Contents
What is a Mac OS X Workstation?
This document introduces you to using the University's Macintosh (Mac)
OS X workstations in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Computer
Labs. It covers basic concepts
and a few more advanced features on the Mac.
Macs can be used to run software stored on the hard drive. The Macs
connect to the Internet via a high-speed Ethernet connection.
Printed copy can be sent to a high-speed printer located in each lab,
For more information about printing see,
Pay-for-Print Documentation.
Note: Access to the OIT Computer Labs at the University is
limited. You must
have a valid University ID to use the labs.
Where Can I Find One?
Where to Go to Use a
Computer, lists the hours and room numbers of the workstation labs at
the University.
OIT Computer Labs supporting Macs:
- Computer Space Science building - room 3332 Note: Access to
this lab is not allowed during instructional periods - see the
posted schedule for instructional and lab hours.
- McKeldin Library - room 1137
- Parking Garage 2 - room 0504
- Worcester Hall - room 0111
What Can I Do on the Mac?
The OS X Macs in the OIT Computer Labs run MAC OS X 10.5. The application
software available on the Macs includes, but is
not limited to: Adobe CS3, Fetch, Final Cut Pro, Firefox, Mathematica
5.2, MATLAB,
Office 2008, and Safari.
The Dock, located at the bottom of the Desktop, is a shortcut
for
launching applications on
the hard
drive.
Logging In
When you approach the Macintosh, you will see the Mac OS X
window. Type
your Directory ID at the Name: field. Type your Directory ID
password at the
Password: field. Click the Log In icon to begin using the
workstation. A bar with icons will appear at the bottom of the screen. This
is the Dock; it is used for launching commonly used applications. Other
applications may be launched by opening the Applications folder.
To open the Applications folder select Applications from
the Go menu.
Help and Information
Help can often be found in the Help menu, near the right
side of the menu bar. Most
software programs also add help options to the Help menu.
It's the first place to look for
help in any application
you're using.
Starting an Application
To open an application which has a shortcut on the Dock,
place
the mouse pointer on the icon of the
application on the
Dock and click the mouse button once. Other applications
which do not have a shortcut in the
Dock may be launched by double clicking the corresponding
icon in
the Applications folder in the Finder. Once the application
has started up, you will see a small triangle below the icon
on the Dock.
When starting some applications a blank window appears with
the word Untitled in its title bar (top of window). You can
use this window to begin your
work immediately if you are starting a new file.
To retrieve an existing file, choose Open from the
File menu. A dialog
box will open to locate and open your file. If
you do not see your file, use
this dialog box to navigate to your disk. To do this, select the
folder of your choice from the list
on the left-hand side of the window. Files that are saved to the
folder appear on the
right-hand side of the window. Select the file you wish to open
from the list and click
Open. This should open your file in the appropriate
application.
At times, applications may stop responding. If this
occurs you may have to force the application to
quit. To force quit an application, click
on the Apple Menu in the upper left hand corner
of the screen and select Force Quit. A window
appears with a list of applications currently running appears.
Select the name of the application you wish to quit and then
click the Force Quit button. You will be prompted
to confirm your selection.
Note: You may also force quit applications by pressing the
Command, Option, and Esc keys simultaneously.
Saving a Document
It is wise to save your work frequently during your computing
session. If the machine
malfunctions, the power supply is interrupted, or an error occurs
in the software itself, you
will lose any work that has not been saved. It is recommended that
you save your work on other
media. The Mac OS X computers in the OIT Computer Labs are
equipped with
CD-R/DVD burners which you
could use to save data.
Another way to save files is to use the storage area in your
TerpConnect account. You will see a folder on the Desktop labeled
My Documents.
Anything saved in the My Documents folder is saved to your
TerpConnect
account
and is accessible from any OIT Computer Lab workstation. Note:
Any work saved anywhere else (Desktop)
will be deleted once you logout.
To save your work in a new document, choose Save as...
from the File menu. A dialog box will open; type a name for the
file in the
Save As: field. Use the Where:
pull-down menu to choose where you wish to save your file. You
may also select where to save files from the list on the left hand
side of the window. Make your selection and then click the Save
button. You can then continue work
on that document, open a new or different document, or quit the
application.
To save an existing file, select the Save from the
File
menu.
To make a new (backup) copy of your document, use Save
as... and give the file a different name. You will then have two
identical copies of your
work saved with two different names. Each time you finish working
on a document for that session, you
should be sure to save both the copy you are working on and use
Save as... to save a
backup.
Deleting Files with Finder
To delete a file or folder, drag the folder/file icon to the
Trash. Then select the Empty Trash command from the
Finder menu.
CAUTION: This operation cannot be undone.
Connecting to a Host Computer
To connect to a host computer, such as TerpConnect, click once
on the Finder
icon. A window appears, click once
on the Applications icon at the top of the window.
Double-click the Utilities folder. In the Utilities folder
you will find two applications that will allow you to make connections to
TerpConnect: Terminal and X11. Terminal is
best for running text-only applications such as pine, vi, emacs, or pico.
X11 is best for running applications that use an X environment with
a graphical interface, such as Eclipse, Mathematica, Matlab, or SAS.
To begin using Terminal with SSH:
- Double-click the Terminal icon to launch the application.
- A Terminal window will appear with a command prompt.
- At the prompt, type in ssh your-login-name@terpconnect.umd.edu
and press Return.
- You will be prompted to type in your Directory password.
- Once you successfully login, a TerpConnect command prompt will
appear and will be ready to launch text-only applications.
To begin using X11 with SSH:
- Double-click the X11 icon to launch the application.
- An X11 window will appear with a command prompt.
- At the prompt, type in xhost +terpconnect.umd.edu and press
Return.
- At the prompt, type in ssh -X
your-login-name@terpconnect.umd.edu and press Return.
- You will be prompted to type in your Directory password.
- Once you successfully login, a TerpConnect command prompt will appear
and you will be ready to launch graphical applications.
Note: For more information on using X Windows applications,
see:
http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/documents/4/4637/.
Finishing Your Work
To log out, click once on the Log Out icon on the Desktop.
Warning: Any files not saved to the My Documents folder
on the Desktop will be deleted once you logout.
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