Information Technology IT for
ARCHITECTS

EMAIL - FILES
Email
Automail
Attachments
Virus

Imagine what this means - the possibility of everybody being able to work remotely - think of the overheads that that could and probably would save. Sure you (the boss) would have to keep a tight rein on things but isn't that what you do anyway? Plan activities for yourself and staff so that an event happens and is completed, that drawings are produced and that you revue work as it goes along?

How many times have you been somewhere else and had the need to go back into the office cause '....something urgent came up...' and '.....you had to get something done in the office....' nobody else there? Well you could have done it all from home no fuss.

Of course this don't apply to those of us who work from home .... does it!
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Modem Link
Most architects are becoming computer literate and most use Windows 95/98/2000/Me/NT or the like.
With a bit of setting up (server and client computer) these programs have a modem connection suite of tools which will enable you to link two computers remotely and exchange data - copy/download/upload files and the like. If you can set the links up and get your computers to talk the same language to one another then you have remote computing capabilities.
Send files from one to the other copy one lot of files from one to the other and send a file to a remote printer and/or plotter (of course they have to be turned on) and then when you arrive in the morning you can pick up and run to your meeting or what ever.

Simple! No more getting into the office on a weekend just to do something for the client how rings on the weekend or on a holiday.

The same principles can apply between offices which collaborate on projects whatever phase or share resources and the like.
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Modem Link 1
The same principles are used on the WWW to link web servers to your browser at home so you can search the web for relevant information.

The only difference is that it is on a global scale compared with a connection between you and your office. The principles are the same as internal networks linked by cable in an office - here the link is a telephone line via a modem and a dial phone number to the computer in the office instead of a server on the WWW.

We used this to complete projects in Malaysia - there we set up an FTP link via a server in Malaysia which allowed us to upload files to the site and they had instant use of our information for construction but the same can apply at any phase of any project.
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FTP
FTP - File Transfer Protocol.
There are programs around which enable you to access WWW (ftp) servers and upload or download information from them - the only drawback is that you need to know what you are looking for where to find it and how to get in.
The program part is easy - things like CuteFTP and WinFTP are the two that I've used very successfully and they are FREE.
Gaining access is big deal either - usually a site like say MSN will have a dedicated server setup for storage of files which they share and distribute for FREE to anybody that has a need for them and who takes the time to get into their server an download them.

In effect this is what happens when you get an auto update for say Explorer or Netscape the only difference is that you are in control....not them.

So what about getting into the system! I've found that most sites have an ftp site associated with them and there are PUBLIC directories (those they allow you to get into) where you can find all kinds of things of use for FREE.
Usually with FTP software you can use what's called an anonymous login - what does that mean that means there are no passwords to get you past the front door of these sites. So you type in ftp.msn.com and off you go. DON'T TRY THAT ONE AS I DON'T THINK IT WORKS - IT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE.

The program takes over and if you've done it right you are faced with two screens (much like the windows explorer screens in Win95 - one is your LOCAL DRIVE and the other is the HOST. All the same menus exist with CuteFTP that you would find in windows explorer - you can drag and drop from one side to the other - just like in windows and the rest is done by the software and your modem link.
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I guess the other side of it is also side of the coin is that there are more and more people with 'double identities' having several email addresses and under these circumstances you need an email program that will allow you setup more than one address and not have to login and out from different ISP's to pickup and send your mail.

If you are interested try Eudora or Pegasus out - just do a search using the names and download - easy to setup as well.....AND you won't have problems with attachments either. Pegasus in particular has a variety of file types for attachment type selection.
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Autoresponders
What happens when you visit a site and there are all these forms that you are required to fill in before you are provided with the information you requested.
You fill in the form and the information is sent to the HOST SERVER where there is a piece of software that executes a command and sends the form on to another location - as well database information is collected that you have been asked to provide on the form - even your servers address can and usually is collected.
There are NO SECRETS.
The same can be said for email that you receive - if you have your own server you can setup a response which says - hey I'm away on holidays (for those that can have them) and I won't be back for 5 months - I'll answer this when I get back or you can contact so and so for urgent attention.
Or if you are working from home you can forward the email to another address so that you get it there and can respond to it from say home - makes it look like you never left the office - or did you.

So combine autoresponders and modem links and what do you get.......???
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Email Attachments
No the wedding of responders and modems doesn't give you attachments.
Being a part of a number of discussion groups on the WWW I've often heard complaints about files being transferred and people either not getting them, complaining that they are to big or they cannot read the file when and if they receive it.
One of the secrets I've discovered about sending files on the WWW as attachments in emails is that some email programs don't take kindly to a great variety of file types which are being sent.
The simple solution is to ZIP or compress the file (archive it) just about every email program will read and download/attach a ZIP format file. A ZIP file also reduces the file size (sometimes as much as 75% of its original size) the other thing is that you can add two or three files to a ZIP ARCHIVE thus making look like ONE FILE.
The file is sent faster as there is only one file and its smaller than sending two or three files.
You can find a ZIP UTILITY at www.winzip.com it's FREE and could save you a mountain of headache.

The other problem is that some email programs don't provide an auto sensing of whether the file is BINARY DATA as opposed to TEXT DATA - which means that at the other end the receiver email program scrambles the email you have sent and all your receiver gets is JUNK on his/her screen. Programs like Eudora and Pegasus overcome this problem.

Of course you might have to email a copy of WinZIP to the other party or tell them where to get it - if they don't have it. A small problem compared with not getting a file or getting a scrambled file which takes about three hours to come through.

I've had that happen - one time only from Malaysia - imagine if you cannot use your computer for that time. I just about went spare.
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Virus
One of the most essential pieces of software that you can have is - virus monitoring tools.
There are many on the market and it depends on what you have started with in many cases. I've found that Vet is good and it's an Australian product - worth supporting your own!
Regardless of which you use - GET ONE. Don't think that because you aren't connected to the net you aren't susceptible to attack.
Most architects exchange files with consultants as well as others - they in turn exchange with others and the chain goes on.
I remember loading MS DOS 6.22 only to find that when I loaded the next vet update there was a virus in the update I received of MS DOS. Mind you it was not a big problem as the file infected was obscure and never used by the system to my knowledge.
The consequences can be catastrophic - imagine a networked server going down as a result of virus attack.
This happened to me once - and even thought I backed up on a daily basis, etc it took me about two days to rebuild the server and all the files it had on it and as luck would have it there were copies of the last data files on local drives so that all I had to do was to upload them to the office server.
Imagine what would have been the case if there were no backup files? Potential for months and months of work being lost.
We had a policy of keeping working copies on local drives and uploading and backing up the server on a daily basis so there was always two copies of the latest files (the backup and the local working copy).
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