Internet Tools
NCSA Telnet for Macintosh: Telnetting to Off-Campus Sites
This document has been prepared to provide a quick reference to basic Telnet features for students who wish to connect to off-campus sites from the general access computer labs. It is assumed that you are comfortable working in the Macintosh environment, that you have some familiarity with connecting to networks, and that you have the information (e.g., site address) for working with a particular site.
Telnet is used for interactive sessions, such as searching a library catalog or a database. Usually, you must set up an account on the remote host to make substantial use of the available resources. However, anonymous login often allows certain services, such as access to library catalogs.
The Macintosh Telnet program, NCSA Telnet, is available at all campus Macintosh computers and is used to connect to campus mainframe computing resources; it is also used to Telnet to off-campus sites.
This document contains the following sections on telnetting to off-campus sites:
Logging On
Telnet can be used from any campus computer. Before you log on, you must know the address of the site to which you want to log on.
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From the Apple menu, select NCSA Telnet
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From the File menu, select Open Connection...
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Beside Host/Session Name, type the address of the site to which you want to log on
(Example: to log on to the Library of Congress, type locis.loc.gov) -
Click CONNECT
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Follow the site log-in directions
Logging Off
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Follow the site directions
HINT: If you are uncertain of the site directions, or if you are unable to use them, from the File menu, select Close; then click YES -
To exit NCSA Telnet, from the File menu select Quit
Issues and Tips
- You may have trouble logging on to sites at peak times. If so, wait a while and try again.
- Some sites limit the amount of time that you may be connected. In this case, be sure to track remaining session time to avoid disconnection during something important.
- Your login account gives you only certain privileges. Some resources may be restricted due to copyright.
- To improve readability, you can adjust font and screen color.
Adjusting the Color
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From the Session menu, select Color...
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Choose a color for each screen element listed
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Click OK
Adjusting the Font
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From the Session menu, select Font
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From the Font sub-menu, select a font; Monaco is common
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From the Session menu, select Size
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From the Size sub-menu, select a point size for the font
10 points is common
