PENN PRINTOUT
The University of Pennsylvania's Online Computing Magazine

PENN PRINTOUT October 1991 - Volume 8:2

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PennInfo live! From policy manuals to Ann Landers

By Alfred C. D'Souza

You're in your dorm room contemplating a computer purchase; don't you wish you could look up the Computer Connection's price list? When you discover missing references in a term paper at midnight, wouldn't it be nice to be able to find out when the Library opens? While working at home, do you sometimes wish you could access a central source with information on federal and state research grant opportunities? If you've ever faced these or similar dilemmas, PennInfo is for you.

Scheduled for introduction in a few weeks, PennInfo is a general- purpose online information service available at no charge to all members of the Penn community. PennInfo includes a variety of topics, ranging from "University Calendars and Events" to information about counseling and support services for students. If PennInfo is widely used at Penn, as similar services have been at other universities, it will grow over time, eventually becoming a central repository for public information at the University.

Based on software developed at MIT, the PennInfo system uses menus to help you locate the information you might be interested in. Navigation through the menus and scrolling through documents is simple; an online "Help" facility provides a list of commands. (See the sidebar "How to Access PennInfo," for a list of commands to help you get started.)


First release of PennInfo

The initial release of PennInfo will contain a vast amount of useful information. Here's a sample excursion through its information pathways:

After you learn some interesting facts about the University from the "Visitors Information" section, you might browse through "Computing Information," which describes computing services and facilities available to faculty, researchers, staff, and students. If you're new to Penn, you'll be particularly interested in the information about electronic mail services at Penn, and the "Internet Resource Guide," which lists the rich selection of resources that you can access from your desktop, via PennNet, your "window" into the worldwide network known as the Internet. You might also look for information on a variety of campus activities, including lectures and cultural events, by scanning the "University Calendars and Events" section. If you're a student, "Campus Activities and Services," provided by the office of the Vice Provost for University Life, will be of great interest to you. It includes information from various Student Life offices, such as Career Planning and Placement Services, Health, Housing and Community Services, and Academic Services. Before you leave PennInfo, you might check "What's New on PennInfo," to make sure you haven't missed any important information that was recently added to the system.


Many ways to access PennInfo

Use of PennInfo is not limited to those with a dedicated PennNet connection. Public-access computer laboratories at many campus locations, including the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, will provide access to PennInfo via terminals, PCs, Macs, and other workstations connected to PennNet. (A list of such facilities is available at the Computing Resource Center.) Faculty, staff, and students using equipment that has VT100 terminal emulation software installed can reach PennInfo from off-campus locations via the PennNet dial-in modem pool. (See "How to Access PennInfo" in this issue for instructions on access from the PennNet DIAL: or annex: prompts, using ProComm and Micro-Phone terminal emulation software for PCs and Macs, respectively.) Our colleagues at other universities with connections to the Internet can also use PennInfo; many of our own faculty and staff members routinely read the information posted to PennInfo-like systems at other universities.

If, however, you have an Ethernet-connected Macintosh, a state-of- the-art interface is available that enables you to interact with PennInfo in a Mac-like "point and click" manner. The software you need to install is provided to members of the Penn community at no cost. (See "How to Access PennInfo" in this issue for instructions on how to get the software.) Development of similar interfaces to PennInfo for other desktop platforms is under consideration.


PennInfo futures

After the initial release, Data Communications and Computing Services, the office that operates PennInfo, will continue to work with schools and offices to add to the information content of PennInfo. Other topics, such as the "Course Register," which contains detailed information about courses offered at Penn, and even a "customized-for- Penn" variant of Cornell's celebrated "Uncle Ezra," the electronic Ann Landers column that has received rave reviews and generated much interest at peer institutions, are under consideration. Many other ideas are on the drawing board, but demand from the University community will determine which ones get implemented first. Please send your suggestions to penninfo-comments@dccs, or call 898-9085.

ALFRED C. D'SOUZA is Director of Program Management for Data Communications and Computing Services and directs DCCS/UMIS Publications.

Sidebar: Schools and Offices: You can join the PennInfo team!

If your school or office has information that is updated periodically and must be disseminated in a timely manner to a large base of clients, if your printing costs are high, or if a heavy burden is placed on your hot-line and support staff to get information out, you should consider PennInfo as part of your information dissemination strategy. While there are no firm rules about the types of information that should be posted to PennInfo, the following guidelines may be useful in helping you decide if your information is suitable:

  • The information should be "broadcast" in nature, and getting up- to-date information to your target audience in a timely manner should be an important objective.
  • Locating information in your documents should not require the use of complex search and retrieval features; while PennInfo provides a simple indexing capability, it is merely an information base, not a database application.
If your information meets these criteria, you are encouraged to participate in PennInfo; please contact the DCCS program management and publications office at 898-3424, or send e-mail to penninfo-admin@dccs.

Currently, it is necessary to use an Ethernet-connected Macintosh for posting information to PennInfo, but in the future, this capability may also be provided for other desktop platforms. In the interim, DCCS has provided a PennInfo "Provider of Information" booth at UMIS, 3401 Walnut St., Suite 265 C. It is equipped with two Macintoshes, a document scanner that converts printed text into the appropriate electronic format, and a DaynaFile external drive that permits the Macintoshes to translate text files created on IBM PCs and compatibles. Please call 898-3424 to reserve equipment.

Sidebar: PennInfo access from a VT100

Most people on campus will access PennInfo through PennNet from a VT100 terminal or terminal emulator, such as ProComm on a PC, or MicroPhone or Red Ryder on a Macintosh.

  • To connect from the PennNet DIAL: prompt, type penninfo
  • To connect from the PennNet annex: prompt, type t penninfo
After a series of system messages, the PennInfo Main Menu appears. Now you can navigate through PennInfo using the Basic Commands listed at the bottom of the screen and just a few standard keys on your computer. The following are the commands you will probably use most frequently. You can enter the entire command or its minimum abbreviation in upper or lower case, followed by a .

  • Up/Down arrow keys - Move up/down through the displayed document or menu.
  • TOP or TO/BOTTOM or BO - Move to the top/bottom of the document or menu.
  • UP or U/DOWN or D - Move backward/forward one screen at a time.
  • MAIN or M - Display the PennInfo Main Menu.
  • RETURN or R - Display the previously displayed menu.
  • HELP or HE or ? - Display screens containing help in using PennInfo.
  • FIND or FI (followed by a single word) - Locate a string of characters, with no spaces, within the menu or document currently displayed.
  • OUTLINE or O - Display an outline of all menus and documents in the hierarchy beneath the selected item.
  • SOURCE or SO - Display information about ownership of the selected menu or document, including date last modified, source, pathname, and absolute item number.
  • ADVANCED or A - This selection from the Basic Commands set allows use of the full spectrum of commands included in both the Basic and Advanced Command sets, and provides corresponding Help screens. This command can be executed from any screen.
  • CLEAR or C - Refresh the display.
  • QUIT or Q - Exit from PennInfo.
A guide for using PennInfo from a VT100 terminal or emulator is available at the Computing Resource Center (CRC) on Locust Walk, across from the Bookstore. Text files of both the Basic and Advanced Command sets' Help screens are also available online under the PennInfo Main Menu item "About PennInfo."

PennInfo access from an Ethernet-connected Mac

Installing PennInfo software on an Ethernet-connected Macintosh running MacTCP provides capabilities similar to those on the VT100, along with an intuitive set of menus offering the familiar "point-and-click" and Macintosh key commands. Once the software is installed, all you need do to access the information system is double-click on the PennInfo icon.

The latest version of the Macintosh PennInfo software and accompanying documentation are available from the CRC. Be sure to take your own floppy disk. The Macintosh PennInfo software is also available by anonymous FTP from nisc.upenn.edu under the file name pub/mac/penninfo.hqx. Detailed directions are available by first selecting "About PennInfo" on the PennInfo Main Menu, then selecting "How to Get New Versions of PennInfo for the Macintosh."