Store your files in C:\Students folder or your home directory in H drive.

Remember to backup any vital information from your folders (i.e., C:\Students) at the end of terms. System administrator will clean the computer disk space during Spring/Summer/Winter breaks!

(In some cases, the C: drive will be reformatted during breaks!!!)

Refer to the instructions below if you don't know how to map a network drive.

Please note that now users can map the c:\Students folders on the PCs in CH 469 and CH 475. The names of the computers are labeled on their front panels. The naming convention for these PCs is CH469CXX for the PCs in CH 469 and CH475CXX for the PCs in CH475. You may find some computers using names that do not match the room number.

To network path to these short-term folders is \\ch469cXX\Users\[Your_ODIN_ID] (or \\ch475cXX\Users\[Your_ODIN_ID]). Please replace XX with the appropriate number.

These local drives are intended for short-term course-related usages. At the end of every term, all data on the C drives will be deleted. There is no routine backup on these drives. Please backup your important data regularly!

Saving Lab and Project GIS Data in CH475 and 469

Originally compiled by David Graves, updated by Dan Craver on Jan 7, 2009

Since GIS files tend to be large, you will need a computer or storage device with adequate free space to save your lab data and project data this quarter.  The storage space allotted to your personal drive (H:) is generally too small to store the GIS data you need, so another option is to use the student folders on the geography network of computers.

In the two geography computer labs (CH 469 and CH475), each of the computers has a directory devoted for student term work (C:\Students).  As a geography student, you can create a new folder with your name or initials in this directory and then save your GIS data and work here. At the beginning of the term, find a computer you like to work at, or simply the first one you work at, and create a folder for yourself in the C:\Students directory.  You will be able to access this folder from any other computer on campus by mapping across the network to it.  You should set up a user folder for yourself on only ONE computer in the Geography Department.

Computers in the Geography Department are labeled using lab room numbers as prefixes followed by sequential computer numbers (e.g., CH475C01). You can map to any of these geography computers using this computer name, so you can access and work on your data from anywhere on campus, including the computers in the lab sessions at Cramer Hall 1 and Cramer Hall 324. Due to recent system upgrade, the room numbers on the computers might not match the actual location of the computers. Make sure you remember the name of the computer your user folder is on.

To map to your user folder from another computer, at the start of each session follow the steps below.  If you assign the same drive letter (e.g., Z:) to the mapped connection for your single user folder each time, then your maps should show the correct data source and you wont have to reset these each time. This requires even mapping to your user folder on the computer you created the user folder on BEFORE you begin your ArcMap projects. Be sure to use the same drive letter (e.g., Z).  This way your maps will reference the same drive letter from EVERY computer.

1.) Open Windows Explorer (My Computer on the desktop or the keyboard shortcut Windows:E) and then click >Tools >Map Network Drive

Drive: >Z:

Folder: type \\ch475c01\Students

(note: you can use other computer numbers instead of c01 for different computers or whichever room-computer your user folder is on.)

2.) First time only: Create a folder for yourself under Z:\ (click >File >New Folder and enter your odin id, name, or initials)

3.) Copy and save your files to this folder that you've created.

4.) To access the folder in ArcMap or ArcCatalog, click <connect to folder> (yellow arrow to green circle button) when you are adding new data or browsing to a location and highlight Z:\ and click OK.

5.) You should now have a place to save your data and maps and can access it anywhere from campus with the GIS software.

**IMPORTANT!!!: Since these computers are accessible to anyone you shouldn't assume that your data is secure. While it will not be deleted by the system administrator until after the term expires, there is always the possibility that someone else could delete it accidentally or maliciously. It's a good idea to back up your important information (like your term project work) with a jump drive or other storage device.