2.2.2. Opening a gradebook

Opening a gradebook from the Computer Science Department Server is used by instructors, teacher assistants, and students of a particular class. The Computer Science Department understand the three types of users and only authenticates them to access data from the class they are currently in. This scenario shows how an individual can open a gradebook. The gradebook file could either be opened from a local file or the Computer Science Department Server. Figure 2.2.2-0 shows how the gradebook spreadsheet is accessed from the network.


 

Figure 2.2.2-0 : Open: Network Environment.


Note: The instructor’s official gradebook is stored in the instructor’s local machine and he has the ability save on to the public server and gives the teacher assistant permission to revise it by saving the copy in hornet.calpoly.edu. In general, there are many locations a gradebook data can be stored: the instructor’s local machine, hornet.calpoly.edu so that a teacher assistant or a student can download the gradebook if given permission, and a teacher assistant’s or a student’s local machine. In this scenario, we are only talking about opening a gradebook from hornet.calpoly.edu or a local machine.

To open gradebook from a file, you can skip “Connection Establishment”, and move on to the next step.

Connection Establishment:

To open, save, or update a gradebook from the internet, one must authenticate to the server first before data could be sent or retrieved. Click on ‘File’ -> ‘Connect’ as shown in Figure 2.2.2-1


Figure 2.2.2-1 : Navigation.


An Authentication window dialogue then comes up with three empty text boxes.


Figure 2.2.2-2 : Authentication Dialog.


 

The user then fills it in accordingly.

·        Server:  Enter the server address in which you want to retrieve your data from. An example is hornet.calpoly.edu maintained by Cal Poly University.

·        User Name:  Enter your login username id. Typically, if your name is Bob Dole, then the username is the initial of your first name and the first few digits of your  last name like bdole.

·        Password: Enter your security password. By default it is your last name and the first 6 digits of your social security number.

·        Do Not Lock File: On connect, the file locks the file and will not let anyone access the file until the file is saved by the user who originally locked it. If the user wants to read the file only, then check the box. By default, it is automatically locked.


Figure 2.2.2-3: An example of Bob Dole’s Authentication Dialog.


 

After the user has finished filling in the three text boxes, he then clicks ‘Connect’. The system then tries to authenticate to the server. If the user wants to cancel authentication in the middle of the process, he can always click ‘Cancel’, then the authentication dialog box with user information would come back up.


Figure 2.2.2-4 : Authenticating Dialog.


Upon success, the window dialog box would display “Authenticating…. Successful!” Then the user clicks ‘OK’.


Figure 2.2.2-5 : Authentication Successful Dialog.


 

If the user intends to open gradebook from a local file, he clicks on ‘File’ -> ‘Open’.


Figure 2.2.2-6 : Open Gradebook.


 

The system then opens a file browser and the user then selects the file with extension .gradebook like CPE308.gradebook then click on ‘Open’.

 


Figure 2.2.2-7 : The windows above show two different file explorer window views.
One is with user authentication (right) and the other is without user authentication (left).


Note: When the user opens gradebook from a server, the server will lock the file as mentioned before.

After the file has been highlighted, or selected, the user will then click ‘Open’ to open the file.

 


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