CTools Online Help Document -- Opening CTools and Logging in

Printer-Friendly Version

Opening CTools and logging in

This online help guide section covers the following basic steps for getting started with CTools:

Step A -- Opening the software

Step B -- Logging in

- for UM faculty, staff and students

- for non-UM members

Step A: Opening the software

1... Open this URL in your browser:

http://ctools.umich.edu

2... When you open this URL, you will arrive at a page that we call the CTools Gateway. This is not the actual CTools software that you will use -- the gateway is simply the "public face" of CTools and is viewable by anyone with web access.

From the Gateway, you can access a variety of information by clicking the links on the left-hand vertical menubar, including:

•The Message of the Day, which provides updates on new features, service issues, outage messages, etc. (Welcome link)

•Detailed descriptions of CTools features and tools (About and Features links)

•A public list of sites on CTools (Sites link)

•A list of upcoming training sessions (Training link)

•Full documentation and a link to the Support Desk (Help link)

Step B: Logging in to CTools -- for UM Instructors, Staff and Students

1... To access the actual CTools software from the CTools Gateway, click the Login button at the top right corner of the CTools Gateway page.

2... Type your UM uniqname and Kerberos password in the spaces provided.

3... Click the Login button on the Authentication Required window.

(If you are already logged into another UM web service, such as Wolverine Access or mail.umich.edu, then you will not have to type in your UM uniqname and password again. CTools will open when you click the Login button on the Gateway page.)

When you sign on to CTools, you will automatically open a site called My Workspace. This is your own personal workspace -- all CTools users have one. Your workspace includes the following features, plus more:

•Membership -- The Membership feature provides a list of the CTools sites that you have access to. It also lists “open groups” – groups that you can optionally join.

•Schedule -- Your Schedule tool can be used to track appointments and other items you would include on a personal schedule. For detailed information on using the Schedule feature, see “Schedule” in this online help.

•Resources -- In the Resources area, you can store personal files. You may choose to arrange your Resource a! rea into folders based on different interests, or different assignments, classes or projects -- it's entirely your decision. For detailed information on using the Resources feature, see “Resources” in this online help.

•Worksite Setup -- This is where you will find the online tools and forms needed to set up a website for your course or project.

•Help -- This feature contains answers to questions about CTools, plus a link to this online Help guide. A link to send a question to the CTools consulting staff can be found in the online Help under "Getting Help" ---> "Contacting CTools Consultants."

•News -- A page where you can display RSS news feeds of your choice.

•Web Content -- A page where you can display a webpage of your choice.

This online help guide includes sections with further information about My Workspace, using the tools, setting up sites, and much more.

Are you finding what you're looking for? Please send feedback about this online help guide to ctools-doc-comments@umich.edu Thanks! (For questions about using CTools, send email to ctools-support@umich.edu)

Step B: Logging in to CTools -- for Non-UM users

1... While you have the CTools Gateway open (See Step A, above), click the Login button at the top right corner.

2...Click the Friends link on the bottom left of the "Authentication Required" page -- it is the last item in the column under the heading "Need A Login Name?" (You can also open https://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/ in your browser)

3... Follow the simple instructions on the "Request a Friend Account" page.

4... Once the account has been created, you must then be manually added to a site by the site owner or instructor. You will need to contact the site owner or instructor.

5... After you have been granted access to the site, you can open the actual CTools application by opening the CTools Gateway as you did before (using ctools.umich.edu) and clicking the Login button at the top right corner of the CTools Gateway page,

6... Type your Friend guest login id (which is the email address you used to get your Friend Account) and the password you specified in the spaces provided.

Note: The email address used to access CTools must match the address you provided for the creation of the Friend Account. Also, because the system converts the email address you submitted to all lowercase, you must enter it without any capital letters when you're logging in to CTools.

7... Click on the Login button.

When you sign on to CTools, you will automatically open a site called My Workspace, which is a personal workspace. Your workspace includes the following features, plus more:

•Membership -- The Membership feature provides a list of the CTools sites that you have access to. It also lists “open groups” – groups that you can optionally join.

•Resources -- In the Resources area, you can store personal files. You may choose to arrange your Resource a! rea into folders based on different interests, or different assignm ents, classes or projects -- it's entirely your decision. For detailed information on using the Resources feature, see “Resources” in this online help.

•Worksite Setup -- This is where you will find the online tools and forms needed to set up a website for your course or project.

•News -- A page where you can display RSS news feeds of your choice.

•Web Content -- A page where you can display a webpage of your choice.

This online help guide includes sections with further information about My Workspace, using the tools, setting up sites, and much more.