User FAQ | Computing Services | CSE Department at the OSU

User FAQ

How Do I use XEmacs? - Refer to the XEmacs tutorial available from the Software Component Engineering course page

How do I submit labs? - This depends on the class you are taking. Students in 221/222/321 can submit using the workbench or by using the 'rcpp-submit' command. Most other classes make use of the 'submit' command. The general format for this command is 'submit '. So if you are in the 'aa' section of CSE 360, and you are submitting file1.s and file2.s for lab1, you would enter 'submit c360aa lab1 file1.s file2.s' from a command prompt. For more information, enter 'man submit' from a comand prompt.

**CAUTION!** Executing the 'submit' command wipes out all of the files that were previously submitted for that lab. So, if you need to resubmit a file after you have already submitted a lab, you must resubmit all of the lab files.
How do I change my shell? - From a command prompt, enter 'passwd -r nis -e'. You will be prompted for your password, and then for the path of the shell you wish to use. Your settings should take effect the next time you log in.
The default shell is /bin/tcsh. Other shells include /usr/bin/ksh, and /usr/contrib/bin/bash

What configuration files set my environment? - If you are using tcsh, commands from your .login file are issued when you log in, and commands from your .cshrc file are issued when you start a new shell. If you are using ksh or bash, commands from your .profile are issued when you log in. If you are using bash, commands from your .bashrc are issued when you start a new shell.

How do I restore the default configuration files? - Enter 'get-defaults' at a command prompt. This will prompt you for the files you wish to replace.

Why am I getting host key warnings when using ssh to connect to stdsun.cis.ohio-state.edu? - Because stdsun.cis.ohio-state.edu is an alias for several other hosts, the host key associated with stdsun will appear to change as you connect to different hosts. If you are using a Unix variant and have Perl installed, download the 'stdsun' script from ftp.cse.ohio-state.edu (/usr/local/bin/stdsun). You should then be able to connect using 'stdsun -l '. Be sure to edit the script to provide the location the the perl executable.

How do I read pdf files? - Type 'acroread &' at a command prompt, or 'acroread filename &'.

How do I convert pdf files to ps files? - Enter 'pdf2ps ' at a command prompt.

What are man pages? - Man pages are like pages from a manual. Use the 'man' command to look up information about a command. For example, running 'man lpq' from command line will display information about the 'lpq' command. To search the man pages by keyword, use 'man -k '. To select a man page from a different section, use 'man -s '.

I made a cgi-bin in my WWW directory, but they do not seem to work? Can I run CGI programs in my WWW directory? - CGI programs are forbidden due to security reasons. You may wish to see if you can achieve the same results using Java applets. (no servelets)

How do I cancel a print job? - From a Unix command prompt, use the 'cancel' or 'lprm' commands. Type 'man cancel' or 'man lprm' for more information.

How do I print from the command line? - From a Unix command prompt, use 'lp -d' to printer to a specific printer. For example, to print the file 'testfile' to printer lj112a, use 'lp -dlj112a testfile'.

How do I pretty print from the command line? - Use 'enscript -d -E '. To print duplex, use 'enscript -d -E -DDuplex:true '. Type 'man enscript' for more information.

How do I change my default printer? - Set the LPDEST and PRINTER environment variables to the desired printer (see the Unix section for help on setting environment variables). NOTE: setting these variables in your .cshrc or .login is not recommended, since the system default configuration files try to set these variables for you depending on you are logging in from.

How do I use the timesheet program? - Students should go to the Timesheet Guide
Faculty and staff should go to the Timesheet Signer Guide
For help on digital certificates, go to the Certificate Guide