Archive for July, 2011

Using the Omnidox PDF solution,you would: 

1 – Go to https://www.omnidox.co.uk/ImperialCollege/Live/

2 – Use the username and password provided for the specific needs (invoices, receipts, etc…)

3 – If the PDF does not display, but instead the following default icon is only displayed then follow the steps below. Otherwise, if the IE information bar appears, follow the steps at the bottom of this FAQ.

Then go Adobe Acrobat Reader (Start → Programs → Adobe Reader X

Change the following setting: (go to Edit → Preferences

Click on the “Internet” category, and ensure that the “Web Browser Options – Display PDF in browser” is set (ticked)

Click OK. Then try again, the PDF will now display properly:

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If you get the Internet Explorer Information Bar appearing when clicking for the PDF, follow these steps:

Click on the bar, then click download file and the PDF will open in Adobe Acrobat Reader X.

You can turn off this message,  but we don’t recommend it. If you do want to turn it off, you have to turn it off for each type of message.

To stop the information bar from blocking file and software downloads

1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.
2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
3. Click the Security tab, and then click Custom level.
4. Do one or both of the following:
   1. To turn off the Information bar for ActiveX controls, scroll to the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section of the list, and then, under Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls, click Enable.
   2. To turn off the Information bar for file downloads, scroll to the Downloads section of the list, and then, under Automatic prompting for file downloads, click Enable.
   3. Click OK, click Yes to confirm that you want to make the change, and then click OK again.

Some people have reported problems printing when using Adobe Reader X and the library application, “File Open”. If this happens to be you, try going to the Edit menu and following the instructions below.

From Edit, go to Preferences>General and uncheck “Enable protected mode at startup”. It should then be possible to print your document.

IMPORTANT! Once you’ve finished printing, you MUST go back and re-check “Enable protected mode at startup”, as this feature gives you extra security protection and protection against some viruses.

When trying to view files on Blackboard using Adobe Reader X, some files may open but display as a blank, grey space.

To fix this, open Adobe Reader, go to Edit > Preferences > Internet and untick “Display PDF in Browser”. Then close down Adobe Reader and restart it for the new setting to take effect.

When you try to open the file again, a new window should open with all the content displayed.

The guest access system provides an easy way to give temporary visitors to Imperial access to the college wireless  network and to IC computers. Guest accounts are intended for temporary access, so do not have an associated email account nor home directory.

Please see the following FAQ entries regarding guest accounts:

Creating a guest account

Creating a conference account (multiple guests)

Accessing a guest account

Please note: This entry refers to standard guest accounts, for conference accounts (multiple guests), please see this FAQ entry for conference accounts.

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By default, all college members registered as staff are able to request guest accounts.

Guest accounts are created via the online guest access system:

https://guestaccess.imperial.ac.uk/Registration/

To create a new guest account please follow these steps:

1. Click on Guest Administration Page
2. Your details should be filled in automatically, so click Proceed
3. Enter the ‘Unique ID prefix’. This can be anything you like, as it will provide you with a way to identify the account.
4. Select the expiry date of the account using the calendar.
5. Click Proceed
6. You will be shown the guest account details. Note down the Unique ID (Clicking Email Details will send a copy of the account details to your email address).
7. When your guest arrives on campus, they can obtain a username and password using the unique ID which you have generated. Instructions for doing this can be found in this FAQ entry (also found below).

Obtaining a guest username and password using your unique ID:

1. Go to https://guestaccess.imperial.ac.uk/GuestLogin/GuestLogin.aspx
2. Enter the Unique ID and click Proceed
3. Enter the guest’s details and click Proceed
4. Enter a question and answer that can be used for recovering the account password, and click Proceed.
5. You will be provided with the guest account login details. Please make a note of these (Clicking Email Details will send a copy of the account details to the guest’s specified email address).

Further detailed instructions of the guest account creation process can be found on the guest access page of the main ICT website.

Normally the guest access system permits one guest per “sponsor” but multiple guest accounts can also be created for situations such as training courses or conferences.

Please note: Access to the conference section of the guest access service is restricted.

If you are unable to see Conference Administration Page when logging into the guest access system, you will need to contact the conference office, or your departmental administrator (listed on the departmental contacts webpage) as they will have to request the conference account for you.

If you have access to the Conference Administration Page you can create a conference account by following these steps:

1. Go to https://guestaccess.imperial.ac.uk/Registration/
2. Click on Conference Administration Page
3. Your details should be filled in automatically, so click Proceed
4. You will be presented with a series of options to personalise the front page of your conference (the login page that will be accessed by guests). Fill these in as appropriate.
5. Select the start date and end date of the event using the calendars at the bottom of the page, and click Proceed
6. You will be shown the conference account details. Note down these details. (Clicking Email Details will send a copy of the account details to your email address).

Using these details, you can log an Imperial computer in ‘Kiosk mode’. This is a mechanism to allow guests to register without leaving a computer logged in with your personal account.

Further detailed instructions for using the guest access system to create conference accounts can be found on the guest access webpage.

Before you can get your guest username and password, you need to have a ‘Unique ID’ (This is usually provided by the person co-ordinating your visit to College).

Obtaining a guest username and password using your unique ID:

1. Go to https://guestaccess.imperial.ac.uk/GuestLogin/GuestLogin.aspx
2. Enter the Unique ID and click Proceed
3. Enter your personal details and click Proceed
4. Enter a question and answer that can be used for recovering the account password, and click Proceed.
5. You will be provided with the guest account login details. Please make a note of these (Clicking Email Details will send a copy of the account details to your specified email address).

You will then be able to use the login details to access college computers, and connect to the Imperial wireless network (not Imperial WPA).

If you lose the password for your guest account it can be retrieved via the guest password recovery page.

College uses standard builds of operating systems to deploy and support machines more efficiently. The default Windows build is Windows 7 64 bit, which is being installed extensively on new machines. We standardised on the 64-bit version to ensure future-proofing.

The current approach is to install Windows 7 on all new machines, or any that might require reinstallation as part of support activity (e.g. if a machine is infected with a virus that cannot be easily removed). The approach will change to one of proactive upgrade of any remaining XP machines when this approaches the end of its support by Microsoft (currently April 2014).

A small number of key business applications in use within College have been identified as being incompatible or unsupported on Windows 7. Current policy is to install Windows XP users of any of the following:

Henceforth, ICT would discourage departments from purchasing any software which is not supported on Windows 7 64 bit.

Please note that College licencing agreements require that our build is only installed on College owned machines.