Computer Access Facilities Policies & Procedures

The computers and printers in the CAF are provided for University of Toronto students, faculty, and staff. You will need to use your UTORid to access the workstations. Your UTORid is on your TCard. There are 2 computers which do not require a UTORid login adjacent to the Information Desk that provide access to the UTL Catalogue and ACORN.

NOTE:
Try to make efficient use of your time. Despite the large number of computers, the facility is still a limited resource. Some colleges and various departments also make computing resources available to their constituents. See the list of computing facilities on campus.

In particular, you should prepare your materials ahead of time as much as possible. Some tips:

  • Save your work frequently (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED). See Disk Storage below for more details.
  • If you need to leave your computer, you may do so for up to 10 minutes. After that time, the staff on duty reserve the right to remove your materials and assign the computer to someone else.
  • Food and cell phone use are not allowed at the computer or anywhere in the facility.
  • Do not shut the computer down (unless you are rebooting it).
  • Everyone using these facilities should be aware of and adhere to the policy on Appropriate Use of Information and Communication Technology and various other applicable policies. In particular, people without valid TCards, Library cards, or people who exhibit disruptive or inappropriate behaviour, will be asked to leave the facility.

Personal Software

The CAF computers are provided with specific software configurations and you are entitled to use ONLY the software applications provided. You are not allowed to use or install your own software or to modify the software configuration of these computers in any way. Such conduct will be considered a contravention of the policy prohibiting disruptive behaviour, and appropriate action will be taken.

Viruses

It is possible that a computer virus may inadvertently or maliciously be inserted into the computer's RAM memory. The installed virus protection software can detect and remove viruses it knows about but there are new viruses appearing all the time. To delete any RAM-resident viruses, we recommend that you reboot the computer before you start using it.

  1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to get to the login choices screen.
  2. In the bottom right corner, click the up arrow and choose Restart.

The Scotiabank Information Commons is not responsible for lost data caused by viruses. If the virus scanning software detects a virus on one of your storage devices, please take it to the CAF Assistant on duty. The CAF Assistant will attempt to remove the virus from the disk. We cannot guarantee results.

Disk Storage

You will need to bring your own storage device (USB key) to save your files. Save your work frequently, and keep a backup copy of your work in a separate location (e.g. another USB key, a home computer). You can also save your files to the hard drive temporarily and then email them to yourself or FTP them to a remote location (such as Blackboard or the OneDrive storage available with UTmail+ accounts). All files are deleted regularly, so be sure to email them, FTP them, or save them on your own storage device. The Scotiabank Information Commons is not responsible for lost data caused by hardware or software failures.

Scanning and Copyright Policy

It is illegal to scan any images or text that are not your personal intellectual property unless you have the express written consent of the owner of that property. It is the responsibility of the person scanning the images or text to obtain any required permissions.

Copyright Resources and Links are available on the Library website.

Printing

You can print from any of the computers in the CAF. AVOID COSTLY PRINTING 'MISTAKES'. You will be charged for what you print. Take advantage of the application's 'print preview' option whenever possible to verify your document's appearance and the number of pages. Also consider printing test pages or printing long documents in smaller sections.

The black and white printers print on 8.5" x 11" sheets. Duplex printing is also available. The charge for black and white printing is $0.15/page. The colour printer can print on either 8.5" x 11" or 11" x 17" sheets. The charge for printing on the colour laser printer is $1.00/page for 8.5" x 11" and $2.00/page for 11" x 17" (even if your page only contains black and white material).

TCards, photo Library Cards and photocopy cards use the smart card microchip technology. Use any of these cards to retrieve printed output. You can purchase photocopy cards at most libraries on campus. You can add cash to your card using the "cash-to-card" machines on the first floor of Robarts Library (one on the north side near the book return slots and one on the south side near the Circulation Desk) . NOTE: Staff on duty do not handle cash or make change. Additional printing instructions can be found in the Printer Kiosk area.

Find a Workstation

  • any workstation in the Computer Access Facility.
  • express printing machine at the print kiosks (to print your document without editing).

Print

  1. Choose Print from the File menu.
  2. Type a name for your print job in the dialog box that appears and click Print. Your job has now been entered in the print queue.
  3. Go to one of the print kiosk computers (if you are printing in colour, you can only release your job from the computer immediately next to the colour printer at the south Printing Kiosk).
  4. Insert your TCard or photocopy card into the card reader.
  5. Select your print job from the list on the screen. The display will show the number of pages, the cost of printing it and the card balance.
  6. Click Print.
  7. When finished, click Eject Card to eject your card. Don’t forget your card in the reader!

Adding Cash to your TCard

  • Two “cash-to-card” machines are available on the first floor. Instructions for use are available at the machine. There is no other way to pay for your job.

*Note: Print jobs sent to the queue will stay for approximately 2 hours before being automatically deleted. Save your work because jobs accidentally deleted from the print queue cannot be recovered.

If you have any further questions, please contact the CAF Assistant on duty.

Printing Tips

Make sure you are printing the correct document!

Your card is debited as soon as you release the job to the printer. If you released the wrong document, there is no way to stop it from printing and debiting your card.

We STONGLY RECOMMEND you only release one job at a time.

If you submit a document for printing and later change your mind, simply leave it in the print queue. Any document left in the print queue longer than two hours will be deleted.

PDF documents are pre-rendered. They're appearance cannot be modified or resized. Any attempts to modify the way the document prints from the printer dialog box will likely result in printing errors for which you will not receive a refund.

Printing Problems
If you experience difficulty with the printers (jammed paper, out-of-paper, using the TCard, photo Library card or photocopy card, printing procedures, etc.) contact the CAF Assistant on duty.