Using Home Directory Files Remotely
Using Home Directory Files Remotely 
If you want to get to files to or from your home directory, use SFTP to move files to or from your remote computer to or from your home directory. If you want to get to files on a share or you want to run applications on your office computer, run Connect2 and then start Remote Desktop to connect to your office computer. You can and may want to run both programs at the same time.
For information on using FileZilla, read the CSS FileZilla information.
When you set up the site that is linked to ftp.engineering.uiowa.edu, be sure to set the server type to SFTP/SSH.
Microsoft Remote Desktop allows you to connect your local (home) Windows computer to a remote (your engineering office) computer. Remote Desktop can be tuned to the specific type of connection you have – cable modem, DSL, dial-up – and is moderately secure.
Since the advent of the Connect2 VPN if you are connecing to your office computer from off campus, you must login to the VPN before establishing the Remote Desktop connection.
To use Remote Desktop, you need to know the name of your office computer. When
you connect, you enter the computer name of the form d-coexxx.engin.uiowa.edu,
where d-coexxx is the name of your office computer.
Look at the label on the CPU of your office computer for this information. To
use Remote Desktop from Windows Vista, go to Start | All Programs | Accessories | Remote Desktop Connection; from Windows XP, go to Start | Run | mstsc . Enter your
office computer’s name in the Remote Desktop Connection dialogue box. From
the Start menu, you will have an icon for Remote Desktop in the recently used
programs area. You can right click to Pin to Start menu or Copy to your desktop
for easy access in the future. 
The Remote Desktop dialogue box opens (see right). Before connecting, click the Options button to set your display and connection speed preferences.
The display options let you select how much of the local screen will be used
by the remote screen. Moving the slider all the way to the right gives the Remote
Desktop the full screen. In this example, the Remote Desktop uses 1152 x 864
pixels, which allows both the local and the Remote Desktop to be viewed. If
you choose full screen, your local display will show the name of the remote
computer at the top of the screen.
To set the speed of the connection, click the Experience button. The options are for modem speeds as well as faster connections. The
illustration shows a 56K modem connection. 
With
the display and connection speed options set, those remain in effect until you
change them during a different connection.
Now you can login to the remote machine. The dialogue box needs the name of
the computer to connect to. The name will be d-coexxx.engin.uiowa.edu,
where d-coexxx is the name of your office computer.
After the screen blanks, you see the usual login information screen
(click OK) and then the dialogue box to login. As in your office,
you must know your:
User name: [your engineering account name]
Password: [your engineering account password]
Domain: engin
When you are done with the remote connection, on the Remote Desktop screen go to Start | Disconnect; that ends the session with the computer in your office.
+ It is fast. If you connect to the same site to transfer files regularly, once the initial setup has been completed, launching the program and moving selected files is very quick.
+ Many people have used an FTP client, and so will find that using FileZilla is simple. Its graphical interface means that you can connect to your home directory and drag and drop files as necessary.
+ Using SFTP is faster and more reliable than emailing documents to yourself. And you do not use up mail quota with copies of documents already stored in another place.
+ FileZilla includes a synchronize feature that lets you easily control which files get moved automatically and in which direction.
– Cannot get access to files on a share (not your home directory), on your hard drive, or remote software. If you need to get to files on a share or on your office machine hard drive, use Remote Desktop.
~ If you teach in an SC classroom and need access to engineering software that is not on the local computer, you may have used Remote Desktop to get to those programs.
~ If your connection speed is fast enough, you can use Remote Desktop to run engineering software from your remote computer.
+ If you want to run programs installed locally on your office machine, use Remote Desktop.
+ You can access share files with Remote Desktop.
– File transfer to or from your local computer (the one you are working from) is not available with Remote Desktop. To move files to and from your local computer, use FileZilla.
Edit locally a file stored on your home directory (H:). Use FileZilla to move the file from work to home. Created a file at home and want to use that file at work. Use FileZilla to move the file from home to work. Edit locally a file stored on a share. Use Remote Desktop to connect to your office computer, move or copy the file to your home directory. Then use FileZilla to move or copy the file from your home directory to your local computer for editing. Run software on your office computer using a file on your home computer. Use FileZilla to move or copy the file to your home directory. Use Remote Desktop to run the software and point to the moved file that is now available to your remote computer.
In this document, the local computer is your computer at home and the remote computer is the computer in your SC office.
If you get error message about not having rights to logon or could not connect, please call the CSS consultant, 319-335-5055, or email to: consultant@engineering.uiowa.edu. It takes a just few minutes to grant the necessary access to your office computer.
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