Goldsmiths - University of London

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Supported Software

Goldsmiths supports both Macintosh and PC systems and their accompanying software.

In general terms, applications that support the graphic, media and visual arts departments of the College are found on the Macintosh platform, whereas PCs are used more for standard research and statistical analysis.

PC

The Operating System currently supported is Windows XP Professional.

Applications software supported at the highest level by the IT Services on PC systems includes;

  • Microsoft Excel XP, powerful spreadsheet package which can also be used for database work and charting.
  • Microsoft Word XP, a full facility MS-Windows-based word-processing package.
  • Microsoft PowerPoint XP, Presentation package.
  • WS_FTP, FTP client.
  • Firefox, Web browser.
  • Internet Explorer, Web browser.

There is limited support for a range of additional applications, such as;

  • Adobe PhotoShop Elements, an image manipulation package.
  • Corel Draw/PhotoPaint, object and paint drawing packages.
  • Dreamweaver, a Web-site editor.
  • EndNote, a bibliographic database application.
  • NVivo, a qualitative data analysis package.
  • PagePlus a DOS-based desktop publishing package.
  • HomeSite, a Web page creation tool.

Some applications have been installed solely at the request of particular departments. These include:

  • SPSS, high-end statistics package (currently only installed for PCs).

If you are likely to want to share documents with Macintosh users in your department or elsewhere in the College then you are recommended to carry out all file transfers and translations on the Macintosh system. All Apple operating systems allow PC disks to appear on the Macintosh desktop in the same way as a Macintosh disk.

Macintosh

OS-X is fully supported. This is now at version 10.4.x. IT Services continue to support MacOS 9.x, although most Macintosh systems manufactured since mid-2003 have only been able to start under OS-X.

Applications software supported at the highest level by the IT Services on Macintosh systems includes;

  • AppleWorks, integrated package with word-processor, ouliner, paint/draw graphics, spreadsheet, database and screen presentation modules.
  • Microsoft Word 2004, a full facility word-processing package.
  • Microsoft Excel 2004, a high-powered spreadsheet application.
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2004, a desktop presentation tool.
  • Terminal, a terminal emulation software for communication with the College unix servers and FTP connection to remote hosts.
  • Eudora (staff only), a point-and-click electronic mail package for POP and IMAP which can be used for local, national or international e-Mail contacts.
  • Mulberry, a point-and-click electronic mail package for IMAP which can be used for local, national or international e-Mail contacts.
  • Firefox, a Web browser.
  • The Internet Explorer browser is now deprecated by Apple, is no longer supported by Microsoft and can be problematic with some Web sites.

There is limited support for a range of additional applications, including;

  • Adobe Illustrator, a PostScript drawing/DTP package, largely for single page design and flyers.
  • Adobe InDesign, a precision, standard, desktop publishing package.
  • Adobe PhotoShop, a very sophisticated image manipulation package.
  • EndNote X , a cross-platform bibliographic database package.
  • FileMaker Pro, a cross-platform relational database application.
  • Macromedia Flash, a timeline-based animation package.
  • Macromedia Freehand, a PostScript drawing package, largely for single page design and flyers.
  • Macromedia Dreamweaver, a powerful Web-site development tool.
  • QuarkXPress, a precision, graphics industry standard, desktop publishing package.

Some applications are installed on limited numbers of machines (often adjacent to appropriate hardware outside the Help Desk) at the request of particular departments. These include:

  • iDVD, a simple DVD-creator tool.
  • Photoshop Scanning plug-ins, on all machines with flatbed scanners.
  • iMovie, a DV-editing package that runs on FireWire-equipped iMacs and G3/G4/G5 and all Intel-based Macintosh systems.
  • Toast Titanium, a full-function CD/DVD burner application.
  • ReadIris Pro, Text Recognition (OCR) software.

N.B. All Macintosh systems should be able to read any PC documents supplied as e-Mail attachments or on external media such as floppy disk or USB memory stick. This applies both to the disk media containing the files as well as the files themselves.

If you create documents that you wish to share with PC users, then for their convenience please ensure that the file name incudes the appropriate file extension (.doc for Word documents, .xls for Excel spreadsheets, .ppt for Powerpoint files, etc.) and is no longer than 31 characters in length including the four character file extension. This will allow the documents to show up under the default settings for the PC file diaologs, rather than forcing them to select 'All Files' in this dialog.