Stanford Desktop Tools for Macintosh

Installing Stanford Desktop Tools

Download and run the Stanford Desktop Tools installer.
At the Welcome window, click Continue.
If you wish, read the release notes or save them to a file and then click Continue.
Read the license agreement and click Continue. Then, click Agree.
Select your hard drive as the destination volume and then click Continue.
Click Install to begin the installation.
When prompted, enter your Administrator account for the Mac and click OK.
When the installation has completed, click Close.
The Stanford Desktop Tools icon will appear in the dock once the software has been installed.

Configuring update preferences

The Setup Assistant opens automatically the first time you install Stanford Desktop Tools. It walks you through the process of setting up your software update preferences.

You can change your preference settings any time by launching Stanford Desktop Tools, going to the Stanford Desktop Tools menu in the menu bar, and clicking Preferences.

Configure the following options:
- Launch Stanford Desktop Tools at login: check this box if you want to have the Stanford Desktop Tools icon available in the dock (default). If this box is not checked, you can launch Stanford Desktop Tools by navigating to the Applications > Stanford > SDT folder and clicking Stanford Desktop Tools.
- Sounds to play when updates become available: if you want to be notified by sound when updates become available, click the Non-critical updates and/or Critical updates arrow and choose Default. Or, choose your own sound by using the Browse button to locate a .WAV file on your computer. To preview the sound you have selected, click the Play arrow.
Click Next.
Select the software you want to keep updated:
- To add a program to the list of software you are keeping updated with Stanford Desktop Tools, click a program in the list of available applications on the left and then click Subscribe.
- To remove a program from your list of subscriptions, click a program in the list of selected applications on the right and then click Unsubscribe.
Note: Recommended software for all Stanford computers is indicated by a red circle .
Click Next to continue.
To automatically check for updates to the programs to which you have subscribed, click the Automatically check for updates box and specify the frequency (once per day, per week, or per month). The default is to check for updates weekly.
Click Finish to save your preferences and close the Setup Assistant.

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Installing software

After installing Stanford Desktop Tools and configuring your preferences, check to see whether there are any programs or updates to install.

Open Stanford Desktop Tools by clicking the icon in the dock.
(You can also open Stanford Desktop Tools by navigating to the Applications > Stanford > SDT folder and clicking Stanford Desktop Tools.)
To install a program to which you have subscribed, click the corresponding Not Installed link. To update a program, click the Update Required link.

Note: You can subscribe or unsubscribe to software by clicking the Manage Subscriptions link.
A dialog box telling you what software will be installed is displayed. Click OK to begin the installation.
Note: During installation, the icon changes to in the dock.
If you are prompted to authenticate, enter your administrator account for the Mac.
When you are finished updating your software, click Close.

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Checking for software updates

Stanford Desktop Tools automatically checks for software updates according to the schedule you set in the preferences. If updates are available for any of your software subscriptions, you will be notified.

When Stanford Desktop Tools automatically checks for updates, a window will pop up to notify you if updates are available.

Note: If an update is urgent, typically to address security vulnerabilities, you will also see a warning icon covering the icon. The warning icon will remain visible until the urgent update is installed.
Click the icon to open Stanford Desktop Tools.
Click the link in the Program Status column to update your software.
If you want to check for updates manually, click and hold the mouse button on the Stanford Desktop tools icon in the dock (or right-click or CONTROL + click on the icon) and then click Check for Software Updates in the pop-up menu.
A message will be displayed letting you know whether or not software updates are available.

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Authenticating to Kerberos

Some services at Stanford, such as Stanford OpenAFS, use Kerberos for authentication. When a service at Stanford requires Kerberos authentication, a dialog box will prompt you for your Kerberos password. However, you can authenticate to Kerberos at any time using the Stanford Desktop Tools pop-up menu.

Hold the mouse and click the Stanford Desktop tools icon in the dock Right-click (or right-click or CONTROL + click) to display the pop-up menu.
Click Authenticate to Kerberos..
When the Authenticate to Kerberos dialog box is displayed, enter the following information and then click OK:
- Username: your SUNet ID
- Realm: stanford.edu
- Password: your SUNet ID password
Note: If the entry fields are not displayed, click anywhere in the dialog box to expand it.

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Accessing Stanford OpenAFS

You can access Stanford OpenAFS functions to mount AFS volumes and manage pts groups from the Stanford Desktop Tools pop-up menu.

Right-click (or CONTROL + click) the Stanford Desktop Tools icon to open the pop-up menu.
Click Mount AFS Volume or Manage PTS Groups.

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If prompted, enter your SUNet ID and password and then click OK.
Depending on your Stanford Desktop Tools menu selection, either the OpenAFS Mount AFS Volume or My PTS Groups window is displayed. See Using Stanford OpenAFS for Macintosh for more information about mounting AFS volumes and managing pts groups.