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[previous article] [next article]Dan Hartley
If you've ever been frustrated by fruitless searches for a friend's or colleague's telephone number, electronic mail or campus address, you'll appreciate a new service of the Purdue Data Network. The ``Purdue Electronic Directory Service'' provides quick access to campus telephone numbers, campus addresses, electronic mail addresses, office hours, and other information for the students, faculty, and staff at all of Purdue's campuses.
Names, addresses, and telephone numbers are updated periodically from official University records. Initial electronic mail addresses were supplied by several campus computer installations, but you can enter your own address or supply additional information about yourself: a nickname, home phone number, fax number, pager number, office hours, project description, and comments.
You can use the directory from any computer connected to the Purdue Data Network, or to the Internet, that is able to run the finger program, send and receive electronic mail, or can run special software designed to communicate with the Directory Service. The latter of these, known as ``ph clients,'' also gives you the option of changing or adding to your personal information in the directory.
You can get information from the server in one of three ways:
If your computer has the ``ph'' client software installed,
enter the ph command followed by the name of the person
whose information you need. For example, on a UNIX system
if you wanted to look up the information for Veronica
Smyth, at your shell prompt you would enter
"ph veronica smyth" . The information returned by this
command is shown in figure 1.
You can also query the directory server for information
via electronic mail. Use your mail program to send a
message to the address lookup@directory.purdue.edu with
your request in the first line of the body of the letter.
For example, again using Veronica Smyth, enter:
mail lookup@directory.purdue.edu
Subject: [leave blank]
query veronica smyth
Any text in the ``subject'' line of the letter is ignored,
and the information you requested is returned to you via
electronic mail as shown in figure 1.
name: smyth veronica j
title: asst prof
department: perf arts
building: ca3
phone: 49-49444
email: vsmyth@mozart.md.purdue.edu
campus: w laf
comment: Attending a conference Feb. 7-9.
Figure 1. Information returned by the ph program
and electronic mail queries.
The finger program can also give you directory
information. Enter:
finger veronica_smyth@directory.purdue.edu
The requested information is displayed on your screen as
shown in figure 2.
Name Dept/School Phone Status Email
__________________________________________________ smyth
veronica j perf arts 49-49444 staff
vsmyth@mozart.md.purdue.edu _ Finger
"help@directory.purdue.edu" for help.
Figure 2. Directory information returned by finger program.
ph" to start your ph client program and then enter "help"
following the ph prompt. To obtain help files from Windows,
Macintosh and X Windows clients, open the ``Help'' dialog box
and click on the topic you want to see.
A good place to start is with the ``introduction'' help topic.
(If you're using a UNIX system, for example, enter
"help introduction" following the ph prompt.) Another good
topic to look at is the ``query'' topic, which includes
examples of how to use wildcards.
You can also obtain the help files via e-mail. To get the introduction help topic, for example, send a message to lookup@directory.purdue.edu with ``help introduction'' on the first line of the body of the letter:
mail lookup@directory.purdue.edu
Subject: [leave blank]
help introduction
To change or add other information in your directory entry, you need three things:
---access to a full-featured ph client ---the special name or alias by which your directory entry is known ---your Directory Service passwordA ``full-featured'' ph client is one that supports the special login session that is required to modify your directory entry. If not already installed on your computer, these clients are available for most major computer systems. If you can't locate the program on your computer, ask your site specialist or network support staff for directions.Your alias is the unique name identifying your directory entry that you will use to login to the directory server. To view all of the information in your directory entry, including your alias, add ``return all'' to your ph query:
ph veronica smyth return allTo complete the login, you must request your directory password. Instructions follow outlining the different procedures for staff and students.
How To Obtain Your Staff Directory Password
To get your password, send electronic mail to directory- password@directory.purdue.edu. In the body of the letter, enter your ID number on the first line, followed by your name (as listed by the Directory Service) on the second line. For example:
Shortly after sending your letter, you will receive a confirmation message from the Directory Service. Barring any problem with your request, your password will be sent by campus mail to your official University address on the next business day.mail directory-password@directory.purdue.edu Subject: [leave blank] 313-55-1212 smyth veronica j
How To Define Your Student Directory Password
Before you can change your information on the Directory Service, you must define a PAC (Personal Access Code) for yourself. About a week later, that PAC becomes the password that you can use to login to your Directory Service alias. You can use the Registrar's SSINFO system to define your PAC. To connect to SSINFO, type
Choose the ``Student Personal Information Access'' menu item, and then pick the ``Personal Access Code Assignment'' option. After correctly answering a few personal questions, you can then define your PAC.rlogin oasis -l ssinfo or telnet oasis (enter ssinfo at the login prompt)After your PAC is transmitted to the Directory Service, you can change your PAC and Directory Service passwords independently; further changes to your PAC via SSINFO will not affect your Directory Service password.
CAUTION: Any lower-case characters you include in your PAC are converted to upper case before transmission to the Directory Service. That is, a PAC you enter as AbcD1234 is actually stored as ABCD1234, and is the form you'll use when logging in to change your Directory Service information a week or so later. Also note that you cannot include special characters like an ampersand (&) in your PAC.
For more information, see the online ph help topics SSINFO, PAC, and password.
How To Change Your Directory Information
Some of the information in your directory entry is provided to the Directory Service by the Registrar or by Personnel Services. To change that ``official'' information-name, title, school, address, etc.-you must contact the Office of the Registrar (students) or your department's business office (faculty and staff). After your official information is updated, it will be reflected on the Directory Service automatically. Student information is updated weekly; staff directory changes should be seen in about one month.You can use the Directory Service to change personal items of information in your entry, such as your electronic mail address. You can also enter additional personal information in the ``project'' and ``comments'' fields. See the online help topics for ``people'' and ``fields'' for details.
Once you have your directory password, you can change information by starting a ph client on your computer. Enter:
"ph". The resulting interactive menu is shown in figure 3.
figure shown here Figure 3. Interactive ph client.After the ph prompt, type"query" followed by"your name"and the words "return all" . For example:
ph> query veronica j smyth return allThe resulting information is similar to figure 1 with the addition of a new line listing the ``alias.'' In this case ``alias: vsmyth.''
After you find your alias, use it to login to your directory. (If your name is not unique, you may need to search through several entries to find yours.)
ph> login vsmythWhen prompted for your password, enter the PAC you defined for yourself via SSINFO (remember to use UPPER CASE characters here), or your staff directory password you received via campus mail.
After the Directory Service's ``Hi, how are you?'' greeting, you're ready to change your information.
Examples
The following examples are for the UNIX and DOS ph clients. For Windows, Macintosh or X Windows, consult the online help files for the ph client software you are using.To enter or change your electronic mail address, enter
ph> make email=vsmyth@mozart.md.purdue.eduSimilarly, if you're a student with a part-time job on campus and want to publicize your work number, you can enter an alternative telephone number:
ph> make other_phone="765-494-9444 (Work)"Note the quotation marks surrounding the text; they are necessary if you include any blanks or tabs in the field.
To change your password: ph>
passwordThe Directory Service prompts you to enter your new password. You can use any combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and punctuation in your Directory Service password.
For longer entries, such as for the project and comment fields, the ``edit'' command may be more convenient. On a UNIX system, for example, ``edit comments'' starts your favorite editor. (If you haven't defined a preferred editor, the vi editor is used.) When you are finished making your changes to the field, save the text and quit the editor as usual to store the changes in your directory entry.
The number of characters you can enter in each field is limited. The ``comment'' field, for example, holds a maximum of 128 characters. You can have more than one line in a field, too, so long as the total number of characters does not exceed the maximum for that field. For more information on the various fields, enter:
ph> help fieldsTo see a list of available fields, type the ``fields'' command; if the word ``Change'' is shown on the line for a given field, then you can change that field.
For More Information
If you have a question not covered in the online help topics, send electronic mail to directory-admin@directory.purdue.edu or call (765) 494-1787 and ask to speak with the Directory Service administrator.Information about changes to the Directory Service is posted to the purdue.directory.announce news group. If you would like to share your questions, comments, or information about the Directory Service with a wider audience, an unmoderated, public forum is available in the companion news group purdue.directory.
webmaster@ecn.purdue.edu Last modified: Monday, 17-Nov-97 14:57:06 EST
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