Subsections

• About the Workstations
• Logging On
• Opening a UNIX Window
• Window Basics

Using an RCS UNIX Workstation

About the Workstations

Every workstation should always be on, even if the screen is blank. If you approach a workstation that has a blank screen, try moving the mouse or pressing a key on the keyboard. If nothing appears on the screen, note the specific workstation number (it should be affixed somewhere on the machine), call the VCC Help Desk at ext. 7777 to report the broken workstation, and then move to another machine on which to do your work.

Logging On

To log on to an RCS UNIX workstation:

1.

Type your Rensselaer userID at the Please enter your user name prompt, and press the Enter key. (If nothing happens when you attempt to type in your userID, make sure the mouse cursor is anywhere inside the login window, and try typing in your userID again.)

2.

Wait for the Please enter your password prompt to appear, then enter your RCS password. Note that your password will not appear when you type it, and the cursor does not move.

As you enter your userID and your password, remember that both are case-sensitive. If you have a password with all capital letters, for example, you must always enter the password in all capital letters.

3.

Wait a few moments while the window manager loads. An RCS Session Manager window will appear in the lower left corner of the screen; a clock, a mailbox icon, and an RCS Applications menu will appear in the upper right corner. Once all these items appear on your screen, you are ready to begin. Note that when you log on to the system, 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.

Opening a UNIX Window

Before we really get into any lessons, let's first open a UNIX window, so you have something with which to work. To do this, move the mouse until the arrow-shaped mouse cursor points to the UNIX: Start a UNIX Window option in the RCS Applications menu, and then click the left mouse button once. A tan UNIX window should appear on your screen.

Window Basics

Please refer to the Glossary for brief definitions of the hardware and software terms used in this document, such as click, double-click, drag, select, etc.

As with the window you just opened, a titlebar runs along the top of each UNIX window and each RCS application you open. Use the mouse to move the mouse pointer to the titlebar of a window, such as the UNIX window, and notice how the titlebar's appearance changes as you do this; the titlebar changes color. This indicates that the window currently containing the cursor is now ``active''; any actions you make, such as typing commands or pressing mouse buttons, will affect only that window. If you try typing, and nothing happens, move the mouse pointer anywhere inside the border of the desired window to activate it.