Once your workstation is up and running, you can use the Desktop User's Guide to begin learning about the software environment in which you will be working. This is a guide to your system's standard graphical software environment, which includes the Toolchest— a starting point for almost anything you need to do. Turn to this guide to:
Get step-by-step instructions for completing essential tasks, such as finding files and managing windows.
Learn techniques and shortcuts that will make you a more efficient workstation user.
This guide also serves as a reference—a place to look for answers to general questions about your desktop environment.
Getting Started introduces you to the basics, supplies summaries of fundamental tasks, and often links to more details. It includes the following sections:
Two or more people can be using the same system at the same time. Although only one person can be physically seated in front of the system, others can use it via the network that connects many computers in an office environment.
To keep this situation manageable, each person who uses the system has to “log in” to it under a special identity, called their “user” or “login” name. Once this identity is created, you have your own user account.
Your workstation is like a shared house with personal rooms. If you think of the workstation as a home, your login name is your own personal door into the home, and your user account is the room you enter through that door.
Logging in is the first step you take to begin using your workstation. Initially, you can log in using one of the default user accounts (such as Guest). See “Using Existing Login Accounts” in Chapter 2 to learn why you should limit your use of these accounts; see “Why Create a Login Account?” in Chapter 2 to learn about the benefits of having your own login account.
To create your own user account, see “Setting Up Your System” in the Personal System Administration Guide to learn how to create your account.
When your workstation is turned on, the first static screen you see is the login screen, which has icons representing any user accounts on the system.
To log in, select an icon, then click the Log In button. If the account has a password, you will be prompted to type in the account password.
 | Tip: You can also log in to your system from other systems on your network, and you can log in to other systems on your network from your own system. See “Logging In to Another System” in Chapter 10. |
When you log into your system for the first time, you see the following things:
The desktop background and the icons that appear on it
The Toolchest menu
The Icon Catalog
The console window
Each of these items is described in the following subsections.
The screen background is also called the desktop, although the term desktop is also used to refer to all of the standard graphical software that comes with your system. The desktop background is a place for you to set frequently used icons so you have quick and easy access to them. In this way, the background is similar to an actual office desk. For example, sitting on your desk, you might have a telephone, a container of pens and pencils, and a stack of folders or notebooks related to the projects on which you are currently working. Other, less frequently used items are stashed away in desk drawers.
By default, several icons are placed on the desktop: a folder icon representing your home directory, a dumpster icon, several application icons, and an icon for each peripheral you have installed.
The Toolchest menu contains a stack of “toolchests” organized into categories for easy access to virtually all system functions and programs. Move the cursor over a label on a toolchest; then hold down the left or right mouse button to pop up a menu.
The Icon Catalog has a blue background and a row of tabs along the bottom edge of the window. It shows collections of applications and tools that are available on your system. From this window, you can:
Browse through the icons to see what applications are available.
Run applications by double-clicking their icons.
Find icons you want to use; then drag them onto the desktop or onto a shelf so they are easily accessible.
Create your own collection of icons.
For example, suppose you use a combination of programs to create and edit movies. You can create a new page; then place icons for these tools onto that page.
Each collection is stored on a separate page. If you want to create your own collection of icons, you can add pages to the Icon Catalog.
The square icon next to the Toolchest is the console window. (It looks like a square icon because it has been minimized.) Many of the error messages that the system generates appear in this window. Open it to its full size by clicking on it with the left mouse button. You can type IRIX commands in this window. You should always have a console running because the console is the primary display area for status and error messages generated by your system. If your system or a specific application you are running behaves unexpectedly, check the console for any possible error messages. Though you may not be able to make any sense of the error messages at first, they will be useful clues to any system administrator trying to resolve a problem with your system.
To get started, you need to know a few basic techniques for using the mouse and working with icons.
To select an icon, place the cursor over the icon, then click the left mouse button. Icons turn yellow when they are selected.
To select several icons, press the Shift key while selecting the icons or press the left mouse button and drag the mouse.
All icons touched by the box you create are selected.
To open an icon, place the cursor over the icon, then double-click the left mouse button.
When you open an application icon, you run the application; when you open a folder icon, you open a window that shows the contents of that directory.
To drag and drop icons, place the cursor on an icon, then press the left mouse button and move the mouse.
Release the mouse button to drop the icon. Application and folder icons turn blue when they are ready to accept an icon. A drop pocket also turns blue when it is ready to accept an icon. This drag-and-drop technique lets you move icons from one directory to another, launch applications with a particular file, and place icons in drop pockets.
To display a pop-up menu that contains commands from the Selected menu, place the cursor over a window or on the desktop background, then press the right mouse button.
Most of the windows that appear on your screen have standard fixtures. Below is picture of an Icon View window. You open an Icon View whenever you open a directory—for example, when you double-click a folder icon.
You can use the fixtures labeled in Figure 1-1 to manipulate windows in a variety of ways.
 | Note: Occasionally, you see a window that is missing the border and title bar. Such a window is called a borderless window. |
The title bar allows you to move, raise, and lower windows.
Place the cursor in the title bar; then press the left mouse button and drag to move the window.
Place the cursor in the title bar; then click the left mouse button to raise the window to the top of the stack of windows.
Place the cursor in the title bar; then press the Ctrl key and left mouse button simultaneously to lower the window to the bottom of the stack of windows.
The Window menu button lets you access the Window menu and provides a shortcut for closing windows.
Place the cursor over the button and press the left mouse button to see the Window menu.
Double-click the button with the left mouse button to close the window.
Click the Minimize button with the left mouse button to turn the window into a small, square icon. This does not close the window or stop any of the programs that are running. It turns it into an icon that takes up less screen space.
Click the Maximize button with the left mouse button to make the window as large as it can be. Some windows become as large as the screen; others change only slightly. If a window does not change or becomes smaller when you click the Maximize button, the window was already at its largest size. To restore a maximized window to its original size, click the Maximize button again.
You can use the border in conjunction with the mouse buttons and keyboard keys to manipulate the window in a variety of ways:
Place the cursor on the border; then press the right mouse button to open the Window menu.
Place the cursor on the border. When you see a resize cursor, drag the mouse to resize the window.
Place the cursor on the border; then press the middle mouse button and drag to move the window.
Place the cursor on the border; then press the left mouse button to raise the window.
Place the cursor on the border; then press the Ctrl key and left mouse button simultaneously to lower the window.
You will see windows with scroll bars along the left or right and top or bottom edge. These indicate that the window is too small to display all of its contents. Use the scroll bar to view hidden portions of the window.
A drop pocket is the small square into which you can drop icons. Here are several ways in which you can use drop pockets:
Drag a folder icon and place it into the drop pocket on an Icon View window.
The window displays the contents of that folder.
Drag a file or application icon and place it in the drop pocket on an Icon View window.
The window displays the contents of the directory in which that icon is stored. For example, suppose you drag the IRIS Showcase icon into the drop pocket. The window displays the contents of the /usr/sbin directory.
Drag an IRIS Showcase icon and drop it into a drop pocket on the Search tool to specify the type of files you want to find—in this case, IRIS Showcase files.
You can also drag icons out of the drop pocket and place them onto the desktop, onto a shelf, or into the Icon Catalog.
The pathname field shows the full pathname of the directory whose icon or contents are displayed in the window. You can type a new name in this field to display the contents of a different directory.
The path bar lets you move from one directory to another, without typing. It contains a small button representing each directory in the pathname. See Figure 1-2.
The Recycle button keeps a list of names you have specified in a type-in field. For example, place the cursor over the Recycle button on an Icon View window; then press the left mouse button to see a list of directories whose contents you have previously displayed in the window. Choose an item from this list and the window changes to display the contents of that directory.
Your workstation includes many bundled software tools. Most of these tools have icons that appear on the desktop or on a page in the Icon Catalog . Open the Icon Catalog by selecting Find > Icon Catalog from the Toolchest. See also Chapter 6, “Finding Things”.
Here are a few examples of the tools and their capabilities. Click red text to launch the tool that it names.
Create and edit text files using NEdit or IRIS Showcase .
Create interactive presentations that include 3D models, audio, video, and 2D graphics using IRIS Showcase .
Browse the Web using Netscape ; create HTML files using WebMagic; publish files on the Web using OutBox.
Touch up images using the ImageVision tools.
Keep track of the time and date using a clock and calendar program.
Listen to compact discs or DAT tapes using CD Manager and DAT Manager .
Create and edit audio files using Sound Editor or Sound Track .
Create and watch movies using Movie Player and Movie Maker .
The Audio Panel lets you adjust the audio parameters such as the volume and sampling rates of audio coming into your system. Use it to set up and control microphones, CD players, and other audio devices connected to your workstation. See the help in the Audio Panel for information on using the panel. You can open the Audio Panel from the Toolchest by choosing Desktop > Control Audio.
| Note: You can use the Sounds panel to control system sounds. To open this panel, choose Desktop > Customize > Sounds from the Toolchest. See “Controlling System Sounds” in Chapter 11. |
Access online documentation from the Help toolchest.
Choose “Info Search” and the documentation search tool appears. This lets you access and search all documentation on the system, including online books, help, man pages, and release notes.
Choose “Quick Answers” for quick answers to questions related to the tasks and tools that are a part of your system's end user software environment. Choose this command when you need to perform a task but are uncertain which tool to use or how to begin.
Choose “Hints and Shortcuts” to discover useful desktop features for working smarter and faster.
Choose “InfoSearch” and the Technical Publication Library (TPL) appears.
Once the TPL is open, you can type in a word or phrase and quickly find and open the books that contain the information you need. See the Help in the TPL for instructions.
See also “Getting Application Help”.
Each application provides a Help button or menu so that you can get help on that particular application.
If you need to perform a task but are uncertain which tool to use or how to begin, choose Help > Quick Answers from the Toolchest.
You can also open an overview description of some applications by selecting the application icon and choosing “What Is This?” from the Selected menu in an Icon View, Icon Catalog, or the Toolchest.
Still have questions? Open InfoSearch by choosing Help > InfoSearch from the Toolchest. Use it to search for information on a specific word or phrase, and to browse or search online documentation.
Before turning off your workstation, you need to shut down the operating system. Shutting down the operating system safely closes all of the files and logs you out. If you turn off the workstation without shutting it down properly, files may be lost or damaged.
To shut down the system, choose System > Shut Down System from the Toolchest.
Some online style conventions make the information in this guide easy to access and understand. This list tells you what they are.
Links to term definitions are in blue italics.
Links to other documents are red.
When application names appear in red text, it indicates that clicking on the red text launches the named application.
Links to other chapters and sections within this guide are in quotation marks.
Numbered sentences are sequential steps you follow to complete a task. Sentences that follow a step and are preceded with a square bullet are substeps; they describe in detail how to accomplish the step.
To qualify for great prizes in our quarterly registration raffle, fill out and return your On-Line Registration form by double clicking the Register_To_Win icon on your desktop. For additional registration information, see the Customer Registration Web site:
http://support.sgi.com/custreg
| Note: The information you provide will be used only by SGI and/or the reseller who sold you your system. |
When you purchase a Silicon Graphics system, we want you to know that you are our customer not just for today but tomorrow and beyond. It is important that we have accurate information about you in our customer database. Your feedback about our products and services is very valuable for us. And, we would like to understand how you are using our technology so that we can continue to engineer system configurations that work best for you.
To learn about the concept of accounts and multiple users, see “Overview of Login Accounts” in Chapter 2.
To learn how to find, start, and install applications, see Chapter 3, “Using Applications”.
To learn how to work with files and directories, see Chapter 4, “Managing Your Work: Working with Files and Directories”.
To learn how to print files and customize printer settings, see Chapter 5, “Printing”.
Looking for something on your system? See Chapter 6, “Finding Things”.
To learn how you can create and use multiple desktops, see Chapter 7, “Using Multiple Desks”.
To learn how to move, resize, and close windows, see Chapter 8, “Managing Windows”.
To learn how to copy files between systems on a network, or to tape, and to set and change permission settings, see Chapter 9, “Sharing and Protecting Files, Media Devices, and Printers”.
For information on making your desktop environment fit your own tastes and work style, see Chapter 11, “Customizing the Desktop Environment”.
To learn about utilities such as a clock or calendar, see Chapter 12, “Using System Utilities”.
For information on a particular menu, command, or button, see Chapter 13, “Anatomy of the Desktop”.
For information on using the text editor NEdit, see Appendix B, “NEdit”.
To learn how to manage your workstation, see the ersonal System Administration Guide . It describes how to use the System Manager to maintain your workstation.
For information on your workstation hardware, see the owner's guide that came with your workstation. Owners guides can be accessed on the Web at:
http://docs.sgi.com/