Computer display turned sideways

If you happen to run into a display that has been turned sideways, there is an easy fix. Press CTRL & ALT & F12. This will bring up the properties, where you can uncheck the "Enable Rotation" box.

Saving a jpg on the horseshoe scanner

Once the image is scanned into Photoshop,
Go to the file menu and choose “save for web” (not “save” or “save as”)
You can then save the item as a .jpg or a .gif
When naming the job, be sure to manually add the .jpg or .gif extension

Document recovery on horseshoe computers

If a student inadvertently saves a file from their email by accident (the file is saved to a hidden temp file rather than the standard D:\temp), which happens if they click "open" rather than "save", there is a tricky way to recover the file without logging in as administrator.

On the student's computer, logged in with the students Netid (don't log off or restart the computer or resave the message), and perform the following:

1) Open Word (or Excel, or Powerpoint, depending on the file they are trying to recover), and select OPEN from the FILE menu option.

2) In the file name box, type in this entire route to the temporary internet files directory (also known as the 'path'):
C:\documents and settings\netid\local settings\temporary internet files\

NOTE: if you don't see the file here, try leaving off the "temporary internet files" section and just go to:
C:\documents and settings\netid\local settings\

3) The file listing area should now display files from the Internet cache. Browse for the file and open it.

Please note that the path is not case sensitive, but you do need to be sure to put the spaces in the directory names for it to work. You must also put the entire path in, and not just part of it. The directories are hidden and may not display otherwise.

A card is available at reference on the ROLODEX filed under "document recovery".

Paying Online Tuition

If a student gets the message “page not found” when trying to pay his tuition online with a debit card, there could be two possibilities:

1. The page is down – Steve Allen in Tampa is responsible for this page (974-8803). The student may call and see if there are any system problems.

2. Some debit cards have a limit on how much you can pay at one time, and tuition is possibly over that limit. The student will have to verify their debit card limitations, if any.

According to a big sign up by the Cashier's office, students using "Bank cards" must use this online system. Do not know if "bank cards" applies to credit cards as well but debit cards are definite.

Adobe reader email function

Question: Is it possible to change Adobe Reader (on the student computers) to automatically allow email?

Response: The Adobe email function requires that the person using the machine have it set up with their *personal* email information so that it can send the message. In a public environment, this is not possible. The machines are set up with a generic profile, with all of the settings locked down so that email cannot be personally configured. If it were otherwise, one person could then send email as another which would lead to chaos and lawsuits.

I fight with this concept continually, as large companies assume correctly that 95% of computers are set up properly for individual use- and they cater to this configuration. They rarely allow these confusing options to be disabled or removed for public use computing.

Running textbook CDROMs or other external software products

Question: A CD-ROM text/product for a Chemistry class (“Bridging to the Lab”) does not work on our PCs. (When you click on the .exe file, it comes up with an error message about the shortcut being moved). I tried but then explained to the 2 students that we don’t support outside software/applications/products, etc. and suggested the computing center. Is this correct? (The one student said that at her home it just opens automatically in flash).


Response: We have had problems with students trying to install software, and we do not allow it in an uncontrolled manner as running rogue EXE files can introduce viruses and cause multiple problems. Let them know that to install the software on our machines would likely be against their software license for their book. Even if it is flash based, likely it has to install support files onto our computers.

The campus computing labs have a relationship with and support the faculty so that software packages that are properly licensed and are properly licensed for installation on the machines. We do not have the staff for this type of effort, nor is it our role. We try to meet about 80% of what users need with general applications, with emphasis on library support applications.

Running CDs or DVDs on horsehoe computers

Problem:

A student has a text book companion disk (DVD) that she said runs from the disk without loading files to the computer. However, it doesn’t work that way on our computers. You get the software restrictions message. I viewed some of the files on the disk and noticed that many have .exe extensions. She was able to run it in the computer lab.

Berrie's response:
Unfortunately we don’t allow students to run software from our computers, even if it is from an external drive. The reason is that malware, viruses, as well as Instant Messenger clients, etc can be run from that location. We have had a rash of these types of threats lately, so the risk is very real. If the prof can get a site license for the software we might be able to add it to our next cloning operation, but it is better run from the Computing labs.

Give me a call if you want me to go over the differences between us and CCS labs, as to why they are able to run exe programs there.