® ® Avid iNEWS Setup and Configuration Guide
Legal Notices Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed by the University of California, Berkeley. The name of the University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code: ©1993–1998 Altura Software, Inc. The following disclaimer is required by Ultimatte Corporation: Certain real-time compositing capabilities are provided under a license of such technology from Ultimatte Corporation and are subject to copyright protection. The following disclaimer is required by 3Prong.com Inc.
SynchroScope, Syntax, Targa, TDM FlexCable, Thunder, Titan, Titansync, TL Aggro, TL AutoPan, TL Drum Rehab, TL Everyphase, TL Fauxlder, TL In Tune, TL MasterMeter, TL Metro, TL Space, TL Utilities, Torq, Torq Xponent, Transfuser, Trigger Finger, Trillium Lane Labs, TruTouch, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Velvet, Venom, VideoRAID, Video Slave Driver, VideoSPACE, VideoSpin, Vortx, Xdeck, X-Form, Xmon, Xponent, X-Session, and X-Session Pro are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.
Contents Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 ...With the Syntax of Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting up Simplified Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Simplified User Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Creating New Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Adding a New User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Enabing a New User to Receive Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Types of Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Removing Locks from a Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Unbusy Stories and Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 MOS Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Chapter 6 Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hiding Queues and Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Creating a Mail Alias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Mail Aliases for Other Machines or the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Chapter 7 Keyboards and Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Types of Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 10 System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Making a Backup File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Viewing System Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Licensing iNEWS Components . . . . . . . . .
Phase 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Phase 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Wire Profile Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Wire Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Field Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Validation Job List Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 Rundown Mirroring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Polling Commands for Action Servers or Txnet Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338 Configuring Rundown Mirroring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Composite and Event List Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 Set up Queue and Story Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 Assigning Forms to Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 Creating an Entry in the SYSTEM.MAP Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386 Updating the iNEWS System Dictionaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 Creating Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 17 iNEWS Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 Overview of Projects and Facets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 Setting up the iNEWS Database for Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 Creating Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 Date Variables for Searching . . . . . . . . . . . .
dbpurge (Superuser conditional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 dbrestore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 dbserver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 dbsort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 dbtraits. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
makemontab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504 makeshift (Super user only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 maketab (Superuser only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 mapcheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 msgclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
bpoll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 bscan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 charset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 dup . . . . . . . . . . .
delay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 diag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 escape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 expect. . . . . . . .
Using Dictionaries to Define Messages and Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 Customizing Dictionaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 Changing Default Dictionary Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 Restoring Dictionary Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567 Utility Messages Dictionary (/site/dict/messages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Registry Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596 Environment Variables (Registry Values) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597 CCColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 DestinationOrder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 MailLookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing Group Traits at the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643 Read Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 Write Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 Editorial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 Notify Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
0 Using This Guide Congratulations on your purchase of your Avid iNEWS system. It is a vital part of the Avid news system solution that integrates with other Avid systems and third-party equipment to provide an ideal nonlinear workflow and optimize the news production process. This guide is part of a two-book set designed to keep pace with current advances in the Avid system’s news production capabilities.
0 Using This Guide Symbols and Conventions Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions: Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action n A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong suggestions. c A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data. w > A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm.
If You Need Help 2. Check the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published. You should always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe because the online version is updated whenever new information becomes available. To view these online versions, visit the Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/support. 3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues. 4.
0 Using This Guide Avid Training Services Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment. To learn about Avid's new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator™ (ALEX), visit http://learn.avid.com.
1 Introduction The iNEWS newsroom computer system is an integrated digital news production system, which provides journalists, producers, directors, writers, and technical personnel with an array of tools to make their jobs easier.
Overview of iNEWS An iNEWS newsroom computer system provides: • News gathering from text sources • News production, including: • - Story creation and script editing - Association of machine control items to script - Show planning and creation - Show archiving - Contact organization and scheduling News to air, including: - On-air playback control - File exporting - Internet publishing Some primary components of iNEWS include: • Linux-based computers running the iNEWS Server software.
System Administrator Tasks System Administrator Tasks The following sections describe common system administrator responsibilities and tasks. Basic Tasks Before you can customize or maintain the iNEWS newsroom computer system, you must learn several basic tasks, which include: • Start up or shut down iNEWS Server software, which includes logging out users and taking the system offline. • Back up a site file before making file modifications.
System Administrator Tasks • Remove a directory or queue from the database, if it is no longer used. • Change the name or traits of an existing directory or queue. • Assign the mailbox trait to queues for configuring automatic story distribution into and out of queues. Security Tasks There are many ways to ensure the security of your iNEWS system.
System Administrator Tasks Device Tasks A device is any kind of hardware or software that performs a specific function when it is set up on the iNEWS system. Your responsibilities regarding devices include: • List the parameters of any device running on your system or list all devices of one type. • Add any type of device to your system, if you have the capacity and license permission. • Edit site-specific files, to change the setup information for a device in your system’s configuration file.
2 The iNEWS Console The iNEWS console is a Windows-based computer that serves as a “command center” enabling system administrators to monitor and maintain the iNEWS newsroom computer system. The console uses PuTTY software to send commands to one or more iNEWS servers. n There are two separate packages: PuTTY and PuTTY Command Sender (PuTTYCS). They must be downloaded separately. Contact Avid Customer Support for more information.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS PuTTY is a free (MIT-licensed) Win32 Telnet and SSH terminal emulation program that can be installed and used by an iNEWS system administrator to access the Red Hat Linux command line interface. Every command line command entered at the console can be entered through a PuTTY connection. n Avid software distribution of iNEWS only includes PuTTYtel (the Telnet only version of PuTTY) for countries where encryption is outlawed.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS n a. Set Session logging to All session output. b. Select the Always append to the end of it radio button. c. Set each server’s log file name. t When doing this procedure for server A, set the Log file name to C:\Console\logs\iNEWS-A-&Y&M&D.log t When doing this procedure for server B, set the Log file name to C:\Console\logs\iNEWS-B-&Y&M&D.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS This creates a log file for each server with the year, month, and day appended to the name. n There is no auto-delete or auto-purge of log files.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS 3. Expand Window and select Behavior category. a. Set Window title for each server’s console session. t When doing this procedure for server A, type Console for iNEWS-A. t When doing this procedure for server B, type Console for iNEWS-B.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS b. Select the Translation category and set Remote character set to UTF-8.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS 4. Expand Connection and select the Serial category. t For server A, set Serial line to connect to COM1.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS t For server B, set Serial line to connect to COM 2. 5. Select Session. a. For server A, do the following: - Set Serial line to COM1. - Set Connection type to Serial. - Set Saved Sessions to iNEWS-A com.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS b. For server B, do the following: - Set Serial line to COM2. - Set Connection type to Serial. - Set Saved Sessions to iNEWS-B com.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS 41
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS 6. Ensure the console connections start at startup. a. Create shortcuts for each PuTTY console connection in the Startup folder. b. Add the Startup command option into each shortcut, as shown in the following images—one for each server.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS 43
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS 7. Start the PuTTY Command Sender program by clicking the PuTTYCS icon installed on the desktop.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS The following dialog box opens. 8. Click Preferences. 9. Configure the preference start-up settings.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS Section/Setting Description Window > Tool window Display PuTTYCS as a tool window with the thin title bar. Window > Always on top Display PuTTYCS on top of all other windows. Window > Minimize a system tray Minimizes PuTTYCS to the system tray. If enabled, PuTTYCS can only be exited through the system tray popup menu. Window > Opacity Use the slider to set the opacity for the PuTTYCS window. This may be useful if PuTTYCS sometimes blocks your existing PuTTY windows.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS Section/Setting Description Transition delays: (Advanced) > Post send Sets the amount of time (in milliseconds) to pause after sending a command to a PuTTY window. The slower the machine or remote connection, the higher this value should be. Miscellaneous > Save password n Passwords are encoded in Base64 and stored in the PuTTYCS.ini file. This might present a potential security risk.
Configuring PuTTY for iNEWS By default, AllPuTTYs filter is set. This means PuTTYCS sends commands to all open sessions; however, you can create filters to send commands to only specific sessions. For instance, when you log in via serial ports, the sessions have a title of COM3, COM4, etc. If you log in via SSH, the sessions have titles of so@WAVD-A, so@WAVD-B, etc. 12. Click Add to add new filters.
Logging in as a System Operator Logging in as a System Operator System administrators must log in to iNEWS at the console differently than other users who log in at an iNEWS Workstation. For security reasons, system administrators should log out of the system when not using it. To log in as the system operator: 1. Select the server(s) displaying the login prompt. 2. Type: so. 3. Press Enter. 4. If your system has a password for this account—and most do—then type in the password when prompted.
Changing System Administration Passwords The superuser prompt looks like this: NRCS-A# n If a command example in this guide shows the superuser prompt—ending in a pound sign (#)—you must be in superuser mode to use the command. A password is required for taking superuser privileges. This password is the same as the root user password, which is set during installation of the Linux operating system on the iNEWS servers. See “Changing System Administration Passwords” on page 50 for more information.
Changing System Administration Passwords n Changing the superuser password also changes the Linux root user password, which is set during the Linux OS installation, must be more than six characters, initially. Keep a confidential record of password changes. Knowing the passwords is critical. If you forget your passwords, the operating system might need to be reinstalled from scratch by Avid Customer Support technicians. To change the system operator password: 1.
Exiting the Console Session(s) Exiting the Console Session(s) You should leave the console sessions on at all times while the iNEWS system is running. However, some regular maintenance situations might require you to exit the console. n Avid recommends system administrators close and restart PuTTY console programs regularly—such as once a month. By doing so, this helps keep log files at manageable file sizes. To exit the console: 1. Close the windows for each server’s console session. 2.
Selecting One or More Servers If the server sends a message while you are typing a command, the console stops displaying your keystrokes to display the message. However, it continues to record what you type. After it has displayed the message, then the console will display the data you typed in its entirety. If you are interrupted by a console display or have mistyped a command, you can cancel the entire command line and start over by pressing Ctrl+U.
Selecting One or More Servers To send a command to only server A: 1. Select the console window for server A. 2. Type your command. 3. Press Enter. To simultaneously send a command to both the A and B servers: 1. From the PuTTYCS application, select the PuTTY Filter created for sending server commands to servers A and B. 2. Type the command. 3. Click Send. To simultaneously send a command to all servers: 1.
Using Command History Using Command History When output from a server command consists of more lines than can fit in the window, lines will be scrolled off the screen. However, the PuTTY application does keep a buffer of recent history that you can view by scrolling through the data in each corresponding PuTTY window. The top of the buffer contains the oldest information; the bottom of the buffer contains the most current. By default the PuTTY application maintains 200 lines of data in the buffer.
Using Command History To view recent history on a particular server: 1. Maximize the server’s window whose history you want to review. 2. Scroll through the most recent console history. By default the buffer contains 200 lines of data. If enabled in Keyboard/Mouse section of the Preferences dialog box for the PuTTYCS application, you can use the Up or Down Arrow keys on the keyboard to scroll. Logged Command History You can configure PuTTY to log command history to disk for later review.
3 Getting Started System Administrators are responsible for knowing how to start up and shut down the iNEWS system. This requires logging in at the console, which is done differently than other iNEWS users and provides access to features that other logins do not. Information on using the console, including logging in, is covered in Chapter 2. This chapter provides specifics on starting up and shutting down the newsroom computer system.
Starting the System The following procedure shows you how to reboot your servers and synchronize them. This is primarily for dual- or triple-server systems. For steps on starting a system in single-server mode, see “Starting a System in Single-Server Mode” on page 63. n Because the following procedure applies to an entire system that has been shut down, you must perform all the steps on all servers, except where otherwise indicated. To start your iNEWS system: 1.
Starting the System c c If the system was not shut down as described in “Shutting Down the System” on page 61, check the iNEWS system log files for messages indicating that all servers shut down at the same time. Do not connect servers unless you are sure their databases are mirrored. If you cannot find messages indicating simultaneous shutdown, or are otherwise unsure whether the disks are mirrored, call Avid Customer Support for assistance before proceeding.
Starting the System n Checking for edit and order locks might take time depending on the size of the database. In an emergency, bypass this step to get the system running. Go back later and remove locks to provide system access. The system can detect invalid locks and will ignore them. a. Select the console window for one server, such as server A. b. Type: dbclean -x . The -x option tells dbclean to skip queues or directories marked with a skip flag, reducing the time it takes to run. The period (.
Shutting Down the System - Starts all devices and utility programs The console displays device-ready messages (Hot-to-go) as each device starts up, indicating that the device is online and available. n Resources used for iNEWS Workstation, Data Receiver, and rxnet sessions do not print any messages until a workstation establishes a connection. Shutting Down the System If you need to turn off your servers or reboot the system, first shut down the system.
Shutting Down the System A message similar to the following appears: WARNING! This will stop all devices on this computer, and close the database. To prevent loss of work in progress, 'logout all' first. Do you really want to do this (y/n)? 6. To continue, type: y and press Enter.
Starting a System in Single-Server Mode c If the system was no shut down as described in this section—such as, as a result of power failure, operator error, or hardware failure—do not connect the servers because the database may no longer be mirrored. In such cases, bring up one single server and go through the re-mirroring process.
Starting a System in Single-Server Mode Messages similar to the following appear: Sep 10 16:25:52 inews-a last message repeated 15 times ... Sep 10 16:26:44 inews-a work:[2034]workserver Hot-to-go connect successful for NRCS-A, starting servers... A is OFFLINE. ID is NRCS System is A. Master is A. Disk status is OK. The database is OPEN. NRCS-A$ 6. (Optional) Check for edit and order locks if you are restarting the system after a power failure.
4 Users People in your newsroom must have user accounts to use the iNEWS newsroom computer system. Each user account has various user traits associated with it that capture information about the user’s interaction with the system—information such as passwords, keyboard preferences, and permissions for story editing. This chapter explains how the system administrator can access and change user account information from any iNEWS Workstation. However, user traits can also be viewed and modified at the console.
Viewing User Accounts You must be logged on as a superuser or user manager (umanager) to change user traits. For an explanation of the umanager account and privileges, see “The User Manager Account” on page 93. To view traits associated with a particular user account: 1. Select Tools > Options > Users. The Manage User Accounts dialog box appears. 2. Enter the user name in the User ID field.
Viewing User Accounts The results of the search appear in the User List field located in the center of the dialog box. The data provided in the field includes: User ID and Name, last time the user logged in, whether the user account has superuser privileges, and so forth. The scroll bar at the bottom of the field may be used to view the rest of the User Account data. n The Print User List button will send the User Account data for the results appearing in the User List field to the printer.
Modifying User Traits Modifying User Traits You must be logged on as a superuser or user manager (umanager) to change user traits. The superuser account is an iNEWS user account with superuser type access privileges. It is not the same as the superuser mode used at the console. See “User Traits” on page 69 for more information. For an explanation of the umanager account and privileges, see “The User Manager Account” on page 93. To modify a user’s traits from an iNEWS Workstation: 1.
Modifying User Traits 5. Click OK to save modifications. The Cancel button closes the dialog box without saving changes. User Traits The Modify User Account dialog box divides each user’s traits into sections, such as Type, Edit Mode, Queues, and so forth. These sections are explained in the following summary of all user traits. User ID and User Name The User Name field contains the user’s real name. It should not be confused with the User ID, which the system uses to identify account activity.
Modifying User Traits If the check box is selected, the type is applied to that user account. Type Description Superuser A superuser account allows the user complete access to administration features, such as user accounts, the database, the System directory, and connect sessions to the console that controls the servers. Blacklisted A blacklisted account cannot be used to log in to an iNEWS Workstation. This type is used for special accounts, such as umanager and dbmanager.
Modifying User Traits Queues The iNEWS system provides a People directory in the database file structure that lets system administrators to set up a personal directory and two queues for each user as data storage. The Queues fields in the Modify User Account dialog box indicate the navigation paths (or locations) of the user’s personal directory and queues. n The People directory, which can be customized for your environment through a system dictionary, is provided as part of the default database.
Modifying User Traits If the check box is selected, the feature is applied to that user account. Feature Description Connect Services The Connect Services check box determines access to the Connect to Service dialog box. Manage Projects The Manage Projects check box determine whether a user can manage projects and facets in the system. Configuration Features The Configuration Features section pertains to the look of the iNEWS Workspace.
Modifying User Traits If the check box is selected, the feature is applied to that user account. Feature Description Reorder Stories The Reorder Stories check box determines authority to alter the order of the stories in any queue to which the user has editorial access. Create/Kill... The Create/Kill Folders/Queues check box determines authority to create or delete queues and folders (directories) in the database file structure, as seen in the Directory panel of the iNEWS Workspace.
Modifying User Traits External User An iNEWS user account can be set as an External User when added to the database via a setting in the Add New User dialog box. The purpose of the External User account is for the User ID credentials to be validated on an LDAP server instead of the iNEWS Server. For this external validation to work, customer domain information must be entered in the /etc/krb5.conf file during the iNEWS Server installation.
Modifying User Traits 2. Type the password in the New password field. 3. Confirm the new password by retyping it in the Confirm new password field. 4. Do one of the following: t Click OK to store the password for saving after all modifications to the user’s account are done. This will close the dialog box. The process of saving the password is only completed after the OK button on the Modify User Account dialog box is also clicked. t Click Cancel to close the dialog box without saving changes.
Modifying User Traits To change user preferences: 1. Click the User Preferences button in the Modify User Account dialog box. The Preferences dialog box will appear, containing several tabs. 2. Modify the preference settings on each tab as needed. The settings are described in detail in “User Preferences” on page 76. 3. Do one of the following: t c Click OK to store the preferences for saving after all modifications to the user’s account are done. This will close the dialog box.
Modifying User Traits User Preference Description Keyboard The keyboard drop-down list contains a list of keyboards (or sets of macros) that can be assigned to the user account as a default for when the user logs in. Whenever a user changes his own preferences, the Reload button lets the keyboard assignment take effect without having that user log off and back on.
Modifying User Traits User Preference Description Saving Story When Saving Story is checked, iNEWS Workstation will display a confirmation message to save changes before closing an edited story. If you do not select the Saving Story check box, the system automatically saves changes before closing stories. Exit When Exit is checked, iNEWS Workstation will display a confirmation message when the user attempts to close the iNEWS NRCS program at the workstation.
Modifying User Traits Backup Tab The Backup tab defines the settings for the iNEWS Workstation to automatically back up work in a current session to a specified location at specific time intervals. User Preference Description Interval Interval specifies the number of minutes between story backups. The default is 10 minutes. Set the interval to 0 (zero) minutes to turn off the automatic backup feature.
Modifying User Traits Set the number to zero (0) for instant updating—that is, if you do not want to delay refreshes. A zero delay does require more system and network resources. This results from receiving multiple refresh notifications for the same queue with a short timespan. With a delay, the system will only service one of the refresh notifications if all are received within the delay interval.
Modifying User Traits User Preference Description Get Current The Get Current button will reset the preferences on the Layout tab to what was set when the dialog box opened. Depending on which Arrangement button is selected, the iNEWS Workstation will display the panels of the iNEWS Workspace accordingly. n Zoom In the Arrangement section, when Zoom is checked, iNEWS Workstation will display the iNEWS Workspace in zoom mode—that is, zoomed into one of the three panels: Directory, Queue or Story.
Modifying User Traits The second figure shows the Queue panel display without preview lines. This is the view when Use Default is unchecked, unless otherwise specified.
Modifying User Traits Search ResultsTab The Search Results tab allows you to set the default form used in the Queue panel of the Search Results workspace. The iNEWS Workstation will use the form selected from the Use form drop-down list when displaying the results from searches in iNEWS. The forms you can choose from are those created and stored in SYSTEM.FORMS. See “Creating Forms” on page 199 for more information.
Modifying User Traits The dialog box divides the settings into two sections, which are explained in the next sections of this chapter. 3. Select or deselect check boxes, as required. 4. Click the OK button to save the settings and close the Simplified User Settings dialog box. n Use the Reset button to discard changes and reset the check box settings to what they were when the dialog box opened. Simplified User Settings The Simplified User Settings dialog box splits the settings into two sections.
Modifying User Traits Setting Description Limit Number to When Limit Number to is checked, iNEWS Workstation will prevent the user from opening more workspaces than the number specified. This limit does not apply to the workspaces opened using the Urgent Wire and Mail buttons. However, this does lock the Urgent Wire workspace so the user is unable to navigate to other queues or directories in that workspace.
Creating New Users Setting Description Disable Title Entry When Disable Title Entry is checked, iNEWS Workstation will prevent user access to the Title Entry dialog box, used to enter production cues in stories, and the Edit Title Entry Template dialog box, used to create CG templates for the Title Entry feature. Disable User Prefs... When Disable User Prefs Dlg is checked, iNEWS Workstation will prevent user access to the Preferences dialog box.
Creating New Users n If you do not have superuser privileges, which permits access to the Manage User Accounts dialog box, the system will prompt you for the umanager password. If the umanager account does not exist in the system, then access is only allowed to system administrators—that is, those with superuser privileges. See “The User Manager Account” on page 93 for more information. Also, see “User Traits” on page 69 for more information on the superuser trait and its privileges. 2.
Creating New Users 3. In the User ID field, enter the login name of the user account. 4. (Optional) In the User Name field, enter the user’s real name. 5. (Optional) Modify the various traits you want to apply to the new user account. n A user’s traits can be modified at the time of creation or afterwards from the iNEWS Workstation or from the console. For more details about the various user traits, see “User Traits” on page 69 or “User Traits Console Command Summary” on page 625.
Searching for User Information Enabing a New User to Receive Mail This section gives you the basic steps you need to follow to enable a new user to receive mail. If you need more information, refer to the information on groups in “Adding Users as Members of a Group” on page 166. To enable a new user to receive mail: t Add the user to a group in SYSTEM.GROUPS. When the group story is saved, the mail delivery files are updated automatically.
Searching for User Information 2. Enter the name of the user in the User ID field. 3. Click Search or press Enter. If you search with a wildcard character (*) and the system finds multiple matches, all results will appear listed as “hits” in the User List field in the center of the dialog box. You can specify one by double-clicking on it; this opens the specified user’s information in another dialog box.
Searching for User Information 5. Select from the settings to specify additional search criteria. The criteria options are explained in detail below. Settings Description All Users Search through all user accounts on the server. Superusers Confine the search to user accounts with the superuser attribute. Non-Superusers Confine the search to user accounts without the superuser attribute. Blacklisted Users Confine the search to user accounts with the blacklisted attribute.
Removing User Accounts Settings Description Non-Local Only Users Confine the search to user accounts without the Local Only trait. Date Range Confine the search to dates you specify in the From and To fields and the kind of date range: When the user last logged in When the user account was created When the password changed Specify the date by either clicking the arrow buttons or typing the dates in ddmmmyyyy format.
The User Manager Account n If you are logged on as a system administrator, the Manage User Accounts dialog box will appear automatically, following step 1. Otherwise, iNEWS will prompt you for the umanager password (if that account exists in the system) before allowing access to the dialog box. 2. Enter the name of the user in the User ID field. 3. Click Search or press Enter. The results of the search appear in the User List field in the center of the Manage User Accounts dialog box. 4.
The Database Manager Account There can be only one user manager account in iNEWS; however, several users may acquire user manager privileges by successfully entering the user manager password when prompted. Unlike a superuser account, the user manager account is not used to log in to the system. Users with user manager privileges log in to their own accounts, as usual. When they need to do user manager tasks, they must access the Manage User Accounts dialog box, by typing in the user manager password.
Logging Out All Users To create a database manager account: 1. Create a user account as explained in “Adding a New User Account” on page 86. 2. Give the account a User ID: dbmanager. 3. Assign a password to the account. 4. Make the database manager account blacklisted so that no one can use it to log in to the system. 5. Assign the account superuser status to prevent a user manager (or anyone who does not have superuser status) from changing the account’s password. 6.
Importing Users from an LDAP Server 4. At the specified shutdown time, check the system for any users still logged in by selecting one server and typing: list s A message similar to the following appears: G505 miller A G500 allen B G507 stevens A R801 stevens A A connect session will show up as an ‘R’ device. The system administrator must notify them of the shutdown by some other means, such as by telephone. c You must ensure that all users are logged out when shutting down the system.
Importing Users from an LDAP Server Example output: \\MSN-DC01 c. From the output given, combine the results to make up the name of the logged in LDAP server on the domain. For example, using the previous sample output: msn-dc01.global.wavd.com 2. Find LDAP server on the domain to get the port number. In a console session on the iNEWS Server, run the command in the following format: dig +short -t srv _ldap._tcp.
Importing Users from an LDAP Server The last line of the search is the query followed by the attributes that you want to see. You only need samaccountname and cn. The example is a set of three matching criteria that are joined together via the Boolean ampersand (&). The syntax is to enclose each term in parentheses and to prefix a set with the Boolean operator. So you see the ampersand (&) before the 3 criteria and the set is enclosed in parentheses.
Importing Users from an LDAP Server Example results: + ldapsearch ldap://msn-dc01.global.wavd.com:389 -b DC=global,DC=wavd,DC=com '(&(objectClass=person)(sAMAccountName=j*)(sAMAccountType =805306368 ))' sAMAccountName cn sn mail objectclass ldap_initialize( ldap://msn-dc01.global.wavd.
Importing Users from an LDAP Server cn: Jane Smith sn: Smith sAMAccountName: jsmith mail: jane.smith@wavd.com # search reference ref: ldap://DomainDnsZones.global.avidww.com/DC=DomainDnsZones,DC=global, DC=wavd,DC=com # search result search: 2 result: 0 Success # numResponses: 4 # numEntries: 2 # numReferences: 1 4. After the output is verified as good, dump exported users to file by typing: sh -x /tmp/