Basic computer vocabulary

Apple terminology

Telnet instructions

Your account on math.buffalostate.edu

Your account on buffalostate.edu

Pine and email

Using the Chooser to get to math

Working with Mathematica

Handing in your work electronically

Troubleshooting: When things go wrong

More about pine

Additional notes

Part I. Parts of the screen

·

The desktop is the background of the screen. Typically, the desktop is the part that is grey, blue, green, or part of a background picture.

·

An icon is a graphical symbol that represents a file or a folder .

·

A file contains specific content (often typed at the keyboard) that can be displayed in a window. Mathematica notebooks are examples of files.

·

A folder is a ``container'' for files and (other) folders. The icon for a folder looks like a manila folder.

·

A window is a part of the screen that has boundaries and a title bar at the top. Windows may display the contents of files or folders. The contents of a folder are typically displayed as an array of icons.

·

The cursor means two things:

1.

The arrow that is controlled by the mouse. This cursor can change shapes when moved into certain types of windows or when the computer is busy doing something.

2.

A flashing line or box inside the active window that tells the user where typed information will appear. The typing cursor can be repositioned by clicking the mouse, but it is not in moved by the mouse as long as the window is active. In Mathematica the window's typing cursor may also be a straight horizontal line.

Clicks

·

To click the mouse quickly press and release the mouse button.

·

Two quick clicks in a row are called a double click .

·

Single clicks are used to

press buttons in windows and panels;

bring the window you want to work in to the ``front'' of the desktop;

select a single item (file, folder, ``cell'') for an operation (copy, paste, move, delete);

put the cursor in the desired place in the ``front'' window.

·

Double clicks are used to

open a folder icon;

launch an application;

open a file and simultaneously launch the application that created it.

·

To press the mouse press the mouse button down and hold it down.

·

Presses are used to read so-called pull down menus .

·

To drag the mouse

press the mouse button down at the start location and hold it down;

move the mouse while holding the button down;

release the mouse button when the cursor is in the new location.

·

Drags are used to

select an item from a pull-down menu;

select multiple items (files, folders, ``cells'') for a single operation (copy, paste, move, delete);

select text inside the ``front'' window;

move icons (files or folders) from one folder to another.

·

To turn the computer on:

1.

Press any key and see if the monitor comes to life. If it doesn't, continue to step 2.

2.

Press the power button on the upper right corner of the keyboard. (The power button has a little triangle pointing to the left on it and lies above the numeric keys.)

·

A pull down menu is a list of operations that you can do by selecting an item from the menu. To pull down the menu

1.

place the cursor on top of the menu name;

2.

press and hold the mouse button down (you should see the menu);

3.

drag the mouse down to select an item or make the menu disappear by releasing the mouse.

·

The main menu is made up of the words and icons located at the top of the screen. Each word is the top of a pull down menu. When you change (or start) applications, the main menu will change.

·

The Apple Menu is the pull down menu located under the apple in the top left corner of the screen.

·

A submenu may appear on a pull down menu. Submenus will have a black triangle pointing to the right on them. To see the options on a submenu, slide the mouse over while continuing to hold the mouse button down.

·

The active application's icon appears in the upper right corner of the screen. This icon is actually a pull-down menu of all the applications that are currently running. Selecting an icon changes the active application.

·

The front or active window is the window in which you can work. If you type input, it goes into the front window. Front windows have title bars with little ridges on them; inactive (or back) windows have plain ones.

·

To bring a window to the front , place the mouse cursor in the window and click once. Bringing a window to the front may cause the main menu and the active application icon to change.

·

The Finder is the Macintosh software that controls the desktop. When the active window displays the contents of a folder, the active application is the Finder. The Finder's pull down menus allow you to duplicate files, empty the trash, and shutdown the computer among other things. The Finder's icon looks a bit like a blank monitor.

·

To temporarily delete a file or folder, drag its icon to the trashcan .

·

To permanently delete files and folders that have been moved to the trash, use the ``Special'' pull down menu on the Finder's main menu:

1.

Click anywhere on the desktop away from open windows and icons to make the Finder active.

2.

Use the mouse to pull down the ``Special'' menu and drag the mouse to ``Empty Trash ...'' and let the mouse button go.

You may get a warning about locked files in the trash. Ignore it.

·

To duplicate or copy a file use the ``File'' pull down menu on the Finder's main menu:

1.

Click anywhere on the desktop away from open windows and icons to make the Finder active.

2.

Select the file by clicking once on its icon.

3.

Use the mouse to pull down the ``File'' menu and drag the mouse to ``Duplicate'' and let the mouse button go.

4.

The new, duplicated file's icon will appear. There will be a box around its name, and if you want to rename the file type the new name in the box and hit return.

·

To turn the computer off :

1.

Quit all the applications you started. This is typically done by using the application's ``File'' menu. (See Working with Mathematica for an example.)

2.

Pull down the ``Special'' menu on Finder's main menu.

3.

Drag the mouse down to select ``Shut Down'' and release the mouse. The computer will turn itself off.

To login using telnet

1.

Pull down the apple menu and select NCSA Telnet or buffalostate. (See Apple terminology and/or Basic computer vocabulary if you don't know what to do here.)

2.

You may briefly see a panel that says, ``NCSA Telnet''. The main menu will change . The ``NCSA Telnet'' panel won't appear if telnet is already running on your computer. So look for the change in the main menu and active icon. Pull down the ``File'' menu and select ``Open Connection ...'' A panel will appear.

3.

Use the mouse to select the text in the ``Host/Session Name'' box of the panel. Type in the name of the computer you want to login to. (Typically buffalostate.edu or math.buffalostate.edu for this class.) Then press the ``Connect'' button. (You can do this by using the mouse to click on the button OR by hitting the return key.)

4.

A login screen for the computer you're connecting to should appear. Login using the normal procedure for that computer. (Your account on math.buffalostate.edu and Your account on buffalostate.edu contain the details for each computer.)

Using telnet

·

You may have more than one connection at a time. If you want to login to both math and buffalostate at the same time, simply pull down the ``File'' menu and select ``Open Connection ...'' while you are logged into one computer and use the new connection panel to connect to the second computer.

·

If the delete or backspace key does not work in a particular telnet window, pull down the ``Session'' menu and pick between ``Backspace'' and ``Delete''. The current choice has a checkmark by it. If it doesn't work, slide the mouse to the other one, and your delete/backspace key should then be functional.

Quitting telnet

1.

Logout of the computer you're connected to by typing logout at the computer's prompt.

2.

Pull down the ``File'' menu and select ``Quit''. This action quits Telnet and frees up memory for other applications.

Choosing a password

The password software on math is set up to test passwords for security. It will not allow you to use words from the dictionary or ``easy'' patterns. Your chosen password should be 6-8 characters long and should include some NON-letter characters. Because of these constraints, you should spend a bit of time planning your new password before you attempt to change your password from the default one. (Your instructor will tell you the default password for students in your class.)

Logging onto math using telnet

1.

Start telnet (see Telnet instructions) and open a connection. In the connection panel type

math.buffalostate.edu

in the Host/Session name box and press the ``Connect'' button. A window with a login: prompt should appear on your screen.

2.

Type your user name and press enter. Math will then prompt you for your password.

To change your password

1.

At the [yourname@math]$ prompt type the word

passwd

and hit the return key. The computer should respond with:

Changing password for yourname

(current) UNIX password:

2.

Type your current (default) password and hit return. The computer will echo NOTHING (not even bullets) as you type. If you correctly typed your current password, math will respond with:

New UNIX password:

Type your new, desired password and hit return. Again, the computer will echo NOTHING (not even bullets) as you type.

3.

If your chosen password is acceptable to math, it will ask you:

Retype new UNIX password:

Retype your new, desired password. Again, the computer will echo nothing (not even bullets) back to you. If you've typed the same password twice, math will respond with:

passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully

That means you've successfully changed your password. If your two passwords don't agree, math will respond with:

Sorry, passwords do not match

New UNIX password:

And you'll be starting over in Step 2.

Logging out of math

1.

Logout of math by typing the word

logout

at the [yourname@math]$ prompt.

2.

Quit telnet. (See Telnet instructions.)

Your campus email account is on buffalostate.edu. If you have trouble with your account on buffalostate.edu, you must see the people in Computer Services over in Twin Rise. The math department cannot help you.
 

Your user name

Your user name on buffalostate.edu consists of (upto) 8 characters that follow the following pattern:

            First FOUR letters of your last name
            Your FIRST and MIDDLE initial
            The SECOND digit of your birth month
            The SECOND digit of your birth day

Here are two examples:

            Albert T. Galick's birthday is July 23.  His user name on buffalostate is GALIAT73 since July is month 07.

            Cindy Jone's birthday is Nov. 2 and she has no official middle initial.  Her user name is JONEC12 since the missing middle initial is not present and the birth day (2) is treated as 02.
 

Logging into buffalostate.edu

1.

Start telnet (see Telnet instructions) and open a connection. In the connection panel type

buffalostate.edu

in the Host/Session name box and press the ``Connect'' button. A window with a Username prompt should appear on your screen.

2.

Type your user name and press enter. Buffalostate will then prompt you for your password.

3.

Type your password and press return. The computer will echo NOTHING (not even bullets) as you type.

Initial password and changing it

If you have never logged in before, your initial password is your social security number. Once you have successfully logged in, you will be required to change your password. The system should prompt you through this procedure.

Changing your password on buffalostate.edu

Since buffalostate.edu checks the age of passwords, you will periodically have to change your password.

1.

At the $ prompt, type the words

set password

and then hit return. The machine should respond with

Old password:

2.

Type your current password and hit return. The computer will echo NOTHING. The computer will respond with:

New password:

3.

Type your new desired password and hit return. The computer will echo NOTHING. The computer should respond with:

Verification:

4.

Re-type your new desired password and hit return. The computer will echo NOTHING. If you entered your old password correctly and you typed the same new password both times, you will see another $ prompt. This means you sucessfully changed your password. If you made a mistake at any point during the process, the computer will give you an error message and your password will not be changed.

Logging off the Alpha

1.

At a $ prompt, type the word

logout

and hit return.

2.

Remember to quit telnet using the pull down menu under ``File'' on the main menu.

Buffalostate.edu has a number of email tools on it. The one that I prefer is called pine . I don't care what email tool you use, but I can only help you with pine.

Starting Pine on buffalostate.edu

1.

At a $ prompt, type

pmdf pine

and then press the return key. The space between the words ``pmdf'' and ``pine'' is important.

2.

The first time you start pine, it may ask you questions. Respond ``yes'' to all of the questions.

3.

After the questions you will see the Main Menu of Pine. It looks something like

4.

Select items from the menu by using the arrow keys. Press the return key when the one you want is highlighted. (You can also select the entry by simply typing the letter shown at the left of the item.)

Reading Mail

1.

Select FOLDER LIST from the main menu.

2.

If the INBOX folder is not highlighted, select it using the arrow keys. When it is highlighted, press the return key.

3.

You should see a list of your new email. To read a message use the arrow keys to select it and press return.

4.

A special menu appears at the bottom of the screen when you are reading a message. Use this menu page through long messages, save messages to other mailboxes, delete messages, or reply to messages.

5.

Type I when you are finished with the message to get back to the FOLDER INDEX.

If you find that you get a lot of email, you may want to make separate folders for different types of mail. Doing this is easy-when you are reading a piece of mail that you want to save use S to save the mail. You'll get a prompt asking you for a folder. If you type an existing folder name, the mail will be moved to that folder. If you type a new name, you'll get a prompt asking you if you want to create a new folder. Type Y if the answer is Yes and N if you've simply mistyped an existing folder's name. The next time you look at the FOLDER LIST the new folder will be there.

Reading Old Mail

1.

Select the FOLDER LIST on the Main Menu.

2.

Use the arrow keys to select the appropriate mailbox and press enter.

3.

Read the mail in the chosen folder in the same way you read your new mail.

1.

Select COMPOSE from the Main Menu. A message template that looks like

To:

Cc:

Attchmt:

Subject:

--Message Text--

with a bunch of blank space after the ``Message Text'' line appears.

2.

The cursor will be blinking on the To: line. Type in the address of the person you are sending the mail to. (You can make this easier by using the address book and Nicknames, both of which are discussed in a separate handout.

3.

Use the return key or the down arrow key to get from the To: field to the other fields.

4.

Fill in the Subject line since people don't like receiving email without a subject line.

5.

Hit the return to get into the Message Text area, and type in your message.

6.

Edit the message before you send it. For simple editing, use the arrow keys to move the cursor around and the delete key to get rid of incorrect text. If you move the cursor to a particular letter and start typing, the new text will appear just before that letter. Fancier editing commands are available. (See additional handout)

7.

Send the message by typing ÙX. (That is press the control key and the ``x'' key down at the same time.) Pine will ask you to confirm that you want the message sent.

When reading messages, one of the ``bottom of the screen'' menu items is R-Reply. To reply to the message

1.

Type R. Pine will ask ``Include original message in Reply?'' Answer Yes or No as appropriate. Pine may ask more questions. Answer them.

2.

Then a COMPOSE-style template comes up with both the To: field and the Subject field filled in. If you told Pine to include the message, then it appears in the Message Text window below a line that looks like

On (date) (author) wrote:

The message itself is offset with > at the start of each line.

3.

Add your message either at the top or the bottom of the included message. You can delete the parts you don't want to send, and add your message between parts of the included message. want to. The > 's at the start of each line are to help your recipient easily tell which parts belonged to the original message and which parts are from you.

4.

Send the mail by typing ÙX.

You quit pine by typing q at any place other than the Compose Template. Pine will ask if you really want to quit.

Logging in with the Chooser

1.

Use the mouse to pull down the Apple Menu at the upper left corner of the screen.

2.

Slide the mouse down to select the Chooser and let go of the mouse. A Chooser panel containing icons labeled AppleShare and LaserWriter 8 will appear.

3.

Single click the AppleShare icon to see a list servers in the right box of the panel.

4.

Use the mouse to scroll down the list (if necessary) until you see math. Single click on math and then press the ``OK'' button. (Double-clicking on math also works.) A Login Panel will appear.

If you get a message that says ``Already connected to the server ``math'' as ...'' instead of a Login Panel, see the NOTE below.

5.

Select the text inside the Name: box. Type in your user name for math (typically your last name), but do NOT hit the return key.

6.

Use the mouse or tab key to move the cursor to the Password: box. Type your password. The Mac will echo a bullet (·) for each character you type. When you're done, hit the return key or use the mouse to press the ``Connect'' button.

If you mistype something, you will get an error panel. Read the message, click ``OK'', and repeat Steps 5 and 6.

7.

If you typed both your user name and your password correctly, the login panel will disappear and another panel will appear that says:

math

Select the items you want to use:

Under this is a box that contains one, highlighted item, namely your username. Press the ``OK'' button on the ``Select items . . .'' box, and an icon (labeled with your user name) will appear somewhere on the desktop.

8.

To get rid of the large Chooser panel, click on the square button at the top left corner of the Chooser panel.

9.

Look for an icon on the desktop that is labeled with your user name. Double-click on this icon to open up your home folder on math.

NOTE. A message from the Chooser that says you are already connected to math as user ``so-and-so'' means ``so-and-so'' forgot to logout. You must logout ``so-and-so'' before you can login:

1.

Press the Cancel button on the ``Already connected'' panel.

2.

Follow the instructions in Logging out of math below to logout ``so-and-so.''

3.

Start the login process again.

Working with your home folder's files

·

You have ``write'' privileges in your home folder, so you can drag Mathematica notebooks to this folder to store them. You may also double-click on Mathematica notebooks that are in this folder to open them and work with them. (See Working With Mathematica .)

·

To find the instructor provided Mathematica notebooks for the class, double-click on the Mat164 icon in your home folder. You do not have ``write'' privileges in the Mat164 folder; you may open these notebooks up by double-clicking on them, but you will not be able to save your changes unless you use the ``Save As'' command and choose a different directory. The HandIn folder that lies inside Mat164 is discussed in Handing in your work electronically.

Logging out of math

·

When you are done with your work, drag your home folder's icon to the Trash to logout of math. If you forget to do this, the next person who sits at your computer will have complete access to your files on math!

To start Mathematica

·

Double-click a Mathematica notebook's icon.

To use class notebooks

·

The class notebooks are stored in the Mat164 folder inside your home folder. To see (and use) them, use the Chooser to login to math, open your home folder, and double-click on Mat164. (See Using the Chooser to get to math.) Then double click on the notebook you want to read through.

To make (and use) your own copies of the class notebooks

·

Drag the icon of the notebook you want from Mat164 to your home folder before you double-click on the icon. Then double-click on the icon from your home folder.

·

Double click on the icon in the Mat164 folder and then use the ``Save As'' option from the ``File'' pull-down menu of the Mathematica main menu. Choose the Desktop and then your home folder for the folder to save the file in.

To use notebooks in your home folder

·

Use the Chooser to login to math and open your home folder. Double-click on a Mathematica icon in your home folder. You can save your changes using the ``Save'' command from the ``File'' menu of the Mathematica main menu or by typing the Apple command key (looks like a clover leaf) and the ``s'' key at the same time.

To create a new Mathematica notebook

1.

Double click the HomeworkTemplate.nb icon in the Mat164 folder. (This sets the fonts and other formatting to something reasonably nice.) You'll get a panel that forces you to change the name of the notebook.

2.

Press the ``Save In'' button to get a folder list.

3.

Pull down the menu under the button labeled Mat164, and slide down to your home folder (i.e. username). Let the mouse go.

4.

Type in the desired name of the notebook, and press the ok button. A Mathematica notebook with a sample title and author line appears. Use it and save it as with any Mathematica notebook.

To quit Mathematica

·

Quit Mathematica when you are done by selecting ``Quit'' from Mathematica's ``File'' menu. If you forget to quit Mathematica, it can create problems for the people who use the computer after you're done.

Follow these instructions every time you turn in a notebook electronically.

Using the mouse

1.

Use Finder or Mathematica to rename the notebook you want to turn with the pattern

usernameLab*.nb

where username is your username on math and * is the appropriate lab number.

2.

If your home folder is not on the desktop, use the Chooser to login to math. (See Using the Chooser to get to math.)

3.

Double-click on the Mat164 folder. You should see the HandIn folder inside Mat164.

4.

Locate the icon for usernameLab*.nb. Press (and hold down) the Option key while dragging the usernameLab*.nb's icon to the HandIn folder. This tells the computer to copy-instead of move-your notebook to the HandIn folder.

You must remember to press the Option button during the drag. Otherwise, you may simply move your notebook to HandIn and your instructor will not be able to grade it. You will lose the copy of the notebook in your home folder as well.

5.

When you release the mouse, you will see a warning message that says:

You do not have enough access privileges

to see all the items if they are put into

``HandIn''. Put them there anyway?

That's because you have ``write'' permission, but not ``read'' permission on this folder. When the warning panel comes up, press the ``OK'' button to complete the copy. If you watch closely, you should see a ``Copying'' panel come up for just a moment and then disappear.

You will have no confirmation other than the brief appearance of the ``Copying'' panel to tell you that your file has been turned in.

6.

Remember to logout of math by dragging your home folder's icon to the Trash.

Using telnet and linux

There is a special linux command you can use in a telnet connection to math to turn your work in. The handin command automatically makes a copy your file in the Mat164 HandIn folder and changes the copy's name to usernameMyLab*.nb. To use it:

1.

Use telnet to login to math. (See Telnet instructions.)

2.

To see the names of the notebooks in your home folder, type

ls

at the [username@math]$ prompt and hit return.

3.

To hand in a notebook called MyLab*.nb, type

handin MyLab*.nb Mat164

at the [username@math]$ prompt and hit return. The name of the file and the name of the class must be given in the order shown.

You will get confirmation that your file has been handed in.

If you use the wrong order or mistype the name of the file or class folder, the computer will give you a message about what is wrong and not hand in the file.

4.

Logout of math by typing logout at the [username]$ prompt.

5.

Quit telnet. (See Telnet instructions.)

Prevention

·

Save your work frequently! Save your work whenever you've done something you don't want to lose. Mathematica is prone to crashing, and if it crashes, your work is gone.

·

Use the desktop if you have problems saving directly to math or if math seems very slow. Copy your notebook to the local machine's hard drive by Option-dragging its icon to the desktop before you open it in Mathematica. Alternatively, you can use ``Save As'' to save a notebook from math to the local machine's desktop. To access your changes later, be sure to drag the icon from the desktop back to your home folder when you are done with it.

·

Knowledge is everything. If someone teaches you a neat trick, show someone else. Maybe even two people. And if you don't know how to do something, ask someone-other students as well as myself.

An evaluation seems to take too long

·

Attempt to abort the evaluation by holding the Apple command key down and repeatedly pressing and releasing the period key . (The Apple command key looks like a clover leaf.) This combination may have to be typed several times if the computation has really scrambled Mathematica's poor brain. You'll know you're successful if Mathematica tells you, ``$Aborted'' for the output. Don't reevaluate the cell that caused the problems without checking it carefully for syntax errors.

·

If Mathematica won't respond to the ``Apple command-period'' command, but the mouse has not frozen, pull down the menu under the Mathematica icon at the top right of the screen and select ``MathKernel'' and attempt to use its ``File'' menu to ``Quit'' the kernel. If you are successful, save your file and quit Mathematica using its ``File'' menu. Don't evaluate the cell that caused the problem until you have thoroughly edited it for syntax errors.

·

If the mouse has frozen, you'll have to reboot the computer. (Ask a faculty member or the lab assistant for help.) You'll lose your work.

Mathematica starts to misbehave

·

If too many commands are entered into one Mathematica session, the kernel starts to act strange. Select ``Quit Kernel'' from the ``Kernel'' pull down menu and restart the kernel by activating an input cell.

·

If Mathematica tells you it can't find the kernel, use the ``Kernel'' pull down menu to check the settings of both ``Default Kernel'' and ``Notebook's Kernel''. Both should be set to Local. If that's not the case, reset them and try to restart the kernel by activating an input cell.

·

If the above suggestions don't work, save your notebook (if possible) and quit Mathematica by selecting ``Quit'' from the ``File'' menu. Then restart Mathematica by double-clicking on the notebook's icon. If Mathematica still cannot find its kernel, tell a faculty member and/or the lab assistant.

·

All the above problems are aggravated by people forgetting to quit Mathematica when they are done. Remember to quit Mathematica to help others not have these problems!

Problems with saving notebooks

·

You try to save a notebook and you are told you don't have permission to write the notebook. You are probably trying to write to the Mat164 folder in your home folder. Use ``Save As'' on the Mathematica main menu to choose a different directory-either the local desktop or your home folder.

·

You ``lose'' a notebook after you save it. You probably saved it to the Mathematica folder or to the ``hard drive'' folder instead of your home folder or the desktop. Use the Finder to find it and get it back: Click the mouse somewhere on the desktop away from all icons; pull down the File menu and slide down to Find. A panel that is pretty self-explanatory will come up to let you find the file. Once the notebook is found, drag it back to the desktop.

·

The computer freezes during a save. You will have to reboot the local computer, login and check the file. It will probably be in much the same shape it was in before the save. If this happens frequently, you should consider Option-dragging the notebook's icon to the desktop before you start to work on it. When you are done working, drag the icon back to your home folder and logout of math.

·

Mathematica disappears during a save. This happens if you are the victim of an infamous ``Mathematica crash during save.'' Unfortunately, this kind of crash almost always trashes your file completely. It happens most frequently when you attempt to save a file to a floppy that does not have enough room. DO NOT save directly to a floppy disk and DO NOT double click a Mathematica icon that lies on a floppy. Copy the notebook to the desktop using Öption-Drag" before you start to work on it. This can also happen (rarely) during a save to math; if it happens to you more than once, be cautious and drag the icon you want to work on to the desktop before you start. Alternatively, you might want to make duplicate copies of your notebook if you have existing work that you don't want to risk losing. (Ask if you need help in making copies of files using the Finder.)

Other problems

·

Read the documentation, this survival guide, and any additional handouts carefully.

·

Ask others for help before things get out of hand.

·

Document what the problem is: Attempt to recreate the problem and write down everything the computer does or says. That will help me figure out what to tell you when you see me.

If you have been looking for a friendly mail tool on buffalostate.edu, you may like pine very much. If you plan on sending email to friends and family off campus, you may want to find out more about pine.

Sending Mail off campus

If you want to send mail to people off campus, you must get their proper email address. Once you know their address, you can store it in a pine Address Book and use a Nickname to address their mail.

Editing mail messages

For simple editing, use the arrow keys to move the cursor around and the delete key to get rid of incorrect text. If you move the cursor to a particular letter and start typing, the new text will appear just before that letter. Fancier editing commands are available. If you type ÙG (control-g), pine will show you a help menu with all the editing commands. Documentation on pine's editor is also be available at Computer Services in Twin Rise.

The Address Book

Pine has a built-in Address Book feature that reduces the need to remember lots of long email addresses. The Address Book is a list of email addresses that you've told pine about. You can set up ``Nicknames'' for addresses you use frequently. To use a Nickname all you do is type it into the To: field in the COMPOSE template. Pine does the rest-it uses the Nickname to find the correct address.

If you have groups of people to whom you frequently send the same mail, you can easily set up ``distribution lists'' using pine. Distribution lists are simply nicknames that have more than one address attached to them. The really nice thing about pine's Address Book is that a distribution list can have Nicknames in its address list-as long as the Nicknames appear earlier in the Address Book list than the distribution list's nickname.

Creating and Editing the Address Book

To create or edit the Address Book you need to get to get to the Main Menu and type A or select the ADDRESS BOOK line and press the return key. Once you are in the Address Book, you add Nicknames by

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Typing A (For AddNew). This will bring up a NICKNAME template that is similar to the COMPOSE template.

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Fill in the Nickname line with what you want to call the person.

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Use the return key or the down arrow key to move to the Addresses line and fill that in with the person's email address. (If the person's email account is on the Alpha, you don't need to add the @buffalostate.edu to the address.)

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Use ÙX (control-x) to save the new Nickname and exit back to the address book.

Creating a distribution list is similar-the only difference is that you add all the email addresses (separated by commas) in the Addresses field. If you are creating a list that includes people for whom you have previously made Nicknames, you may include their Nicknames instead of their full addresses.

Editing an existing Nickname is similar to creating it except for the first step. To edit a Nickname, go to the address book from the Main Menu. Then select the Nickname you want to edit by using the arrow keys. When the desired Nickname is highlighted, press return. At that point the NICKNAME template will come up with the current information. Edit it the same way you did when you created it. When you're done making changes, use ÙX (control-x) to save your changes. Pine will ask you to confirm them.

Using the Address Book When Composing Mail

The point of having an address book is to make addressing mail easier. Inside the COMPOSE template you can type a Nickname into the To: or Cc: fields and pine will find the appropriate full email address.

If you don't remember what you Nickname you gave to someone, you can look them up while you're in the COMPOSE template. Make sure the cursor is on the To: line (or the Cc: line if that's more appropriate) before you go to the address book. To get to the address book from inside the COMPOSE template, type ÙT (control-t). The address book list will appear. Use the arrow keys to select the desired address and when it is highlighted, press return. You'll come back to the COMPOSE template and the address will be in the To: field. If you need more than one address from your address book, then repeat the procedure until you've got all the email addresses you need. Then continue writing the email.

A Final Comment

If you find the information in the two sections on pine useful, then please send me some email letting me know that. If you know people who use VMS Mail and hate it, then please make copy of these sections and teach them about pine.

Lab Hours

Currently the Lab is open Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to around 5:00 pm except when classes are scheduled in it. Outside the lab is a signup sheet for mathematics classes. If a class is schedule in the lab, the instructor may or may not allow you to work during that time. The ``5 pm closing time'' is flexible; it's based on when the last math faculty member leaves. The department is in the process of hiring lab sitters to keep the lab open at night and on the weekends. The extended hours will be posted as soon as they start.

Info about Mathematica

A student version of Mathematica is available from the bookstore. But even the student version may strike you as pricy. You do not need to buy Mathematica for this course, but you can if you want to. If you choose to buy your own copy-either for Windows or the Mac-the class notebooks should work your computer. You will probably want to use floppy disks (or ftp if you know how to use it) to move the class notebooks from the lab machines to your computer.
 

Info about Other Campus Labs

I'm told that there is a lab on the main floor of the Science Building that has Mathematica installed. (I don't know more info about its precise location.) I've also been told the Science Building lab is not as ``robust'' as this one; things may be broken for long times in that lab, but we attempt to fix them quickly. If you want to use the Science Building machines, you may need to put the notebooks you want to work on on floppies here and take them with you. (I don't know if the computers in this lab can reach math through the Chooser.)
 

Information about Floppies

If you always use math to store your work, you won't need to use a floppy for this class.

If you choose to work on computers that cannot access math through the Chooser, you may need a floppy disk to transfer your work. Macintosh formatted disks (use the 1.4 M size) will work. Some of Macs machines also have ``translation'' software that allows them to read PC formatted disks.

WARNING

Some of the files you create may be very, very large. Do not attempt to ``Save'' a file directly to a floppy. Instead, save the file to math or to the local computer's desktop and then drag its icon to your floppy. Deleting all the output from a Mathematica will also help. Floppies are ejected by dragging their icon to the trash.
 

Common Courtesy

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Quit Mathematica (and other programs you use) when you are ready to leave the computer.

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Remember to drag your home folder to the trash to logout of math.

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Clean up after yourself. Don't leave floppies and unwanted printouts lying around the lab.

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Check the class schedule. If a class is meeting during the time you want to work, ask the instructor for permission.

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Let your instructor (and the lab assistant) know about problems with the computers. Be specific-tell us exactly which computer doesn't work and how it misbehaves.

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If someone asks you how to do something that you know, teach them how to do it.

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If someone teaches you a neat trick, teach it to someone else. Maybe two people.