Connecting to the MIDI Lab Server

Connecting to the MIDI Lab Server

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Each computer in the MIDI Lab is connected via a network to a central computer called the MIDI Lab Server. We use the server for several purposes, including providing a personal Student Folder to selected users, allowing students to turn in assignments electronically to the Drop Box, and allowing users of Practica Musica to access previously saved work from any computer in the lab.

Connecting to and using the server is tricky for new lab users. Please read and understand these guidelines and instructions before connecting the first time, and take care to proceed properly each time you connect.

•Connect to the Server with care. If you are in doubt about a step, or any of these guidelines, ask the lab monitor for help.

•Do not stay connected to the Server longer than necessary. When you are finished with your work, make sure to disconnect from the Server

•If you are turning in work to the Drop Box, make sure to put your work in the proper folder inside the Drop Box.

•If you are accessing work in progress from your Student Folder, DO NOT open any file residing on the server. Rather, copy the file to your local desktop, then disconnect from the Server. When your work is done, copy the new file(s) back to your Student Folder.

•If you are working in Practica Musica, you do need to stay connected to the Server during your session. When you are done, and have quit Practica Musica, be sure to disconnect from the Server.

•If you are working on a project that needs to access other files (i.e. a Digital Performer file that includes audio files) make sure you copy your whole project folder to your desktop, not just the project file itself.

•Do not delete any files, including your own, from the Server. If you have handed in a wrong assignment, simply hand in a later version and leave the previous version there.

•The MIDI Lab Server is a public volume. Though we back up the files on this volume regularly, we cannot guarantee their security. We encourage you to back up any important files in another place, and not to store any files that contain confidential or sensitive information.

If you want to transfer files from one MIDI Lab computer to another, you should also start here.

Most users will log in to the basic Student account, using the user name <student> and the password <start>. If you have your own account on the computer, you would log in using your own user name and password.

Macs in OS 10 are capable of running several applications at a time. The Finder is the application that controls the Mac Desktop. You can "make it current" by clicking any portion of the blank desktop, or clicking the Finder icon in the Dock. You can check to see that you are in the Finder (or any application on a Mac) by looking at the upper left-hand corner of the top menu bar--it will always show the currently running application.

•In the top menu bar, access the Go menu, and select Network to open the Network window.

Occasionally, the direction above don't work. In that case, in the Finder top menu bar, access the File menu and select New Finder Window. In the resulting window, click (once) on the Network icon in the upper-left corner as shown in the picture below.

The Network window works best is what is called Column view, and it usually opens in that mode. To make sure, check the three control icons in the upper left corner of your window--the one on the right should be highlighted.

•In a moment, a group of folders will appear in the leftmost column. When all folders have appeared, find and select My Network.

The column at the very far left is called the Sidebar. We are talking about the column immediately to its right.

My Network is the folder where all Macs currently on this network will show up.

•The names of the computers on this network will appear in the next column to the right.

•In the window that next appears the right, find and click on the Connect button.

All Server users should connect using the Student account information. Don't enter any other user name or password even if you have an account on a MIDI Lab Mac or a PSU ODIN account, and don't try to enter as Guest.

•In a moment an icon for "server" will appear in the Sidebar at the left of your window. Click (once) the server icon. The contents of the server volume will appear in your window.

Remember that you can choose how you view a window's contents by selecting one of three buttons at the upper left corner of your window.

•You have now connected to the MIDI Lab Server. Continue using the options below.

To create a Student Folder in which you can store personal and class files, go here.

You should now be viewing the contents of the Public volume on the MIDI Lab Servers.

•Find the icon for the Student Folders folder, and, depending on how you have view settings set, either single or double click to access its contents.

You can choose how you view a window's contents by selecting one of three buttons at the upper left corner of your window.

•In the Student Folders window, go the File menu at the top of the screen, open it, and select New Folder. This will create a new, untitled folder in the Student Folders window.

•Usually, a new folder will open with the name highlighted. If so, simply type your name (Lastname.Firstname) and hit Return.

If you make a mistake, or the folder is created without the name highlighted, click on the new folder to select it and hit Enter. The folder name will highlight and allow you to name or rename it.

If you are not comfortable creating this folder yourself, ask for help from your lab monitor.

•If you are done with the Public volume on the Server, disconnect from the Server at this point.

This assumes you have created, or had created for you, a personal Student Folder in the Student Folders folder on the Server. If you have not, click here for instructions.

You should now be viewing the contents of the Public volume on the MIDI Lab Servers.

•Find the icon for the Student Folders folder, and, depending on how you have view settings set, either single or double click to access it contents.

You can choose how you view a window's contents by selecting one of three buttons at the upper left corner of your window.

•Single or double-click your folder to open it. You should see any files you have previously put in your Student Folder.

•If you want to place work in your Student Folder, find the icon for the folder or file that you want to back up. Simply drag the icon into the Student Folder. It will copy to your Student Folder.

•If you want to retrieve work in your Student Folder, find the icon for the folder or file that your want to retrieve. Drag it to the Desktop of your local machine. It will copy to your desktop.

It's important to avoid opening files directly from the Server. One way to make sure you are not doing that is to disconnect from the Server after transferring. If your file opens at that point, you know that you are working "locally."

•If you are done with the Public volume on the Server, disconnect from the Server at this point.

You should now be viewing the contents of the Public volume on the MIDI Lab Servers.

•Find the icon for the Drop Box, and, depending on how you have view settings set, either single or double click to access it contents.

You can choose how you view a window's contents by selecting one of three buttons at the upper left corner of your window.

•In the Drop Box window, find the folder for the class in question. Don't open it yet.

It's important to turn in your assignment to the correct folder. If you have a question about this, ask your monitor or instructor.

Make sure that your name is contained in the title of the material you are turning in.

•Carefully drag the selected items onto the Drop Box folder for the class in question. When you see the folder highlighted, let go of the mouse. The selected material will copy to the folder in question.

This can be tricky. If you wait too long, the folder will open, and you have to be careful how you leave your files in the folder (see below). If something happens you don't like, simply drag the selected material back to your computer where you started, or hit the Escape key.

People will often first open the folder in question, then drag their stuff into the folder's window. The problem with that is that there may be other folders in this window, for example the folders other students have turned in. It's easy to accidentally leave your material in the wrong folder if you are not careful. See below how to check that you really have turned in your work.

•Once you have successfully dragged your file into the correct class folder, open the class folder, and check its contents. You should see your material in this window.

If you made a mistake, don't try to fix it, just redo the transfer properly, and make sure your materials show up in the proper spot.

Don't ever delete any files from the server. If you decide to change something in your assignment and re-submit, don't try to delete your old assignment, just submit a new version with an updated name.

Do not assume that your files are secure in the Drop Box. It is emptied frequently. Make sure you assignment is backed up elsewhere, for example in your Student Folder, your local machine, and/or some portable media like a CD or a USB "thumb drive."

You should now be viewing the contents of the Public volume on the MIDI Lab Servers. Don't open anything in this volume yet.

You can probably open Practica Musica by clicking on its icon in the Dock at the bottom of your screen.

If it's not there or the Dock is not visible, double-click your main hard drive (labeled MIDILabx in the upper right corner of your screen) to open it. In the resulting window, open the Applications folder, and in the resulting window find the folder Practica Musica. Open that folder, find the icon for Practica Musica, and double-click it to open it.

•In the sidebar at the left of the Open window, find the Public volume, and click it once to show its contents.

This assumes the Open window is in Column view. If it's not, click on the right hand button at the top left of your screen.

•You will see a list of student accounts. Scroll down until you see a list of New Student accounts.

•Click on any New Student account to select it, and hit Open. The Welcome to Practica Musica window will open.

•Enter your name in the box provided, and then enter a password in the box further down in the window. Hit OK.

•A new window will open in which you need to enter the same password to confirm it. Do that, then hit OK.

•You have now created a new account in Practica Musica. You should see your user name in the center of the menu bar at the top of the screen.

•Use Practica Musica. When you are done, open the Practica Musica menu at the top left of your screen and select Quit Practica Musica.

You should now be viewing the contents of the Public volume on the MIDI Lab Servers. Don't open anything in this volume yet.

You can probably open Practica Musica by clicking on its icon in the Dock at the bottom of your screen.

•In the sidebar at the left of the Open window, find the Public volume, and click it once to show its contents.

This assumes the Open window is in Column view. If it's not, click on the right hand button at the top left of your screen.

•You will see a list of student accounts. Scroll until you find your account name.

Practica Musica creates an account using your last name and the first two letters of your first name. So Bela Bartok would have the user name BartokBe. This assumes that Bela Bartok would need to use Practica Musica at all. Or that he is alive, which he is not.

•Use Practica Musica. When you are done, open the Practica Musica menu at the top left of your screen and select Quit Practica Musica.

•If you have not done so already, start instructions for connecting to the MIDI Lab Server, then click back to this point when instructed.

•In the My Network folder, find the name of the target computer, the MIDI Lab computer that has the files you want to access.

•Click on the name of target computer. In the window that next appears the right, find and click on the Connect button.

•In the resulting window, click Registered User, then enter the required log-in information.

If you are accessing the Student account on the target computer, you would enter

If you are accessing your personal account on the target computer, you would enter your unique user name and password.

If you are accessing the Student account, select the lowercase <student> account.

If you are accessing your personal account, select the lowercase letters that represent your "short name."

•In the Sidebar at the left of your window, find and click on the icon for your account volume. The contents of the account volume will appear in your window.

•If you want to use files from the target computer, drag them to your local desktop to copy them.

•If you want to send files to the target computer, drag them from your local computer to the Desktop folder on the target computer.

Make sure you don't open files directly from the target computer. One way to make sure you are not doing that is to disconnect from the target volume after transferring. If your file opens at that point, you know that you are working "locally."

•If you are done with the Public volume on the Server, disconnect from the target volume at this point.

It's always a good idea to disconnect from the Server or other target volume when you are finished accessing or transferring files. For one thing, if too many machines are connected at the same time, it may slow things down in the lab. For another, this is a way to insure that your are not mistakenly opening and running files from the Server, which is a no-no.

To disconnect from the MIDI Lab Server (or other target computer), do one of the following things--

1) Find the icon for the Public volume (or other connected volume) on your desktop. Drag the icon to the Trash icon in the Dock. The Trash icon will change to a Disconnect icon, and the volume will be "unmounted."

This can be nerve-wracking to new users, worried that they are dragging the contents of the Server into the trash. Just make sure that the Trash icon indeed has turned into a Disconnect icon, and you will be OK.

2) In any Finder window (a window that shows files and folders on your machine) find the icon for the Public volume (or other connected volume) in the Sidebar at the far left. Click on the Disconnect icon just to the right of the volume name to "unmount" the volume.

3) At the left of the top menu bar, access the "Apple" menu and choose Log Out (user) where user is the current user of the computer. When you log out a user, all applications and connections to the network will be closed.

Connect as:	Registered User
Name:	student
Password:	start