Help Page

Spreadsheets Will Not Download or Take Too Long to Download    What are "zipped" files?    Closing Down Excel or Word    Opening and Saving Excel/Word File/Report    Software Needed to Run OPIS or How to Locate your Excel or Word exe Files

Bookmarks Sending E-mail Reports that do not Have Links Increasing Font Size (For Visual-friendly Use) Handy Excel Tips and Tutorials

Occasionally the file you are trying to access can take anywhere up to 3 or 4 minutes to download.

This should only occur the first time you access that particular file - subsequent returns to the file should result in much faster data transfer (depending on your network speed). Those in remote locations or accessing from home may find the transfer speed slower than if they were at an RMIT PC.

If the file download "hangs" (appears to have stopped downloading), or displays "DONE" in the bottom left corner of the browser window yet the page is still blank; leave the browser window open and continue with other work whilst the file downloads.

Once downloaded the file will then be added to your local "cache", (A part of your hard drive that speeds data transfer rates on the Internet) and should then make subsequent attempts to access that file almost instantaneous

Due to the large file size of certain spreadsheets produced by Statistics and Reporting, we've had to use the file compression software utility "Winzip" to speed their delivery across the network.

Clicking the zipped spreadsheet's link in OPIS will prompt you with "Open this file from its current location" and "Save to disk". Select "Save to disk". Double clicking the downloaded file will launch Winzip on your PC. You will see the desired spreadsheet's filename in Winzip's active window. Select the filename, click the button marked "Extract" to save the file in it's correct format (say .XLS) on your PC.

Should you wish to compress one of your own files for network transfer, to fit onto a diskette, or to upload to the internet, Right click the file you wish to compress, select "winzip" - "add to (filename).zip". This will create a zipped copy of your file (with the filename extension .ZIP) in the same directory.

If you do not have Winzip on your machine, please contact ITS or your IT manager.

There are two options when wanting to close down Excel or Word after viewing a spreadsheet or document:

a. Exit the program completely, or

b. Put the program onto your Task Bar by minimising it (this allows you to view the data at a later stage without having to re-enter OPIS).

Whichever option you use, OPIS will still appear on your screen. You do not have to re-enter Netscape or OPIS.

Any changes you make to a spreadsheet will not be saved in OPIS. To save any changes you make, rename the file and save or store it in your own system.

If the browser you are using is Internet Explorer, OPIS excel files will sometimes open directly into the browser, instead of opening the file in the appropriate Office program (Excel or Word). This is because Internet Explorer, by default, is configured to host documents for Office programs.

If you want to view the OPIS Excel/Word files (or any Office file) in the appropriate Office program, click on and follow the STEPS in the appropriate section (Microsoft Windows 95/98 or Microsoft WindowsNT) to configure Internet Explorer.

Alternatively, if you want to save the information as an Excel spreadsheet/Word document without following the above STEPS, you need to follow one of the options explained in this PDF file.

OPIS incorporates Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. You will need Excel and Word on your PC to fully utilise OPIS.

Locating Excel and Word

If you choose not to download the latest version of Netscape, or for your first linkage, you will need to know where your Excel.exe and Word.exe files are located. Their locations vary for each machine. If you are unsure where to find these files, ask your system administration officer where they can be found.

For most machines, the following instructions should be ample:

1. When you first activate a link to a report or description file, you will be asked to do one of the following:- Save to Disk, Pick App, Help or Cancel;

2. Choose Pick App (Pick Application)

3. To find the right Application, choose Browse:

4. If your excel and word software is on your PC, choose C:\Program Files\ MS Office\ Excel\Excel.exe if you wish to open an Excel spreadsheet or C:\Program Files\ MS Office\ Word\ Winword.exe for a Word document.

5. Click OK, and the chosen report or description file will appear in either Excel or Word.

6. If your software is located elsewhere (eg. on a departmental server) you will need to locate the correct path.

For Macintosh machines, ignore the More Info option and choose the Pick App option. Follow the prompts through and save the required document on your desktop or in one of your folders. You can then open that document after you have started the relevant software, i.e. Word 6 or Excel 5.

Any report which is frequently used can be bookmarked. This will save you navigating through OPIS each time you want to use it. To Add a page to your bookmarks, simply go to Bookmarks on the Netscape Tool bar and choose "Add Bookmarks".

OR you can also save the page you frequently use (eg. Enrol Home Page) on your desktop itself. Click anywhere within the Enrol Page and choose File - Save Frame As - then name it as you wish (eg OPIS_Enrol.htm).

When you next want to use it, simply double-click on the icon for that page on your desktop and it will open in your web browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer). To access other files on that page (Excel or Word documents), you will be requested to enter your OPIS username and password since this is a secure site.

If you want to send an E-mail or contact people from Statistics & Reporting, click on CONTACT US in any web page. This will bring up a page with contact names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for the people responsible for Enrolment, Profile, Performance, Taught Load and other queries. To send an E-mail, simply choose the relevant person, click on his/her name and an e-mail box will appear.

If you receive a prompt to specify your return address, click on Options in Netscape, then Mail and News Preferences, and Identity and fill in your details. Then, try again.

Some reports for past years do not exist and others for 1999 are in the process of being created. In these cases there is no link to a report but a link to "Contacts". This will allow you to contact Statistics & Reporting for any queries you may have. Links to reports will be activated as they become available during the relevant year.

If you are using Internet Explorer:

1: Go to the View menu (Alt V).
2: Select "text size".
3: Now choose the font size you feel most comfortable using.

If you are using Netscape Navigator/Communicator:

1: Go to the View menu.
2: Select "Increase Font", or "Decrease Font".

NB: These instructions are for Netscape Communicator version 4.7. If they do not work for the version you are using, go to your Help menu, and select Help Contents. Click on Index and search for "font."

Making all Web sites show the same font sizes

Many Web sites do not comply with Internet accessibility standards. Use the following settings to make all Web sites display your preferred fonts and font sizes:

If you are using Internet Explorer:
1: Go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options.
2: On the General tab, click the Accessibility button.
3: Put a check mark next to "Ignore font styles specified on Web pages" and "Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages."
4: Click OK.
5: Click the Font button.
6: Select the font you want to display for all Web pages.
7: Click OK for your fonts and then click OK on the next screen.

NB: These instructions were created for Internet Explorer version 5.0.
If they do not work for the version you are using, go to your Help menu, select the Index and search for "font."

If you are using Netscape Navigator/Communicator:
1: Go to the Edit menu and select Preferences.
2: In the Appearance category select Fonts.
3: Select the fonts and sizes you want to display for all Web pages.
4: Select "Use my default fonts, overriding document-specified fonts."
5: Click OK.

NB: These instructions were created for Netscape Communicator version 4.7.
If they do not work for the version you are using, go to your Help menu, and select Help Contents. Click on Index and search for "font."