Purpose: Fetch is the most commonly used software program for transfering files between your local Macintosh hard drive and a remote server. This allows you to publish html files on the World Wide Web using UNR's equinox or fallon servers. Furthermore, you can store files on the server and then retrieve them later from any location in the world. Professors and students who use Macintosh computers will find this to be an essential skill for using their files on one of the Smart Classroom PC's.
Steps for Obtaining Fetch:
1. Go to the apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen
2. Select Chooser
3. Then select Apple Share
4. Under Apple talk zones scroll to Computing and Telecomm
5. Select the HelpDesk server, hit ok
6. Log on as a guest and hit connect
7. You should then select UNRMAC as the item you want to use, hit ok
8. A UNRMac Icon should now appear on your desktop
9. Double click it to view programs that UNR has made available for Faculty and Staff.
10. Fetch 4.0 can be found under Internet Apps - File Transfer
11. Drag and drop the Fetch 4.0 folder to your desktop
12. You now have and can use Fetch
Transferring Files
Once you have installed Fetch on your local machine, you are ready to start moving files between your local hard drive and a server (generally Equinox or Fallon). Every individual who has an e-mail address provided by UNR has a folder located on a server that allows access from the world wide web. If your e-mail address ends in @unr.edu you will use the Equinox server to upload your files to the Web. If your e-mail address ends in '@scs.unr.edu' or '@unr.nevada.edu', you will use the Fallon server to upload your files to the Web.
This is a useful service provided by UNR because it allows you to publish HTML files for viewing on the World Wide Web or to store files that can be retrieved from anywhere in the world....a nice backup plan if you are traveling to a conference and need a copy of your powerpoint presentation because your disk was has been damaged.
It is also beneficial, because it allows Mac users to access their PowerPoint files in a smart classroom. Since all smart classrooms are PC based and will not read a Macintosh formated diskette, transferring your files to the smart classroom computer from the server is your best option. However, this process also requires using WS-FTP, the PC counter-part to Fetch, to download files from the server to a classroom PC. A tutorial on using WS- FTP is also available. Remember to save PowerPoint files on your Mac with a .ppt extension. Macs do not automatically create this extension and PC's will not recognize PowerPoint files without a filename that ends in .ppt.
Now you are ready to transfer files between your Macintosh computer and the remote server. First you must establish a connection with the server so that you can move files back and forth. This is a bit like using a modem from home to connect to your internet service provider.
Steps for establishing a connection with the remote server
1. Open Fetch
2. A new connection window will open; if it does not automatically open, go to File; New Connection
3. The connection window now appears and requires the following information
4. Host: equinox.unr.edu or fallon.unr.edu
5. User: the part of your e-mail address before @unr.edu or @scs.unr.edu
6. Password: your password
7. Then click ok
Fetch will now open a box that shows your files on the remote server.
To transfer files, simply drag and drop between the remote directory (which Fetch displays in a box) and your local hard drive. Complete folders can also be moved in this manner. Fetch gives you the option to "get" or "put" files, but you can only move one file at a time in this manner. This makes it very time and labor intensive when you need to move several files or an entire folder...complete with files. The best method of moving files or folders is just to drag and drop between the Fetch remote directory box and your local hard drive. To delete files from your remote folder, simply drag the file from the fetch window to the trash.
To Publish Webpages:
On Fallon, your webpages are stored in a folder called public_html. If you connected to the fallon server, you should see this folder in the box that Fetch opened. Double click on that folder to open it. You can simply drag and drop files between your hard drive and the fetch window. The web address for those files is: http://www.scs.unr.edu/~username/filename.html. Substitute the user name you previously entered to connect to the server for username and the name of the file you uploaded for filename.html.
On Equinox, you must change directories to view and update web content. You can do that by clicking file in the fetch window and then selecting change directory. A box will appear that asks you to specify which directory you would like to switch to. Type in this box: "/homepage/username/" (Ommitting the parenthesis and substituting your user name that was previously entered to connect to the server). Hit ok. You will now be in your remote directory that contains all web publishable files. Only files in this directory are available for viewing on the web. The web address for those files is: http://www.unr.edu/homepage/username/filename.html. Again, substitute your username and the name of the file you uploaded in the address.
If you just want to store files on the server so that you can download them later in a smart classroom or on a remote computer, you can save the file in any folder you choose. However, the file will not be accessible from the world wide web. In the smart classroom, downloading the file will require using WS-FTP.