries, which consist of the Folsom and Architecture Libraries, offer a number of important resources, including:

Information, Reference, and Research Assistance. The Libraries' staff strives for user-oriented reference and research assistance. Our librarians are information professionals with knowledge of, and experience in, the most up-to-date library technology. Recognizing the diverse nature of today's academic community, we offer reference and research services in a variety of formats designed to accommodate our users, including a walk-in help desk, scheduled appointments, availability by e-mail and telephone, and interactive digital reference.

For more details and a schedule of these services, click on the Services link from RensSearch, the Libraries' information gateway.

RensSearch. The Libraries' information gateway, known as RensSearch, is a Web-based user interface that ties together all of the Libraries' information resources and services, and that also allows the Libraries to provide access to new information resources, such as full-text databases and electronic publications. Via RensSearch, the Libraries can also provide existing library services, such as instruction, tours, and interlibrary loans, electronically.

You may access RensSearch on-line via RPInfo; to do this, select the RensSearch link from the "Libraries" section of the RPInfo homepage. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:

http://www.lib.rpi.edu/


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Class Reserves. The Class Reserves database on the Web lists materials held at the Libraries' Circulation Desks for specific courses. Using Adobe Acrobat®, Class Reserves also scans material for instructors to be made available in PDF format. Whenever possible, Class Reserves also provides links to faculty-maintained course pages and Library course-related pages.

Reserve materials are listed alphabetically by school, then alphabetically by department.

Within these departmental listings, materials are put in order according to the Registrar's course numbering system; please use the red "Item [number]" that follows the course description when requesting material from the Circulation Desk.

In addition, please keep the following numbering schemes in mind when requesting materials:

Library books on reserve are in call number order.

Class materials (homework, notes, exams and photocopies of readings from journals) are in numbered folders and should almost always start with item 01 and proceed from there up to 199.

Instructor’s personal copies of books and manuals are numbered 200 to 299.

Audio/Visual Materials (videos, cassettes, CDs and software) are numbered 400 to 499 or have a library call number.

Professional & Distance Education lecture tapes are numbered 500 to 599.

If a course does not appear, it generally means that no "Class Reserve" materials exist for it, and/or that a course page has not been reported to the Library. (If it is very early in the semester, the materials may not yet be available. However, the Library staff works hard to process all class reserve materials as soon as possible, so check back for them regularly.)

For more information on Class Reserves, select the Class Reserves link from the "Libraries" section of the RPInfo homepage. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:

http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/reserves/index.html

Information Seminars and Workshops. Periodically throughout the school year, the Rensselaer Libraries offer seminars on how to access and use the many different databases the Libraries have available. Web guides and tutorials on various library and information technology topics are also available.

Public Access Workstations. The Folsom Library houses more than 30 Windows and five SGI UNIX workstations, and six Macintosh computers on the first floor, a PC lab with 15 workstations on the second floor, and over 200 newly-installed laptop network connections on the first, third, and fourth floors.


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Survival Guide. Need to get to your professor's course reserve materials? Find your Library PIN? Check library hours? Sign up for a group study room? The Libraries' Survival Guide is a one-page guide that provides answers to the most frequently asked questions, as well as brief descriptions of the most popular Library services. URLs direct users to additional information and more detailed service descriptions.

The Survival Guide is available in both the Folsom and Architecture Libraries. An on-line version is also available via RPInfo; to access it, select the RensSearch link from the "Libraries" section of the main RPInfo homepage, then select the Instruction link, and finally the Library Survival Guide link. Alternatively, you may enter the following URL in the Address or Location field at the top of your browser window:

http://www.lib.rpi.edu/instruction/guides/survival.html

Scanning and Digital Video Capabilities

Scanners

Academic and Research Computing currently has two scanners available. One scanner, a Microtek ScanMaker 6X, is located in the northwest lobby of the VCC; the other, a UMAX Astra 2400S, is located in the CII 3111 Help Desk, and is only available during scheduled Help Desk hours. Both scanners are attached to Dell OptiPlex GXI PCs.

For more specific information on how to use the scanners ARC has available, please refer to Memo 126, Scanning Images and Text. This memo is available in the documentation racks outside the VCC Help Desk, as well as on-line via RPInfo. To access the on-line version, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the main RPInfo homepage, then select the Documentation link from the ARC homepage that appears. Memos and Quick Studies are listed by both topic and by number.

Video Stations

Video stations are also available in both the VCC lobby and in CII 3111. These machines' most basic use is for capturing video from a VHS videotape and saving it as a Video for Windows file for playback on most Windows machines, but they also offer users the ability to:

Capture multiple clips and assemble them into a movie, using Adobe Premiere

Use transitions, filters, titles, and special effects

Save the movie as a Quicktime file rather than a Video for Windows file


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Write the edited movie back out to video tape

Use the Sony Hi8 VCR (available only in CII 3111), as well as the Panasonic AG-1980

Read (and write) DV tape from your digital camcorder using the Pinnacle DV300 digital video card

The video stations are available on a first-come, first-served basis whenever the VCC and CII 3111 are open. However, if demand for the stations becomes heavy, we may need to establish a sign-up procedure.

A preliminary Quick Study document, available on the desktop of the machines, provides instructions on capturing video from a VHS videotape and saving it as a Video for Windows file for playback. If you plan to use this capability, you should plan to bring a VHS tape with your video material, as well as a Zip disk on which to store the results, so you can take them away with you.

CD Writer

For those users wishing to burn their own CDs, a CD-ROM writer, using the Adaptec Direct CD Writer software, is available for use at the VCC Help Desk. Please note that we do require you to read and sign the copyright agreement form, available in the black binder near the CD writer, prior to using the CD writer.

To copy one CD to another:

1. Insert your blank CD (either pre-formatted or unformatted) in the CD writer.

2. Insert your source data/music CD in the CD player.

3. Open the Start menu, then scroll up to select the Programs option. From the pop-up sub-menu that appears, select the Adaptec CD Writer option.

4. If you inserted an unformatted CD in the CD writer, the software will automatically format it, and the system will prompt you to enter a label for the CD.

5. The system will prompt you with a message when the new CD is ready.

6. You may now double-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop and drag and drop the desired files from the G: drive (CD player) to the E: drive (CD Writer).

If you have any additional questions about using the CD writer, contact the consultants at the VCC Help Desk.


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Campus Computing Network InformationFacilities Overview In addition to the various PC and UNIX classrooms and labs currently existing in the CII, JEC, Lally, Pittsburgh, Sage, Troy, the VCC, and Walker, a number of laptop-ready labs are available across campus. (Please refer to the laptop lab listings given in the "Resources and Services" section of this document.)

ResNET

ResNET is the high-speed Ethernet network service that is available in all of the residence halls. And because it's a bundled service, this means you don't have to make any special requests to have the service activated, nor are you charged any special fee for the service (beyond that already included in the room fees). Live network ports are available in every residence hall room, with one port for each occupant.

Here's all you'll need to connect to the network: (Freshmen laptops are already equipped with these features.)

A personal computer with an Ethernet adapter (DotCIO supports IBM PC-compatible systems and Macintosh)

TCP/IP network software for your computer (such as Windows 98/NT or MacOS)

A "10-base-T" network cable (these are available in the Campus Computer Store)

Automatic Host Configuration

By default, the preferred method of connecting a machine to the Rensselaer network is via the use of the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or DHCP, which allows the automatic assignment of IP addresses to laptops as users move their machines from place to place across campus. (As the computer moves between different locations, the DHCP server will reconfigure itself as necessary to accommodate each move, allowing the automatic assignment of IP address and configuration information to reduce the administrative and setup procedures for both the user and the system administrators.)

The laptops that Rensselaer provides to the students are already configured for DHCP.

Booting your computer automatically provides it with the following basic information:

IP address and subnet mask

Default gateway or router

Campus Computing Network Information Fall 2001

Domain Name Server (DNS) addresses

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) server addresses

IP Domain name

If you would like additional information on DHCP, please refer to Memo RPI.125, Connecting Your Windows 95/98 PC to RCS (Dynamic IP and Static IP). You can pick up copies at the VCC Help Desk, or view the document on-line in RPInfo by selecting the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the RPInfo homepage, and then selecting the Documentation link from the ARC homepage that appears.

Static IP Addresses

If your computer does not have a DHCP client, and automatic configuration is not possible, a static IP address can be assigned to your computer, meaning that you will not be able to move your computer to other areas of the ResNET network.

To request a static IP address, please submit a “Request for Static IP Address” form, available at the VCC Help Desk. The form is also available on-line; to access it, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the "Computing" section of the main RPInfo homepage, select the Forms link, then select the ResNET Static IP Request Form link.

NetBIOS Names

If your ResNET computer uses a Windows operating system, you have already been asked to set the System Identification to be the same as your RCS userID. It is important for the proper operation of Windows networking that the NetBIOS or “System Identification” name be unique among other users on the network. The best way to ensure uniqueness is by using your RCS userID.

Dialing in to the Network from Off-Campus

Your laptop has been pre-configured to allow for easy access to the Rensselaer network whenever you're off-campus. To dial in:

1. Insert one end of the flat, black telephone cable you received with your laptop into the modem connector (labeled as #6 of the rear view on page 6 of this document) and the other end into a telephone jack.

2. Double-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop.

3. Double-click on the Dial-Up Networking icon in the window that appears.

4. Double-click on the RPI (244-1500) icon.

5. A Connect To window will appear. Enter your RCS userID and password, respectively, in the User name and Password fields, and click on the Connect button.


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Those users who do not have pre-configured machines should refer to Quick Study #28, Windows 95/98/ME and Dial-Up PPP Connections, or contact the various Help Desk locations, for more information on how to configure their systems to dial in to the network from off-campus.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about UNIX but Were Afraid to Ask…

In addition to the many personal computer labs on campus, there are public labs containing UNIX workstations and several UNIX machines available for remote access. While you might not use the UNIX platform for most of your work here, there are some tasks that can only be done from UNIX, and you may find it helpful to know some basics. This section will provide you with some simple UNIX commands and an elementary knowledge of the UNIX file structure.

Establishing a UNIX Session

From a UNIX workstation: After logging in with your RCS userID and password, go to the RCS Applications menu and open a UNIX window by clicking once on UNIX: Start a UNIX Window. From this window, you can enter any of the commands described in the following sections. If you are not familiar with UNIX workstations, you might want to work through the exercises in the section "Some UNIX Workstation Basics,” at the end of this document.

Note that the RCS Applications menu also includes a number of commonly-used applications available on UNIX:

FrameMaker -- A desktop publishing package

Maple -- A symbolic math package used extensively in Rensselaer's calculus courses

Matlab -- A numerical analysis package

Communicator -- Netscape Communicator, a Web browser

Printerchooser -- A graphical way to select a printer other than the default

Pro/ENGINEER -- A 3D solid modeling package, used in engineering design courses

Xess -- A spreadsheet editor

Z-Mail -- The default electronic mail package on the UNIX platform


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When you are finished with your UNIX session, be sure to log out by clicking on the Logout option at the bottom of the RCS Applications menu. Never leave your workstation without logging out!

From a PC: To use UNIX from a PC, first start the SecureCRT program to establish a secure telnet session to one of the remote hosts. After starting the program and selecting a host from the Session List (for example, rcs-ibm.rpi.edu), you will be prompted for your RCS userID and password. When the UNIX window appears, you can enter UNIX commands at the prompt. For details on using this program, please see the section on SecureCRT in Part 2 of this document.

Note that the SecureCRT connection does not give you access to applications that require an X-windows display, such as FrameMaker and the other applications listed above. For your own computer, it's possible to buy an X-windows emulation program that allows you to use these applications as if you were sitting at a UNIX workstation.

When you are finished, be sure to log out by first entering logout at the UNIX prompt, and then closing the program as usual.

Communicating with UNIXWhen you log on to UNIX, you are initially located in your home directory. Each RCS userID has a home directory associated with it--your own private space on the RCS file systems. Student accounts are set up with a default of 25 megabytes of disk space in which to store files and directories. A file is any collection of characters stored together, such as the words in a letter or paper, a computer program, or a listing of data. Files can in turn be grouped together in a directory, which is analogous to a folder on a Windows system. You are the only one who can read and write files in your home directory. Note that you can access your RCS files from any networked campus PC or workstation, or from your laptop when it is connected to the network.

You communicate with UNIX by giving commands: type the command name and then press Enter or Return. Using the commands described in subsequent sections, you can create your own files and directories, manage your RCS account, print files, and more. Some commands take arguments, often a file or directory name, and many commands allow options, which are special arguments preceded by a hyphen (-) that tell UNIX to execute a certain variation of a command. For example, the command ls lists the files in the current directory, and ls -l (the "long" form) lists them with additional information about each file.

File names, directory names, and command names are case-sensitive in UNIX. This means that myfile and MyFile are two different files. You can also use letters, digits, underscores (_), periods (.), and dashes (-) as part of a file or directory name; however, it is best to use a letter or digit as the first character of the name. Do not use spaces in file names. Note that some applications will create directories and files for you; for example, the first time you use FrameMaker, it creates the FrameMaker directory.

Managing Your RCS Account

Several account management tasks, such as changing your password and requesting additional disk space are conveniently done from UNIX.


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Changing Your Password

In addition to changing your password from the Web, as described earlier, it is also possible to change your password by issuing a UNIX command. After you have thought of a good password -- one that contains exactly eight characters, contains one or more numbers, symbols, or punctuation marks, and is not easy for others to guess-- enter the following command at a UNIX prompt:

passwd

Enter the requested information as prompted. If you wish, the passwd program will provide you with some information on choosing a good password. However, please do remember that you should think of a password that you can remember without writing it down, and that you should avoid using uppercase letters in your password, as they can cause problems on some of Rensselaer's computing platforms.


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Requesting Additional Disk Space

By default, you are allotted 25MB of disk space in your RCS account free-of-charge. To check how much of that space you are using, enter the following command, which stands for "filesystem list quota":

fs lq

The amount in the Quota column shows your total disk space, in kilobytes, and the percentage in the %Used column shows how much of your allotted space you have used. (The Partition percentage is not relevant to individual accounts.)

If you need more space, you can use the quota_request program to increase your allotment. The charge is 25 cents per megabyte per month for the first 50 MB. Thereafter, each additional megabyte costs 15 cents per megabyte per month, up to a total of 250MB.

To change your quota, enter the following command at a UNIX prompt, replacing the pound sign (#) with the total number of megabytes you wish to have in your disk space:

quota_request -quota #

For example, to change your quota to 30MB, you would enter the command:

quota_request -quota 30

To reduce your disk space allotment back to its default setting, you would enter the command:

quota_request -reset

Before you issue the -reset request, be sure you have reduced the actual disk space you are using to the account's original default value (or less); otherwise, your request will be denied! Also keep in mind that it can take up to 24 hours to process your quota request; you should receive e-mail confirming the completed transaction.

Note that you will be charged for your extra disk space whether you are using the account and extra space or not. Therefore, if you plan to be away for an extended period of time, you should consider reducing your required disk space and disk quota.

Printing

From a UNIX Application

If you are sitting at a UNIX workstation (or using an X-windows emulation program), you can use one of the UNIX applications (such as those listed on the first page of this section) that provide their own windows complete with menus. In this case, you can print by selecting the Print option from an application's File menu just as you would on a PC.

Using the Printerchooser


Again, if you have a windows interface, you also have the option of using the printerchooser application, which displays the names of the printers and provides an easy, graphical way to choose a printer.

From the RCS Applications menu, click on printerchooser: View and select printers. A separate Select a Printer window will appear on the screen. Click on the desired printer name from the displayed list; you can then choose to use that printer for the current session only, make it your permanent default printer, ask for information about the printer, cancel print jobs, or look at the queue. If you need help, just click the Help button.

Please note that if you are using an application that allows you to select a specific printer, your choice in that application will override any printer you may have selected using printerchooser.

Printing Using UNIX Commands

No matter how you are connected to UNIX, whether it's via SecureCRT or via a UNIX workstation, you can always use the standard UNIX printing commands, lpr, lpq, and lprm. These commands, entered at a UNIX prompt, are shown below.

Command Action

lpr myfile Prints the file myfile, assuming it exists in your current directory.

lpq Displays the print queue, including the job numbers.

lprm nnn Removes your job (number nnn) from the queue.

Each computer location has a default printer. For example, if you are working in one of the workstation labs, the default printer will be the one in that room. To display your lab's default printer name, use the Verbose option on the UNIX lpq command (note the uppercase V):

lpq -V

The UNIX commands shown above all allow you to specify a printer other than the default by using the -P option. For example, if you wanted to print the file myfile on the VCC's duplex PostScript printer, vclw, you would issue the following command from a UNIX prompt:

lpr -Pvclw myfile

And to check that printer's queue, you would issue the command:

lpq -Pvclw

Checking your Printing Allocation

Each semester, you are allowed $12.50 worth of black-and-white printing, free of charge. To check how much of your printing allocation you have used, enter the command:

pagestatus

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about UNIX Fall 2001

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UNIX Files and Directories UNIX files are organized in directories. Your home directory is just one branch of a much larger directory tree that contains many other directories, such as other users’ home directories, documentation directories, and application directories.

File Access

Other users can see only the names of files and subdirectories in your home directory, not their contents. However, if you wish, you can share directories and files with other users in several ways. One method of doing this is to permit a directory so other users can access the files in it. (Memo RPI.114, Sharing Files on RCS UNIX Systems, explains how to permit files and directories to other users.) However, the easiest way is to use the special-access subdirectories that are already in place in your home directory, which you can use to hold files that you wish to share with others, or files that you wish to keep private.

• public Files in this directory can be read by everyone (the public). Put files you want to share in this directory.

• public_html Put your World Wide Web homepage in this directory. Usually, the name of the homepage is index.html.

• private You are the only person who can read this directory; other users cannot even list the file names within it. As a result, this is the best place to store your sensitive files.

• yesterday This directory contains a “snapshot” of your files taken at the time of the last backup. (RCS backups are currently run four times a week.) If you accidentally delete a file, you may find a backup copy in this directory and copy it to another directory. Also note that the files in this directory (and its subdirectories) do not count as part of your disk quota. You may not write to this directory.

A Sample Home Directory Tree

A fictional home directory belonging to a person with the userID doej is pictured below. Note that files and directories may both exist at any level; it is not possible to tell by simply looking at a name whether it represents a file or a directory. (For this reason, some people capitalize the first letter of directory names to distinguish them from file names.)

doej

math1 resume public public_html private yesterday

hw1.msw hw2.msw team_project index.html letters

traffic.data bridge.data mother fido


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In this example, user doej has created some other files and directories. He has stored his résumé in a file named resume, and the directory named math1 holds the Maple files hw1.msw and hw2.msw, which are homework assignments for a calculus course. His public directory contains a subdirectory named team_project, and this contains two data files, traffic.data and bridge.data, that others can read. The private directory contains the subdirectory letters, with two files, mother and fido.

In the directory structure above, doej is the parent directory of public, which is in turn the parent directory of team_project.

Paths

A path, which is the complete name for a file, lists the chain of parent directories that lead to a file, including the file name, separated by slashes (/). For example, the complete path for the fido file, as shown in the above diagram, is

~doej/private/letters/fido

In order for other users to access your files, and for you to access other users’ files, the complete path to the file must be specified. UNIX defines some shortcuts that come in handy in writing such paths: / the root of a filedirectory tree . the current directory .. the parent directory ~ your home directory ~doej user doej's home directory

Some Basic UNIX Commands

Commands Affecting Directories

Whenever you use UNIX, you are working within a specific directory, known as your working directory or your current directory. Because the commands you issue will affect this directory (unless you specify otherwise), it's important to know what it is. To find out what directory you are in, enter the following command, which stands for "print working directory":

pwd

On RCS, the UNIX prompt also usually contains the name of the working directory.

Use the ls command to list the names of the files in the current directory; you can use several options with this command. Some examples of the ls command, as well as the commands used to create a new directory, to move to a different directory, and to remove an empty directory appear below.

ls List the files and directories in your home directoryls -F Show file types (directories have a "/ " appended)ls -l Show details such as file size and date last modifiedmkdir temp Create a new subdirectory named temp


97

cd temp Change to the temp subdirectory (Note the UNIX prompt change.)

pwd Display the name of the current directory

cd .. Move to the parent directory (Enter this as cd (space) (period) (period) )

rmdir temp Remove the temp subdirectorycd public Move to your public directorycd ~millem8/public Move to user millem8’s public directoryls List the files in millem8's home directorycd Move to your home directory

Commands Affecting Files

The mv (move) command can be used to either rename a file or move it to a new location, and the cp command copies the file, leaving the original untouched.

The rm (remove) command deletes a file. When copying, moving, or deleting a file, it's important to make sure that no other file with the same name already exists. UNIX does not warn you before executing these commands, and if you're not careful, you could unintentionally overwrite an existing file with the same name. (However, including the -i (interactive) option with the rm command will prompt you to confirm the command before you actually execute it.)

To view the contents of a text file, use the more command, which displays the file one screen at a time. To display the next screen, press the spacebar. To stop viewing the file before it's finished, type q (quit), or press ctrl-c to abort the command.

Other useful UNIX commands include grep, which searches for a specified string of characters inside a file; ispell, which checks the spelling of the text in a file; sort, which alphabetizes the lines of a file; and wc, which counts the lines, words, and characters in a text file. Some of these commands are most useful when used with special UNIX characters, such as an asterisk ( * ), which is the wildcard character, and the redirection characters, < , >, >>.

Some examples of how to use these commands and special characters appear below.

more ~millem8/public/troy Display the contents of millem8's public file called "troy"

cp ~millem8/public/troy firsts Copy the file "troy" to your directory and call it "firsts"

mv firsts troy-firsts Rename your file "firsts" "troy-firsts"grep Rensselaer troy* Search for "Rensselaer" in all files

starting with "troy"sort troy-firsts > troy-sorted Sort the lines in troy-firsts, put the result

in troy-sortedmore troy-sorted View the sorted filecat troy-firsts >> troy-sorted Append the file troy-firsts to the file troy-

sortedrm -i troy-sorted Delete the file troy-sorted, but prompt first


98

wc troy-firsts Display number of lines, words, characters in troy-firsts

man ispell Read first part of man page for hints on how to use ispell

ispell troy-firsts Spell check the file troy-firsts

To change the contents of a file, you need to use an editor. The three most commonly-used UNIX editors on RCS are vi, emacs, and nedit. Memo RPI.113, Using the UNIX Platform on the Rensselaer Com puting System , has sections on how to use each of these editors. Note that both vi and emacs can be used if you are logged on remotely (via SecureCRT), but you must be using a UNIX workstation or running an X-windows emulation program in order to use nedit.

For More Information About UNIX…In case you haven't learned all you want to know about UNIX, Memo RPI.113, Using the UNIX Platform on the Rensselaer Computing System (RCS), explains in detail how to use UNIX on RCS. Quick Study #2, Useful UNIX Commands, contains a list of basic UNIX commands. You can pick up copies of these documents at the VCC Help Desk, or view them on-line in RPInfo by selecting the Academic & Research Computing link from the main RPInfo homepage, and then selecting the Documentation link from the ARC homepage that appears.

You can also learn more about UNIX by taking the "Introduction to UNIX," "Introduction to vi," "Introduction to emacs," and "Shell Programming" courses, which ARC usually offers at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. To find out about the schedule for ARC short courses, ask at the VCC Help Desk, or check in RPInfo by selecting the Academic & Research Computing link from the main RPInfo homepage, and then selecting the Computing short courses link from the ARC homepage that appears.

If you're logged on to UNIX, you can also take advantage of the on-line manual pages, often referred to as "man pages". For example, to view more information about the lpr command, you would enter the following command at a UNIX prompt:

man lpr

The man page entry for the command will appear on your screen. To move to the next screen of the entry, press the space bar; to quit the entry, type q.


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100

Some UNIX Workstation Basics

Using a UNIX WorkstationLogging in

If you go to use a UNIX workstation and the screen is blank, it doesn't necessarily mean that the machine is inoperative. Try pressing any key on the keyboard, or moving the mouse…chances are good that the screen saver had been activated, and that's why the screen was blank.

To log in, first type your RCS userID at the prompt and press the Return key, then enter your password at the next prompt, and press the Return key. (Note that your password does not appear as you type it and the cursor doesn't move.)

The login process does not vary from UNIX workstation to UNIX workstation, although the login screen and the prompts may be different.

When you log in, a clock and a mailbox icon appear in the upper right-hand corner of the screen with the RCS Applications menu below them. A Session Manager window also appears in the lower left-hand corner.

A msgs window, which displays on-line system bulletins and other important announcements, may also appear. The contents of the first message will automatically appear in the lower portion of the window. If other bulletins exist, and you wish to read them, position the mouse cursor over the Next Bulletin button and click the left mouse button. To skip the current message, left-click on Abort, or left-click on List All for a list of all existing system bulletins. To exit the msgs window entirely, left-click on Done.

Using the Mouse

Unlike the mouse on a PC, which has two buttons, a UNIX workstation's mouse has three to provide additional functionality for some programs, but it works in the same way in that moving the mouse moves the cursor on the workstation screen. Experiment with the mouse until you feel confident that you can use the mouse to point to a number of items on the screen. Note that, as on a PC, the left, middle, and right buttons are defined with the mouse-connecting wire pointing away from you. Also notice how the cursor changes shape as it moves in and out of windows.

You will use the mouse in various ways, as defined below:

Left-clicking -- Rapidly pressing and releasing the left mouse button

Double-clicking -- Rapidly pressing and releasing the left mouse button twice

Dragging -- Holding down the left mouse button while moving the mouse. As you will see in subsequent sessions, you will find this useful when manipulating windows.

Some UNIX Workstation Basics Fall 2001

The Three Buttons on a UNIX Workstation Mouse

Opening the printerchooser Window

Start printerchooser by left-clicking once on the printerchooser: View and select printers option in the RCS Applications menu. It might take a while to open, so please be patient and only click this option once; otherwise you will end up with multiple versions of the same application. Using printerchooser is explained earlier in the "Choosing a Printer and Printing Using UNIX Commands" section of this document.

Opening a UNIX Window

Open a UNIX window by left-clicking on the UNIX: Start a UNIX Window option in the RCS Applications menu. You will enter UNIX commands in this window.

The top of the window is called the titlebar, which contains the name of the workstation.

Resizing a Window

To resize a window, move the cursor to the edge of the window; notice that it changes its shape. You can make the window larger or smaller by pressing and holding the left mouse button as you drag the mouse.

To change the window size in two directions at once, move the cursor to a corner (rather than an edge) and press and hold down the left mouse button as you drag the mouse.

Try using these techniques to resize one of the windows on your screen several times.


101

Moving Windows

To move a window, put the cursor anywhere in the window's titlebar, then hold down the left mouse button and drag the window to its new location.

Try using the above technique to move one of the windows (for example, the UNIX or printerchooser window) to a new location on the screen. Move the windows several times, to different locations, for practice.

Moving Windows in Front of or Behind Other Windows

Since you can have many windows open simultaneously on your screen, you will often need to move windows in front of or behind other windows in order to type in the appropriate window.

Using each of the following methods, try to bring a window to the top of a pile of windows on the screen. You should have at least three windows open - for example, the RCS Applications menu window, the printerchooser window, and a UNIX window. You might have to move the windows around a bit to overlap them.

First, try left-clicking in the titlebar of a window to bring that window to the top. Then, middle-click in the same titlebar to move that window to the bottom of the stack and bring all the other windows up one level. You can cycle through the windows several times this way.

Using Scroll Bars to View the Entire Contents of a Window

Some windows have scroll bars along the left or right side and/or the bottom. These bars allow you to view other parts of the contents of a window, when the entire contents will not fit in a single window. Unfortunately, scroll-bar style is not standardized, so you have to play with each package to see how the scroll bars for that package work.

You will use scroll bars in this handout when you learn how to use RPInfo. Use the left mouse button to click on the top and bottom arrows in the scroll bars. Also, try clicking in the empty space between the arrows, and on the filled-in rectangle in the scroll bar, called the scroll bubble or slider. Notice how these procedures differ.


102

103

Glossary of Acronyms and Terms

ARC -- Academic and Research Computing

CII -- Center for Industrial Innovation **

DotCIO -- Division of the Chief Information Officer

DHCP -- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DNS -- Domain Name Server

IP Address -- A unique set of numbers set to specify your PC's connection to the Internet

JEC -- Jonsson Engineering Center

NIC -- Numerically Intensive Computing

RCR -- Rensselaer Computer Repair

RCS -- Rensselaer Computing System

RPInfo -- Rensselaer's campus-wide information system

SIS -- Student Information System

VCC -- Voorhees Computing Center

WINS -- Windows Internet Name Service

WWW -- World Wide Web

Z-Mail -- Electronic mail program on the UNIX platform

** Please note that the CII may also be referred to as the Low Building.


104

Useful URLs, Links, E-Mail Addresses, and Phone Numbers

Academic and Research Computing Homepage


Account Information

Click on the Accounts link from the Academic and Research Computing homepage.

Ext. 7777

Architecture Library Information

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/architecture/

Ext. 6465

Campus Computer Store


Ext. 8152

Class Reserve Information


Computing Ethics Information

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing /Ethics/ethics.html

Computer Equipment Repair

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/cis/rcr/RPInfo/

[email protected]

Ext. 8178

Computer Lab Hours (Regular)

Useful URLs, Links, E-Mail Addresses, and Phone Numbers Fall 2001

mailto:[email protected]:

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/cis/rcr/RPInfo/

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Ethics/ethics.html



http://www.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/architecture/

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Consulting/Accounts/Accounts.html


Click on the PC Labs/Software link from the Academic and Research homepage.

Computer Lab Hours (Special)

Click on the PC Labs/Software link from the Academic and Research homepage, then select the special hours link from the resulting page.

Consulting

[email protected]

Ext. 7777

Dial-In Modem Number

Up to 56K bps 244-1500 (off-campus only)

Documentation

Click on the Documentation link from the Academic and Research homepage.

E-Mail Help and Information

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Consulting/Email/pm.html

[email protected]

Ext. 8281

Folsom Library Information

http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/LibInfo.html

General Campus (non-computer-related) Repairs

[email protected]

Introductory Information for New Students

Click on the Information for New Users link from the Academic and Research homepage.

IP Address Requests and Related Issues


105

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Intro/welcome.html


http://www.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/LibInfo.html


http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Consulting/Email/pm.html



http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Labs_maps/Hours/Hours.html


[email protected]

Kiosk Newsletter Subscription Requests

[email protected]

Laptop-Related Information (Academic and Research Computing)

http://www.rpi.edu/cis/laptops

Libraries' Homepage (RensSearch)


Library PIN and UnCover Password Help and Information

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/information/policies/pins.html

PC Labs and Available Software Listings

Click on the PC Labs/Software link from the Academic and Research homepage.

Printing Information

http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Consulting/Printing/printing.html

RPInfo Assistance

[email protected]

Telecommunications Inquiries


[email protected]

Ext. 6258


106




http://www.rpi.edu/Computing/Consulting/Printing/printing.html


http://www.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/information/policies/pins.html


http://www.rpi.edu/cis/laptops



107

Index

Academic and Research Computing, 77Account statistics, checking. See RCS User

Account Statistics ProgramActive Window. See Basic TermsAdapter Address

Obtaining, 11Adobe Acrobat Reader, 12Applications/Programs

Closing, 33Starting, 32Switching between, 32

Backing Up Your Critical Files, 29Basic Terms, 12Battery indicator. See System Status IndicatorsBattery pack

Conditioning, charging, and increasing life of, 26

Description of. See Hardware FeaturesBattery, charging tips, 27Battery-pack latches. See Hardware FeaturesBay latch. See Hardware FeaturesBookmarks. See RPInfo: Working with

bookmarksBuilt-in stereo speakers. See Hardware FeaturesCampus Computer Store, 76Caps lock indicator. See System Status IndicatorsChanging Your Password, 86Close Button. See Basic TermsComputer classrooms

Software available, 76Computer labs

Hours, 76Computing Rights and Responsibilities, 52Control Menu Box. See Basic TermsCopyright Law Highlights and Fair Use

Guidelines, 54Customizing Your Desktop, 20Desktop. See Basic TermsDesktop Features, 14Desktop Icons, Identifying, 16DHCP. See Dynamic Host Configuration

ProtocolDial-up access, 84Disk space

default quota, 87requesting additional, 87

Docking connector. See Hardware Features

Double-clickingDescription of, 93

DraggingDescription of, 93

Drive in Use indicator. See System Status Indicators

Dual inline memory module. See Hardware Features

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), 83

Eject button. See Hardware FeaturesElectronic mail

E-mail address, description of, 54Finding others' addresses, 54Using various programs, 54

Ethernet CardBus Adapter option, 11Ethernet connector. See Hardware FeaturesExternal monitor connector. See Hardware

FeaturesExternal-input-device connector. See Hardware

FeaturesEZ-Snapshot Backup Service, 12. Also See

Backing Up Your Critical FilesFile extensions, displaying complete, 32File sharing

Enabling file and print sharing, 65Protecting shares, 65Share level, 64User level, 64

File sharing between PCsBackground information, 64

Glossary of Acronyms and Terms, 96Hard disk drive. See Hardware FeaturesHardware Features, 4

Battery pack, 8Battery pack latches, 8Bay latch, 4Built-in stereo speakers, 8Docking connector, 8Dual inline memory module, 8Eject button, 5Ethernet connector, 7External monitor connector, 7External-input-device connector, 8Hard disk drive, 9Infrared port, 9LCD latches, 9Microphone jack, 9Mini PCI card slot, 8

Index Fall 2001

Modem connector, 7Parallel connector, 7PC card eject button, 9PC card slots, 9Power jack, 7Power switch, 4Security keyhole, 7Serial connector, 7Stereo headphone jack, 9Stereo line-in jack, 9System status indicators, 4ThinkPad button, 5TrackPoint button, 5TrackPoint pointing stick, 5Ultrabay 2000 device, 5Universal serial bus (USB) connector, 8video-out connector, 7Volume and mute buttons, 5

Help and additional informationDocumentation, 47Help Desk locations, 47Kiosk, The, 48rpi.computing.news usenet newsgroup,

49RPInfo, 48Short courses, 48ThinkPad button, 47

Hibernation mode, 27Image, restoring on laptop, 30Infrared port. See Hardware FeaturesInternet Explorer. See Web BrowsersIP Addresses, 84

Requesting static, 84Keyboard

Shortcuts, 21Kiosk, The, 48LabVIEW, 11Laptop

Care of, 23Disk drive, description of, 12Getting repairs, 25Physically securing, 24Powering off, 23Powering on, 10Setting up, 9What to do if stolen, 26

Laptop classroomsList of locations, 76

LCD latches. See Hardware FeaturesLeft-clicking

Description of, 93Library, 79

Class reserves, 79Information, Reference, and Research

Assistance, Folsom, 79Public access workstations, 80RensSearch, 79Survival guide, 80

Library Seminars and Workshops, 80

Long-distance calling authorization codes. See Telecommunications

man pages, 92man UNIX command, 92Managing Your RCS Account, 86MapInfo, 12Maple

Description of, 11Documentation and additional help, 34Quitting, 34Sample commands, 33Starting, 33

Mapping a network drive, 63Materials to Keep, 3Maximize button. See Basic TermsMenu bar. See Basic TermsMicrophone jack. See Hardware FeaturesMicrosoft Excel

Creating charts, 41Creating worksheets, 40Entering data, 40Entering formulas, 41Getting help, 40Quitting, 41Starting, 39

Microsoft PowerPointSlide Sorter View, 38Slide Sorter View, 38

Creating a new presentation, 37Inserting clip art, 38Normal View, 37Quitting, 39Starting, 37

Microsoft Visual C++, 11Microsoft Word

Creating a document, 35Entering text, 35Getting help, 35Quitting, 36Saving your work, 36Starting, 34

Mini PCI card slot. See Hardware FeaturesMinimize button. See Basic TermsModem connector. See Hardware FeaturesNetBIOS

Names, 84Netscape. See Web BrowsersNetscape Mail

Configuring, 55Network cable

Connecting, 9Network Printer

Installing on PC, 71Networking

ResNET, 83Newsletter. See Help and additional information,

Kiosk, TheNormal View. See Microsoft PowerPoint

Index Fall 2001

108

Norton AntiVirus package. See Viruses: Protecting against

Norton Anti-Virus packagedescription of, 12updating, 28

Num lock indicator. See System Status IndicatorsOutlook Mail

Configuring, 57pagestatus UNIX command, 88Parallel connector. See Hardware Featurespasswd UNIX command, 86Password, changing

RCS, 50Windows, 51

Paths. See UNIX: PathsPC card eject button. See Hardware FeaturesPC card slots. See Hardware FeaturesPlotters

PostScript, 68Power cord

Connecting, 9Power jack. See Hardware FeaturesPower on indicator. See System Status IndicatorsPower switch. See Hardware FeaturesPPP Adapter, 11Pre-paid calling cards. See TelecommunicationsPrinter driver

Installing, 72Printers

Color, 67Installing network printer on PC, 71Naming conventions, 68Public, 67Types and forms, 68VCC print room, 67

Printing, 87Allocation and pagestatus, 69Checking allocation, 88From a UNIX application, 87From public PCs, authenticating yourself

for, 70From public PCs, checking the print

queue, 70From public PCs, from an application, 70Refund policy information, 69Using the Printerchooser, 87Using UNIX commands, 88

private directory. See UNIX: File accessPublic Access Workstations

Library, 80public directory. See UNIX: File accesspublic_html directory. See UNIX: File accessRCS

Accessing from a Windows NT machine, 62

Accessing from a Windows NT or Windows 2000 machine, 62

Account, description of, 50

Account, prohibited uses, 53Account, responsible uses, 52Password, choosing and changing, 50Sharing files across, 64

RCS User Account Statistics Program, 69Rensselaer Computer Repair, 77Rensselaer Computing Systrem. See RCSResNET. See NetworkingRestore button. See Basic TermsRPInfo

Working with bookmarks, 45sambasrv, 64Scanning and Digital Video Capabilities, 81Scroll Bars

Using to view entire contents of a window, 21

Scroll lock indicator. See System Status Indicators

Scrolling. See Basic TermsSecureCRT

Description of, 11, 42Getting help, 42Obtaining, 42Quitting, 43Sample session, 42

Security keyhole. See Hardware FeaturesSerial connector. See Hardware FeaturesSIS. See Student Information SystemSlide Show View. See Microsoft PowerPointSlide Sorter View. See Microsoft PowerPointSoftware

Accessing patches and drivers, 29Included, description of, 11Installing, 23Uninstalling, 23

SolidWorks, 12Sound

Adjusting, 22Standby indicator. See System Status indicatorsStart Button, 14Stereo headphone jack. See Hardware FeaturesStereo line-in jack. See Hardware FeaturesStudent Information System

Accessing from RPInfo, 61Safeguarding information, 61Uses of, 61

Suspend mode, 27System status indicators. See Hardware FeaturesSystem Status Indicators, 5

Battery indicator, 6Caps lock indicator, 6Device Access indicator, 6Numeric lock indicator, 6Power on indicator, 6Scroll lock indicator, 6Standby indicator, 6Ultrabay indicator, 6

Task bar. See Basic Terms

Index Fall 2001

109

Telecommunications, 77Business hours, 79Long distance calling authorization

codes, 78Pre-paid calling cards, 78Telephones and related equipment, 77Voice mail, 78

Telephones and related equipment. See Telecommunications

ThinkLight feature, 5ThinkPad button, 16. Also See Hardware

FeaturesTile. See Basic TermsTitle Bar. See Basic TermsTrackPoint and Buttons

Use of, 15TrackPoint buttons. See Hardware FeaturesTrackPoint pointing stick. See Hardware

FeaturesUltrabay 2000 device. See Hardware FeaturesUltrabay indicator. See System Status IndicatorsUniversal serial bus (USB) connector. See

Hardware FeaturesUNIX

Commands affecting directories, 91Commands affecting files, 91Communicating with, 86Establishing a session, 85File access, private directory, 89File access, public directory, 89File access, public_html directory, 89File access, yesterday directory, 89Files and directories, 89Getting more help and information, 92Paths, 90Sample home tree directory, 89

UNIX Workstation BasicsLogging in, 93Moving a window in front of or behind

another, 95Moving windows, 94Opening a UNIX window, 94Opening the printerchooser window, 94Resizing a window, 94Using scroll bars to view entire contents

of a window, 95Using the mouse, 93

Useful URLs, Links, E-Mail Addresses, and Phone Numbers, 97

video-out connector. See Hardware FeaturesViewing Your Presentation, 39Viruses, protecting aginst. See Norton Anti-Virus

packageVoice mail. See TelecommunicationsVolume and mute buttons. See Hardware

FeaturesWallpaper/Background. See Basic TermsWarranty information, 25Web browsers

Additional tools, 45Getting help, 45Quitting, 46Starting, 44Viewing web pages, 44

WebCT (Web CourseTools)Description of, 61

Window. See Basic TermsWindows

Moving and resizing, 20Moving one in front of another, 21

yesterday directory. See UNIX: File accessZIP Drives. See Backing Up Your Critical Files

Index Fall 2001

110

Index Fall 2001

111