Technology

Remote.simmons.edu Guide

As of June 9, 2008, people using some versions of Safari to access remote.simmons.edu may be unable to get open the remote web page. We are working with manufacturer of the systems underlying remote.simmons to resolve this issue. In the meantime, please use Internet Explorer, Firefox, or another standards-compliant browser to access the file server remotely.

Access your documents on the Simmons file server from off-campus!

These instructions will step you through connecting to the Simmons file server through a web browser. This will give you access to all of the documents you keep in your Simmons network folder. Remote access to the file server via remote.simmons.edu allows you to navigate to a specific file server folder, and copy files between your local computer's hard drive and the file server. If you are familiar with FTP: remote.simmons.edu allows you to "get" and "put" files (although not folders).

We strongly recommend that the first time you try remote.simmons.edu, you do so from your Simmons office computer, or from a computer in the Beatley Library Information Commons. This will avoid any trouble that may be due to your Internet connection.

Table of Contents:

1. Software compatibility
2. Logging
3. Navigating file server folders: the "Browse Network" section
4. Using files on the file server
5. When you are done
6. What remote.simmons.edu is not

1. Software compatibility

In order to use remote.simmons.edu, you need an Internet connection to your computer, and one of the following web browsers:

  • Windows: Internet Explorer 6, or Netscape 7.1 or above
  • Macintosh: Safari 1.2, Mozilla 1.6, or Netscape 7.01 or above

Other browsers and earlier versions may work, but you may experience a variety of issues with them.

Certain aspects of remote.simmons.edu work differently depending on the browser you use. These instructions are written to ensure consistent results with the browsers listed above; you may find it unnecessary to follow some steps.

Some characters, such as slashes (/ and \) and colons (:), are misinterpreted by remote.simmons.edu. Such characters will be replaced with a ? in your filename or folder name, and you will be unable to access the file or folder through remote.simmons.edu. Also be sure to avoid leaving a space as the last character at the end of any file or folder name. To access such a file or folder, please change the name using your Windows or Macintosh computer.

2. Login

To connect to the file server, open your web browser and go to the following address: http://remote.simmons.edu.

Login window for remote.simmons.edu

For username, enter your Simmons username. For password, enter your Simmons computer/network password (same as the one you use to access the Windows computer in your office, or any computer in the Library Information Commons or in a lab). [More information about your Simmons username and passwords.]

If you get the message "Login failed," either you entered the wrong password and should try again, or you are one of the people who must change her/his password before this login will work (we have not been able to determine a pattern that predicts who must do this and who need not). If you are sure you typed the right password, please use a Simmons-owned Windows computer and change your file server password.

Note: if you are unable to come to the Boston campus to log into a computer and change your password (e.g. you are taking GSLIS courses on the Mt. Holyoke campus), please call the Help Desk for assistance with changing your password.

After you have successfully logged in, you will see the remote.simmons.edu main window:

main remote.simmons.edu window
You may also see the "floating toolbar" (below). You may use either the main window or the floating toolbar. Do not close the floating toolbar: it will terminate your session and you will have to login again.
remote.simmons.edu floating toolbar

3. Navigating to your file server folders: the "Browse Network" section

To navigate to your file server, follow the instructions below to enter the appropriate text into the box entitled Enter Network Path. Substitute your own username for the word "username." The system is case sensitive, so be sure to type the lower and upper-case letters correctly.

network path box

MCBFS1 is the name of the Simmons file server. For information about your storage spaces on the file server, please see File Server Tips.

  1. To access your personal file server folder (y: on a Simmons Windows computer)
    1. If you are a student, enter:
      \\MCBFS1\Student\username
    2. If you are a faculty or staff member, enter:
      \\MCBFS1\Users\username
  2. To access your department's file server folder (g: on a Simmons Windows computer, enter:
    \\MCBFS1\Dept\dept_folder_name
  3. To access the studentdata folder, enter:
    \\MCBFS1\StudentData
    Tip: if you know the subfolder name within StudentData, enter it too.

Note: you may also navigate to your directories by clicking MCBFS1 and traversing the hierarchy, but if you connect to the Internet using a telephone modem, it may take as long as 20 minutes for the system to list all of the sub-folders in a large directory, such as Student.

Once you have used the "network path" command to get near the folder you want, click on the title of the folder itself to continue navigating until you reach the folder of file you need. If you go too far down into a subfolder, click Up Folder to go back up.

A word about "permissions"
Using remote.simmons.edu, you may observe folders you have not seen before, but you will only be able to view the contents of folders to which you have "view" rights. Your "rights" or "permissions" to view, copy, rename, and delete files and folders using remote.simmons.edu is the same as those you have when using the file server from a Simmons-owned computer. If you try to open a folder to which you do not have rights, WebVPN will assume you have another login name and password that has access to it and prompt you to login with that account. To resume navigating elsewhere, click Cancel.

4. Using files on the file server

Once you have navigated to the file or folder you would like to use, use the series of buttons:

  • Up Folder will open the folder that contains the items currently listed.
  • Copy File to Server allows you to put a file onto your server space. Perhaps you have downloaded a Word document, made changes and now want to save the revised version back to the server.
  • New Folder will create a new folder within the folder you're viewing (if you have permission to do so)
  • Delete allows you to delete a file (check the box to the left of the filename)
  • Rename allows you to rename a file or folder on the server that belongs to you (check the box to the left of the filename).

display of directory listing and buttons (listed below)

To copy a file to the server, click Copy File to Server, then Browse to navigate to the file's location on your hard drive, and Open to select the file. You must give the file a Name After Copy so that the system knows what to call your file once it reaches the file server. Be sure to include an extension (a period followed by three letters that indicate what software may be used to open the document) in the filename or you may have trouble the next time you try to access that file from either the web site or a Simmons-owned computer. It is easiest to give the file the same "Name After Copy" as it had originally. Click Copy when you are ready to copy it to the file server.

To copy a file from the file server to your local computer's hard drive, click the filename. What happens next depends on how you have configured your web browser. It may download the file directly to the folder designated for Internet downloads. It may ask if you would like to open the file using a particular application, or to save it. If your browser knows how (e.g. if it is a PDF), it will display the file. If you want to direct your web browser to save the file in a particular location, right click (Mac users: control-click) the filename, choose the equivalent of "save link as," navigate to the folder where you want it, and choose save.

5. When you are done

When you are done using the file server, be sure to click the X icon at the top right of the window in order to log out. Although your session will expire after 30 minutes of inactivity, logout to ensure no one gains unauthorized access to the Simmons file server. If you are using a computer in a public location or used by other people, also be sure to delete any files you downloaded to the computer, empty the web browser's "cache," and close the browser window.

display of remote.simmons.edu icons described below

Note: please do not rely on the help associated with the ? icon. It describes the remote.simmons.edu product in full; Simmons is only implementing portions of this product. Use "help" link under the Simmons seal at the left top of the main window instead; that links to this web page.

The icon to the right of the ? icon will display the floating toolbar if it is not already open. The home icon takes you back to the main remote.simmons.edu window from, for example, a directory listing.

6. What remote.simmons.edu is not

Unlike the direct connection you can make to the file server from a Simmons-owned computer on campus, remote.simmons.edu will not allow you to use the file server as though it were your hard drive. That is, you cannot "save as" directly to the file server, and it will not appear on your desktop or in "My Computer." If you are familiar with "VPN" (virtual private network): remote.simmons.edu provides a secure connection to the file server and "internal" access to campus web sites, but is not a true VPN; the product is part of a VPN solution and so you may see the name "WebVPN" in the help system.