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Patron Computer How-To

How to sign up at an available computer

  1. Press a key or wiggle the mouse to clear the screensaver.
  2. If the word “Available” appears, click on it to sign up. If the word “Reserved” appears, you may sign up to use that computer for a short session if there are at least 20 minutes until the time indicated.
  3. In the window that appears, type your 14 digit library card number. Press the Enter key or click “Next.”
  4. The computer will verify your library card number and attempt to make a reservation for you. If successful, it will display an on-screen receipt. Note the time length granted for this session. Your time totals for the day are also displayed.
  5. Write down the reservation number. If your computer crashes, you can use this to log back in for the rest of your session.
  6. If you want to start using the computer for the time indicated, press the Enter key or click “Use this Computer.” If you decide not to use this computer, click “Cancel Reservation.”
  7. The library’s Computer and Internet Use Policies will display. You must click “Accept” to acknowledge them and begin your session. If you click “Decline”, your reservation is cancelled and the computer is rebooted.

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How to sign in to an Express station at the Downtown & South Lansing branches

  1. Request a guest pass from library staff at the reference desk.
  2. Go to an open express station, and press a key or wiggle the mouse to clear the screensaver.
  3. Click on the word "Available."
  4. In the window that appears, enter the number found on your guest pass.  Hit enter to continue.
  5. The library’s Computer and Internet Use Policies will display. You must click “Accept” to acknowledge them and begin your session. If you click “Decline”, your reservation is cancelled and the computer is rebooted.

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How to sign in to an Express station at all other CADL branches

  1. Press a key or wiggle the mouse to clear the screensaver.
  2. Click on the word “Available.”
  3. In the window that appears, type the word “express.” Press the Enter key or click “Next.”
  4. The computer will display an on-screen receipt. All Express sessions are 15 minutes. Press the Enter key or click “Use this Computer.” If you decide not to use this computer, click “Cancel Reservation.”
  5. The library’s Computer and Internet Use Policies will display. You must click “Accept” to acknowledge them and begin your session. If you click “Decline”, your reservation is cancelled and the computer is rebooted.

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How to sign up at the Signup station

  1. Press a key or wiggle the mouse to clear the screensaver.
  2. Click “Next Available PC.”
  3. In the window that appears, type your 14 digit library card number. Press the Enter key or click “Next.”
  4. If the library has more than one computer area, you will be asked to choose one. Click on the name of the area you would like. Press the Enter key or click “Submit.”
  5. If you already have a reservation, you will be prompted to either keep or cancel it.
  6. If a full session is not available within 5 minutes, you may be offered a choice of a shorter session that starts sooner (if one is available), or a full session. Read the screen and click the appropriate button.
  7. The computer will verify your library card number and attempt to make a reservation for you. If successful, it will display an on-screen receipt. Note the time length granted for this session. Your time totals for the day are also displayed.
  8. To accept the reservation, press the Enter key or click “Use this Computer.” If you decide not to accept the reservation, click “Cancel Reservation.”
  9. A receipt will automatically print. Take and keep the receipt. It contains your reservation number that you will need to start your session.

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How to sign in to your reserved computer

  1. At the time indicated on the receipt, approach your assigned computer. Press a key or wiggle the mouse to clear the screensaver.
  2. It should say “Reserved” and display your reservation time.
  3. Type your 4 digit reservation number from your receipt in the box labeled “Reservation #.”
  4. The library’s Computer and Internet Use Policies will display. You must click “Accept” to acknowledge them and begin your session. If you click “Decline”, your reservation is cancelled and the computer is rebooted.

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How to cancel a reservation

If you need to leave before you sign in to your session, please leave your receipt with a staff member, who can cancel your reservation and make it available for someone else.

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How to sign out

If you use your full time allotment, the computer will automatically sign you off and reboot the computer. If you want to leave early, click the “Done” button in the countdown window.

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How to lock the computer to step away for a few minutes

If you don’t type on the keyboard or move the mouse for 10 minutes, your session will be ended automatically and the computer will be rebooted. If you need to take a phone call, use the restroom, or look up a book, you should lock your session to make sure you are not timed out.

Note: Your session time will continue to count down. If you do not come back before the end of your session, it will end automatically, the computer will reboot, and your work will not be saved. Also, if you are gone for an extended time, staff may unlock and end your session to make it available for other users.

  1. Click the “Lock” button in the countdown window.
  2. In the window that appears, type a simple password of your choosing. Type it again in the second box. Click OK.
  3. When you are ready to resume your work, wiggle the mouse or press a key.
  4. Type the password you set in step 2 and click OK.

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How to start a new document

  1. Launch the program you wish to use to create your document. The program will open and a new, blank document will be started.
  2. Click the Save button, or, from the "Office" menu, choose Save.
  3. In the window that appears, the drop down menu at the top of the window should say “My Documents.” If it does not, click the My Documents icon in the "Favorites Links" column on the left of the window.
  4. In the box labeled “File name” along the bottom of the window, type a name for your document.
  5. Click the Save button.
  6. Continue to work on your document. Click the Save button every few minutes to save your work.

Note: At the 4 minute warning of the end of your session, make your final edits, save your document again, then close it. You must then copy your file to a floppy drive, CD, or flash drive, or email it to yourself if you wish to keep a permanent copy. The copy in My Documents will be erased at the end of your session.

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How to open and edit files on a floppy disk

Note: Floppy disks are not a reliable, long-term storage medium. We do not recommend keeping your only copy of an important document on a floppy disk. CDs and flash drives are much more reliable and our computers now support these options. The library also sells CD-R discs.

It is risky to save to floppy as you edit a document. We recommend the following procedure instead. However, you must remember to copy your document back to your floppy at the end of your session, or you will lose your work.

  1. Request a portable USB floppy drive from library staff at the desk.
  2. Plug the portable floppy drive into one of the USB ports on the front of your computer.
  3. Insert your floppy disk in the portable floppy drive.
  4. Double click the floppy disk icon on the desktop.
  5. Double click on the icon of the file you wish to open.
  6. From the File menu, choose Save As . . .
  7. In the window that appears, the drop down menu at the top of the window should say “My Documents.” If it does not, click the My Documents icon in the "Favorites Links" column on the left of the window.
  8. In the box labeled “File name” along the bottom of the window, type a name for your document.
  9. Click the Save button.
  10. Continue to work on your document. Click the Save button every few minutes to save your work.
  11. Return the portable floppy drive to the library staff at the desk.

Note: At the 4 minute warning of the end of your session, make your final edits, save your document again, then close it. You must then copy your file back to your floppy disk if you wish to keep a permanent copy. The copy in My Documents will be erased at the end of your session.

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How to save to a floppy disk

  1. Request the portable floppy drive from the library staff at the desk.
  2. Plug the portable floppy drive into one of the USB ports on the front of your computer.
  3. Insert your floppy disk in the portable floppy drive.
  4. Double click the My Documents icon on the desktop.
  5. Click once on your file so that it is highlighted.
  6. From the File menu, choose Send To, then 3 ½ floppy (A:)
  7. When the light on the floppy drive turns off, press the button on the floppy drive to eject your disk.

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How to open and edit files from a CD

  1. Insert your CD in the computer.
  2. Double click the CD drive icon on the desktop.
  3. Double click on the icon of the file you wish to open.
  4. From the File menu, choose Save As . . .
  5. If you try to save it to the CD drive, you will get an error. Click the My Documents icon in the bar along the left of the window.
  6. Click the Save button.
  7. Continue to work on your document. Click the Save button every few minutes to save your work.

Note: At the 4 minute warning of the end of your session, make your final edits, save your document again, then close it. You must then write your file back to your CD if you wish to keep a permanent copy. The copy in My Documents will be erased at the end of your session.

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How to save to a CD

  1. Click here to open PDF with instructions

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How to open and edit files on a USB flash drive

Note: Unlike floppy disks or CDs, it is possible and safe to save files to a USB flash drive as you edit them.

  1. Plug your USB flash drive into one of the USB ports on the front of the computer. It may take a moment for the computer to recognize your drive. When it is ready, a small icon with a green arrow will appear in the lower right corner of the screen near the clock.
  2. Double click the My Computer icon on the desktop.
  3. Under the heading “Devices with Removable Storage,” look for a drive labeled (F:). Double click on the icon of that drive.
  4. Double click on the icon of the file you wish to open.
  5. Continue to work on your document. Click the Save button every few minutes to save your work.
  6. When you are finished, save your document and close it.
  7. To safely remove your flash drive, click once on the green arrow icon in the lower right corner of the screen near the clock. Click once on the message that appears: “safely remove USB Mass Storage Device – Drive (F:).”
  8. Pull your drive out of the USB port.

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How to save to a USB flash drive

  1. Plug your USB flash drive into one of the USB ports on the front of the computer. It may take a moment for the computer to recognize your drive. When it is ready, a small icon with a green arrow will appear in the lower right corner of the screen near the clock.
  2. Double click the My Documents icon on the desktop.
  3. Click once on your file so that it is highlighted.
  4. From the File menu, choose Send To, then the drive labeled (F:)
  5. To safely remove your flash drive, click once on the green arrow icon in the lower right corner of the screen near the clock. Click once on the message that appears: “safely remove USB Mass Storage Device – Drive (F:).”
  6. Pull your drive out of the USB port.

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How to use the flash card reader

  1. Insert your flash card into the appropriate slot in the front of the patron computer.  It will only fit in one way; typically it fits pins forward and label up.
  2. A green light will activate on the card reader to indicate you have correctly inserted a working card.  If you do not see this light, try to replug the card into the socket.  If the light never comes on, and the device never shows up in "My Computer", your card may be malfunctioning.
  3. Once the green light is on, you should see several new drive options listed under "My Computer."  It will typically change the name of one of them to the brand of your card, so look for the drive that is named as such.  It will also become colored instead of grey in the listing.
  4. To view your files, double click your flash device to open it and begin viewing.  Alternatively, you may use various programs on  your computer to work with your files in different ways.  Photoshop Elements (at the Downtown Computer Center only) to edit them, Publisher to create fliers, or Internet Explorer to visit webmail pages and email them to friends.
  5. When you are done using the flash device, go back to "My Computer" and right click the flash device, and then left-click eject.  Remove the device from the computer.

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How to print at the following branches:  Downtown, Haslett, Holt, Okemos, South Lansing

Note: Printing costs 10 cents per page.  The pages you have selected to print cannot be changed from the print management station, so previewing your printout to get only the desired pages as described below is highly recommended.

  1. Open the document you wish to print.
  2. From the File menu, choose Print Preview.
  3. A window will appear and show you what your document will look like when it prints. Somewhere along the top or the bottom of the print preview window will be a total page count, as well as the number of the page you are currently viewing. You can scroll through the pages with the scroll bar at the right. Take note of which pages you want to print.
  4. From the File menu, choose Print.
  5. In the Print window, you can adjust which pages to print with the Print Range options—all pages, just the current page, just the material you’ve selected (highlighted with your mouse), or particular pages.
  6. Click OK.
  7. You will receive a pop-up box stating that "Your print job is processing.  Please wait."
  8. In a few moments, another pop-up box will appear which asks you to enter the name of the document and a password.  The password must be typed twice to ensure it was typed correctly.  Please note the charge for printing is listed at the top here as well.  Click the green "Send" button in the lower right corner to proceed.
  9. A confirmation box will appear stating you have 3 hours to retrieve your job from the print management station.  When you are ready to retrieve your document(s), head over to the print management station.
  10. Print jobs are listed sorted by the time they were sent to the print management station.  Left click once to highlight the job(s) you wish to print, enter your payment into the slot on the print management station, then enter your password and then click "Start Printing."  Your job will now print.

How to print at all other branches

Note: Printing costs 10 cents per page. You will be charged for all pages printed whether you take them or not, so previewing your printout as described below is highly recommended.

  1. Open the document you wish to print.
  2. From the File menu, choose Print Preview.
  3. A window will appear and show you what your document will look like when it prints. Somewhere along the top or the bottom of the print preview window will be a total page count, as well as the number of the page you are currently viewing. You can scroll through the pages with the scroll bar at the right. Take note of which pages you want to print.
  4. From the File menu, choose Print.
  5. In the Print window, you can adjust which pages to print with the Print Range options—all pages, just the current page, just the material you’ve selected (highlighted with your mouse), or particular pages.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Your file will print at a networked printer in a staff area. See a staff member for assistance.

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How to download a file

  1. If you click a link on a web site to download a file, a window will appear and ask whether you want to run or save the file. Click the Save button.
  2. In the window that appears, the drop down menu at the top of the menu labeled “Save in” should say “My Documents.” If it does not, click the My Documents icon in the bar along the left of the window. Click the Save button.
  3. Another window will appear to show you the progress of the download. When it is complete, you can click Done to close that window, or click Open Folder to open the My Documents folder and see the file you just downloaded.
  4. To take this file with you, you will now need to copy it to your own media. See the instructions for saving to floppy disk, CD, or USB flash drive.

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How to listen to audio CDs

You may listen to audio CDs using the CD drive on the computer. You may use your own headphones. The library also sells headphones. Please keep the volume low so as not to disturb others.

  1. Insert your CD in the computer.
  2. From the CADL Quickstart menu, click "Play CD/DVD Media" OR from the desktop double click the CD drive icon on the desktop. Your CD should begin playing automatically.
  3. Plug headphones into the headphone jack on the front of the computer.
  4. Adjust the volume by clicking once on the speaker icon in the lower right corner of the screen near the clock. In the window that appears, use your mouse to drag the slider up or down.

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How to view a DVD

  1. Insert your DVD in the computer.
  2. From the CADL Quickstart menu, click "Play CD/DVD Media" OR Double click the CD drive icon on the desktop. Your DVD should begin playing automatically.
  3. Plug headphones into the headphone jack on the front of the computer.
  4. Adjust the volume by clicking once on the speaker icon in the lower right corner of the screen near the clock. In the window that appears, use your mouse to drag the slider up or down.

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How to view web pages in a non–English language

Our computers are set so that they automatically detect web pages coded in different languages and appropriately change the fonts to display them.

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How to use Children's Games

CADL patron computers provide the following children’s games that mainly focus on pre-school literacy:

  • Just Grandma and Me 2.0
  • Arthur’s Thinking Games
  • Millie’s Math House
  • I Spy School Days
  • Jumpstart Kindergarten
  • Reader Rabbit Playtime for Baby & Toddler
  • Sesame Street Get Set to Learn!
  • Kid Pix Deluxe 4
  • Storybook Weaver Deluxe

Each game can only be played simultaneously across the across the district between all of our patron computers (5) times. If the same game is being played 5 times across the district, the 6th time that game is loaded, the patron will receive an error message because we have ran out of “licenses”:

The 6th user trying to play that particular game will have two choices:
1. Wait a while and try to replay that same game (by waiting, maybe some other patron stopped playing that game therefore freeing up a license)
2. Play a different game that has licenses available.

To clarify, let’s look at the following example …

  • At Okemos 2 kids are playing “Arthur”
  • At South Lansing 2 kids are playing "Arthur"
  • At Foster 1 kid is playing "Arthur"
  • At Mason, 1 kid wants to play "Arthur" but because 5 patrons are already playing across the District, the kid at Mason will get an error message and will have to wait until someone at Okemos, South Lansing or Foster stops playing that particular game.


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How to use the Accesibility Features

 Click here to view

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