Common Questions

  Below are some of the frequently asked questions received by the  IT Service Desk.

1. Where should I save my work?
2. How do I get access to a network folder?
3. How can I access my email?
4. Can I change my email address?
5. What can I do about quota problems?
6. How do I get access to a delegated account or mailing list?
7. How do I make my colleague an owner of my mailing list?
8. How can I access journals and databases from home?

Where should I save my work?

The University provides network drives for all members of the University, which are backed up and allow you to restore lost work as well as being available from anywhere using the remote desktop. All users should have a personal folder on MyFiles and most departments provide additional storage for staff and sometimes for students. Many staff also have access to shared folders, network drive locations that can be accessed by all relevant staff. For high volume research data, there is the Research Data Storage Facility.

To avoid losing your work, always make sure when you save it that it is saved in a known location. If you are not sure, use Save As (in Microsoft Office you can use the F12 key) to see where the file is currently saved.

Similarly, when opening an email attachment that you will work on, save it to a known location first and open it from there.

Please refer to the information security website on how to manage your data.

 

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How do I get access to a network folder?

a) Permissions

To request permission to access a network folder (or "remote drive" or "filestore"), please ask your line manager or a relevant manager to request a change of access from the IT Service Desk. We will need the full path to the folder and clarification if it is read-only access requested.

b) Finding the full path

You will need the full path of a network folder to ask for permission or to set up access to it. To find the full path, ask someone who already has access to that drive or folder to do the following:

1. Start menu
2. In the search box, type "cmd" then press Enter *
3. In the black box that appears, type "net use" then press enter
4. This will list all the network drives mapped on that computer

* On Windows XP there is no search box. Instead use Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt

Full paths to network drives are in the form \\server.bris.ac.uk\folder\subfolder\....

The path to MyFiles is \\ads.bris.ac.uk\filestore\myfiles\students\yourusername or \\ads.bris.ac.uk\filestore\myfiles\staff\yourusername.

c) Viewing network folders

You can connect to University network folders while using Eduroam (wireless), ResNet, VPN and the Student/Staff Remote Desktop.  (The latter automatically connects to MyFiles (the O: drive).)

 

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How can I access my email?

Gmail

Staff and research students (PGRs) migrated to Gmail in April 2013. These accounts are active while they are a member of the University. All such accounts end in @bristol.ac.uk.

Taught students were able to migrate from September 2011. Any that have not done so can still migrate. These are Email for Life accounts and end in @my.bristol.ac.uk.

For more information on our email services, please see our email pages.

Usernames

The link on the Email pages uses single sign-on. When using a mobile device or connecting directly from gmail.com, you will need to use your Google username and password.

• Set your password.
• Your Google username will be in the form ab12345@bristol.ac.uk (staff) or ab12345@my.bristol.ac.uk (students).

 

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Can I change my email address?

Staff and research students: Yes! If this is the first time, you can use the Request for personal mailname form. Please allow two working days. If you have changed your email address previously then you will need to contact the IT Service Desk.

Students on Gmail: You can use the Email address for life form.

 

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What can I do about quota problems?

Staff and PGR Gmail: your quota is 25GB.

Gmail for life: your quota is 15GB

 

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How do I get access to a delegated account or mailing list?

Delegated accounts

Delegated accounts replaced shared mailboxes. See the section in our email pages. If you do not know who administrates a delegated account, please contact the Service Desk.

Mailing list

See Subscribing to lists & checking subscriptions.

Note that UBU mailing lists are managed by UBU not by IT Services.

 

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How do I make my colleague an owner of my mailing list?

1. Log into Sympa - https://sympa.bris.ac.uk/
2. In the list on the left, click [Admin] next to the relevant mailing list
3. List Definition
4. In the Owner section is a list of owners followed by a blank entry. In the Moderator section is a list of owners followed by a blank entry. Scroll to the relevant blank entry.
5. In the blank entry, add the new owner/moderator's full email address. Also add their name.
6. For a new owner make sure you set "profile" to privileged.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit.

Other tips:

• If changing list owners, it is recommended that the new owner remove the old (i.e. to make sure their ownership succeeded). To remove an owner, just remove their name and email address.
• To allow a shared-mailbox address to send to a list, add the shared-mailbox as a Moderator.

 

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How can I access journals and databases from home?

See Access to external electronic library resources and databases.  The Remote (off-site) access to University resources page gives more detailed advice on accessing many University resources when you are not on campus. In particular we recommend Institutional/Shibboleth Login and the student and staff remote desktops.

 

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Further assistance

If you have another question, please contact the IT Service Desk.