Logging in
Lab computers, unlike your personal MacBook Pro, require that you log in to them to identify yourself. In the username box, type your MCAD Login username and password. This password would be the same thing that you use to log in to your MCAD Gmail account.
Using Adobe CC on a lab computer
In order to use the Adobe Creative Cloud apps on lab computers, you must log into them. Click one of the apps from the dock or inside the applications folder. In the window that opens, enter your full MCAD email (username@mcad.edu) and click continue. If asked, select Company/School ID. On the next window, please enter just your MCAD username (with the @mcad.edu part) and password.
Storage on lab computers
The biggest difference between working on a lab computer and your personal MacBook Pro is how files are managed.
When you sign into a computer in an on-campus computer lab, that computer makes a new temporary user profile for you. This profile is a separate user from your personal computer’s user account, so the files do not automatically sync from computer-to-computer. Files can be imported/exported via email, external drive, google drive/cloud services, or MCAD fileservers. Files can be temporarily saved locally, however, local storage should not be relied on as all lab computers will automatically delete user profiles and files without warning 15 days after user account creation.
To minimize your chances of losing files to the automated user clean-up process, it is recommended that you always backup your files before logging off of a lab computer.
For more information about backing up your data visit this article on the Intranet.
NOTE: Some older workstations are set up with a smaller drive where user accounts get created and a larger Temp_Storage drive intended for the housing of data until it can be moved off of the machine by users. If users are not diligently using the Temp_Storage partition the main drive might become clogged with older data stored in user account folders. When this happens we are forced to manually clean the drive by removing all user accounts and their data so that the machine remains functional to users. Again, these computers are not designed to house your information indefinitely, and all users are responsible for the retention of their data on their own personal devices.
The school reserves the right to erase or modify the data and equipment in labs at will, but we generally avoid this unless there is a need.
Working with fonts
Since the lab computers reset when you log out to prepare for the next person to use that workstation, fonts installed during your session (the time from when you log in to when you log off) are deleted when you log off. Fonts you are using for a project will need to be added to Font Book every time you log in to a lab computer and need to access those fonts in an application.