Contents
The first time your Web browser sends a request to the classification server, the server will check to see if you are logged into the system. If not, the server will return a login page. Everyone who uses classification must have a login name and a password. You can change your password any time you log in by checking the "Change Password" box as well as typing in your name and password. You won't be asked again for your login name and password during a session unless you either logout of classification or if you don't submit any classification requests for a period of one hour.
WEB BROWSER REQUIREMENTS Classification Web requires Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) 3.0 or higher, or Netscape Navigator 3.x or 4.x. However, it is recommend that you use version 4.0 or higher of either browser. Netscape 6.x is not recommended as it does not always display the screens properly, does not support messages on the help line, does not handle the "Back" and "Forward" buttons properly in the frames versions of the classification browser (see below) and is slower than its predecessors.
COOKIES Cookies are small packets of data that are sent between your web browser and a web server. This server uses two cookies, both of which are stored on your computer. The first cookie is required for the software to function properly. This cookie is used to uniquely identify you while you are using the system. If you log out of this system when you are finished, this session cookie will be cleared from your computer. If you don't log out but let your session expire due to inactivity, the cookie will remain on your computer until the next time you log in. At that point, the old cookie will be replaced with a newer version.
The second cookie is optional. It contains the name you used the last time you logged into this system. When you log in, you have the option of having your login name stored on your computer for your convenience. When you select this option, you won't have to enter your name every time you log in using this computer. However, you always have to type in a password. If this computer is used by other people, you should not use this option.
Whenever you log into ClassWeb, the software checks that your browser both supports cookies and has then enabled. If ClassWeb cannot send and receive cookies from your browser when you log in, you will receive an error message along with further instructions.
WARNING: It is very important that your browser or any additional software installed on your computer (like virus protection or cookie management software) does not interfere with the ClassWeb session cookie. If this session cookie is removed while you are still logged into ClassWeb, a new session will be started for you and you will have to log in again. If you are using the ClassWeb automatic login feature, you will be logged in an additional time without your knowledge. This will unnecessarily use up extra copies of your ClassWeb subscription, potentially blocking other users at your institution from logging in themselves. If you want to remove any cookies from your computer, the best time to do this is when you are not logged in anywhere on the Internet.
Please note that the session cookie used by ClassWeb is saved as a permanent cookie on your computer. This is done so that if you forget to log out of ClassWeb before you exit your browser (or should your browser or computer crash), you can return to ClassWeb within an hour and continue using your existing ClassWeb session. If you change your computer's settings so that our session cookie is not saved between browser sessions (i.e. if you make our cookie a browser session cookie), you may use additional copies of your subscription unless you always log out of ClassWeb before exiting your browser. If you are not careful, you can get locked out of ClassWeb until an old session expires after one hour of inactivity. Single user subscriptions are particularly susceptible to lockouts as there are no additional copies in their subscription should one get unnecessarily tied up.
JAVASCRIPT Some areas of Classification require the use of JavaScript. This is a programming language that is supported by MSIE and Netscape. Many areas of the classification system will not run properly if your browser does not support JavaScript or if you have turned it off. A symptom of no JavaScript support includes links and buttons that don't do anything when you click on them. Another indication is if you start a frames classification browser and end up with a three panel display where each frame is blank. If you are experiencing these difficulties with MSIE or Netscape, check your browser's documentation for how to turn JavaScript back on. If you are using another brand of browser, it is possible that JavaScript is not supported.
In the case of MSIE and Netscape, they are both configured with cookies and JavaScript support turned on when you install the software. So, unless you knowingly turned these features off, none of these issues should apply to you.
MULTIPLE WINDOWS One way the classification software uses JavaScript is in the creation of extra windows on your computer. Many of the links and command buttons in classification open a new window to display their results. For example, when you click on the "Search" button, the search screen is displayed in a new window. This allows you to keep your place in your original window because its contents are not replaced by the search screen.
Any windows that ClassWeb opens for you can be closed by clicking on the "Close" button provided by the software. You can also follow your computer's regular procedure for closing a window.
You can open a new Web browser window at any time by following the directions for your Web browser. Typically, this means using your Web browser's "File" menu or pressing CTRL-N.
Because you can end up with lots of open windows, you may want to close the ones you are not using to conserve your computer's resources. By having too many windows open, your your computer may actually slow down. If you are using Microsoft Windows 95 and higher, you will notice a button on your task bar (usually located at the bottom of your screen) for every window that is opened. You can select between windows by clicking on these buttons with your left mouse button. By using your right mouse button, you can close a particular window.
LOGGING OUT If you are logged into ClassWeb and you are going to lunch, a long meeting or home for the day, you should always log out before you leave. Although you will be automatically logged out of ClassWeb after one hour of inactivity, someone could start using your computer before that time is up. They would be logged in as you and could cause either intentional or accidental damage to your data (local notes) and to the classification records themselves (if you have edit permission).
Although you might have more than one classification window open on your computer, once you have logged out of ClassWeb from any of them, you are logged out of the server. You don't have to log out of each window (in fact, you can only log out once). You can, however, close any classification windows you are done with, but that is up to you. If you do keep your windows open, you can pick up your work later, right where you left off. You will just be asked to log in again. In fact, in the window you logged out of, you can use your Web browser's "Back" button to return to where you were when you logged out.
CLASSIFICATION BROWSERS There are three versions of the classification browser: standard, enhanced and hierarchy. All three versions operate in much the same manner: A user types in a classification number, the system displays the classification data and then the user navigates the data using the buttons and links that are provided on the screen.
In addition to the three different versions of the classification browser, you also have a choice as to whether you want to use window frames or not. The frames version has more capabilities that the non-frames version and provides a richer browsing experience.
Your first step in using the classification system is to decide which version of the browser you want to use on the main classification menu. Most users should select the frames version of either the Enhanced or Hierarchy browsers because they support automatic classification table application. When you click on a link to a classification table in these browsers, the table is integrated with the main classification data. The software also calculates the classification numbers that result by applying the table. The Standard browser does none of this. Instead, when you click on a table link, the classification data that was on the screen is replaced by the appropriate table.
Additional documentation:
Because the amount of classification data can be overwhelming, you may want to limit which areas of the database you are searching at any one time. This is especially true when you are using the keyword index.
You can limit which areas of classification are searched by using one or more pre-defined classification subsets. These subdivisions correspond to the printed version of LC Classification. You can choose your subsets before you start the program from the Subsets and Options link on the main classification menu. You can also select your subsets from the classification search screen by clicking on the "Subsets" button.
At the bottom of the main classification menu are alternate versions of the menu that are configured to return different numbers of records on each display page. You can select from 20 to 100 records to be returned at a time in the classification browser and the search screen. Remember, though, that the more records that are returned in each request, the longer each request will take to complete.
BOOKMARKS You don't have to start classification from the menus that are provided. Instead, you can use those menus to start classification in a particular configuration and then create a bookmark in your Web browser. Remember, you need to create the bookmark after you arrive at your destination (not at the menu -- unless you are bookmarking the menu itself).
The Subsets and Options menu was designed for the easy creation of bookmarks. This menu allows you to completely configure classification on a single page and then click on the "Start" button. You can even provide an initial classification number. After ClassWeb starts running (you don't even have to log in), you can set your bookmark. Also, if you need the actual contents of the URL, you can "copy and paste" the information in your Web browser's Location field at the top of the screen.
NOTE TO SYSTEM DESIGNERS If you are interested in providing a link from another computer system to Classification Web, you can use the Subsets and Options menu to see what a request URL should look like. The classification number portion of the URL is placed in the "span=" parameter.
Copyright © 1999, 2001 Minaret Corp. All rights reserved.