Hours of Operation

Fall and Spring Semester Hours of Operation

Summer Hours of Operation

Lab Locations

Map of Lab and Office locations

The General Access Computing Labs can be found at the following locations:

• Arkansas Union (ARKU), Room 354A, on Garland Avenue, west of Mullins Library
• The Northwest Quad (NWQB), Building B, Room 114, on Garland Avenue, north of the Pat Walker Health Center 
• Mullins Library (MULN), second floor, east from Arkansas Union, south from Maple Street  
• Administrative Services Building (ADSB), Room 153, on Razorback Road across from Walton Arena
• JB Hunt Building (JBHT), Room 253, on Buchanan Ave. next to Kimpell Hall

Lab Guidelines

The General Access Computing Lab guidelines are as follows:

• Use of the General Access Computing Labs is provided for students, faculty, and staff, and University associates only.
• Please keep noise to a reasonably low level such that other users are not disturbed. Cell phones should be turned off or in silent mode. Please use headphones when listening to audio.
• Users wanting to install and/or use software on the lab machines are responsible for compliance with the Code of Computing Practices.
• Game playing and non-academic electronic chat is allowed in the labs ONLY when other users are not waiting to use the computers for academic purposes.
• No food, drink, or chewing tobacco is allowed in the labs unless specifically designated otherwise by signs or operators. The Mullins Library GACL (MULN) follows the drink policy of the Library, which allows sealed drinks only and is indicated on signs when entering.
• Smoking is not allowed in the labs.
• Please do not move or re-cable any of the equipment.
• Viewing of pornographic material may be grounds for sexual harassment charges by other lab users.
• Theft of University property is punishable to the fullest extent of the law.
• Lab operators might not be able to assist with non-academic or unsupported software and will not assist with anything that does not comply with the Code of Computing Practices.
• The University of Arkansas is not responsible for the loss of any personal items or data in the General Access Computing Labs.
• Printing:
  • You may NOT put special paper in the printers (for example, for resumes, etc.).
  • No printing of black and white documents longer than 100 pages.
  • No printing of color documents longer than 20 pages.
  • No printing of excessive multiple copies of the same document (no copy jobs).
  • We do not allow personal laptops to connect to the GACL printers.
• Regarding animals in the labs, the GACLs follow the policies defined in the FAYETTEVILLE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES that are maintained on The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration website.

Lab policies are governed by the Code of Computing Practices. Read Summary of the Code of Computing Practices.

Printing

All of the General Access Labs provide laser printing for all of the applications on the PC and Macintosh computers when a lab consultant is on duty. The ARKU and MULN labs have both black and white and color laser printers loaded with plain, no-hole paper.

To print from Windows applications:

1. Go to the File menu.
2. Select Print.
3. A dialog box will appear displaying the printing options.
4. For black and white printing, click OK.
5. For color printing, select the color printer from the dropdown menu when the printing options dialog box appears, and click OK.
6. When the PCounter dialog box appears, choose Print.
7. Locate the Print Release station for the lab you are using (they are located near the printers).
8. Enter your UARK username in the space provided.
9. Double-click on the jobs that you would like to print.

To print from Macintosh applications:

1. Go to the File menu.
2. Select Print.
3. A dialog box will appear displaying the printing options.
4. For black and white printing, click OK.
5. For color printing, select the color printer from the dropdown menu when the printing options dialog box appears, and click OK. 
6. Locate the Print Release station for the lab you are using (they are located near the printers).
7. Enter your UARK username in the space provided.
8. Double-click on the jobs that you would like to print.

Color Printing

Use the File menu and choose Print. When the print window comes up choose the appropriate color printer and click print. If you have any trouble choosing the printer ask the lab operator on duty for help. The color printers are kept paused and will have to be unpaused by the lab operator for the document to print.

Printing on One Side

Printing in the General Access Computer Labs defaults to double-sided, or duplex printing.  If you require single-sided prints:

1. In the Printer dialog box, click Properties.
2. Uncheck Print on Both Sides.
3. Click OK, then OK again.

Printing in the GACL labs is funded through the Student Technology Fee. No per-print charges are currently implemented. In order to conserve resources, please abide by the GACL printing rules.

Sending Email

Web page "mailto" links are turned off in the IT Services General Access Computing Labs. The SMTP (email) gateway in the labs has been turned off which means that you cannot send mail from a web page by clicking on an email link. Instead, make a note of or copy the email address on the web page and log in to your mail client to send your message.

ADA

Each lab is equipped with computers that are ADA compliant. These computers have the same software as all other lab machines with the addition of MAGic 9.0 (Keyboard shortcut to start = CTRL-ALT-M), Openbook Ruby 7.02, and JAWS 6.0 (Keyboard shortcut to start = CTRL-ALT-J).  There is a shortcut on the desktop to toggle mute status. Also, key combination CTRL-ALT-T will toggle mute status. Autoplay is enabled for all CD media types. If you need additional assistance, please speak with a lab operator.

My Documents

When you use your UARK username and password to log into computers in the IT Services General Access Computer Labs, the \My Documents\ directory (folder) will be mapped to your MyDocs account. Files put in My Documents, either by saving from an application or by copying/dragging and dropping the files to the My Documents folder, will be saved into your MyDocs account which can then be accessed in any GACL, using UA Mail, or by mapping a drive to MyDocs. See the MyDocs page for more information about your MyDocs account.

New Lab Software

To get new software installed on the workstations in the General Access Computing Labs, contact Donnie Blagg at 575-2901. You will need to complete the General Access Computing Lab Software Request Form available on the Request Forms and Documents web page under the Request Forms heading.

Reporting Problems in GACLs

If you are in a General Access Lab when there is a Lab Operator on duty, please report any problems to him or her. If the operator cannot provide an immediate fix to the problem then he or she can help you with a formal report. If no operator is available, there is a shortcut on the computer desktop called "Report a Lab Problem." If the problem is urgent, you can also contact the IT Services Data Center at 575-2904.

CD Burning

All GACLs are equipped with CD-R/CD-RW drives.  CD burning can be done through Windows or by using the Roxio Easy CD Creator software.  Beginning users may find Windows CD burning eaiser.

To burn a CD in Windows, select the files you wish to burn, and then right-click on your selection.  Choose "Send to..." and then choose the CD Drive.  You will see a pop-up balloon appear in the lower right of your screen indicating you have files available for burning.  If you click on this balloon, it will take you through the Windows CD burning process.

To burn a CD in Roxio Easy CD Creator, first choose the program under Start, All Programs, Multimedia, Roxio Easy CD Creator, Project Selector.  From here you can choose the appropriate kind of CD to create.  Unless you wish to create a speciality CD, such as music or picture, Data CD is the type most often used.

Troubleshooting

Why will my University ID card not open the ADSB 153 General Access Computing Lab door?

The most common reason is that your card hasn't been activated yet (although this access should be granted automatically). If you cannot use it to open the ADSB 153 GACL door, contact the lab operator at helpdesk@uark.edu with your University ID number, the name that is printed on your card, and your UARK address. The operator will either correct the access in the database or will ask you to visit the ID office (2nd floor of the Union) due to other issues with your access card. You will be notified in either case.

Why won't my USB drive work in the slot in the front of the computers in the Union Lab?

Some USB drives have a shorter connection tab than others, and the USB ports on the fronts of these computers are inset in the cases more than most. Your USB device is not reaching the connections inside.

Try using the USB ports on the left side of the monitor. These ports are wider and will allow the devices with short connection tabs to work properly.

Why is my PDF taking so long to print in a GACL?

To find out why your PDF is printing slowly, it may help to know the two programs that print PDFs in the General Access Computing Labs: Adobe Acrobat and GSView.

Adobe Acrobat is the default PDF viewer, and GSView is an alternate program located under Start, All Programs, Special Purpose in the GACLs (Acrobat can also be found here). GSView processes PDFs before sending the job to the printer, which usually results in faster printing times, but GSView cannot open PDFs with errors (while Acrobat usually can). To use GSView, first save the PDF to the computer, and then open GSView and choose File, Open, (PDF location) to open the PDF.

To determine why your PDF is printing slowly, you might want to check the following clues to help you find a solution. If your print job is already processing, be sure to ask the lab operator on duty to assist you in canceling the print job so you can fix the problem and print the remainder faster:

• Is there a watermark on the PDF?
  Typically, PDFs with watermarks process in layers, which delays printing time. To flatten these layers, go to your Acrobat menu and choose File, Print, Advanced and check "Print as Image".
• Was the PDF originally created from a MS PowerPoint file?
  PDFs created from a PowerPoint (PPT) can include multiple graphics and/or backgrounds, which greatly increases PDF complexity. If possible, eliminate backgrounds before converting the PPT to a PDF. If not, attempt printing the PDF using GSView or the "Print as Image" solution described above.
• Does the PDF have many detailed graphics?
  If the PDF has many detailed pictures on it, print processing will be slower. Try using GSView to open and print the file, since it processes the print job before sending it to the printer.

The speed of a PDF printout is almost always related to the PDF's creation, which is why some PDFs print slower than others (even if they look simple).  Unless you have control over the PDF's creation, it is best to try "Print as Image" or GSView as ways to speed up your slow PDF printing.

Employment

You can download and print the Application for Part-Time Employment in the General Access Computing Labs from the Request section on the Request Forms and Documents web page.

About GACLs

The definition of General Access Computing Labs (GACL), arrived at by the 1994 Computing Activities Council, states:

1. The lab must be open a majority of the time for all students, regardless of college or departmental affiliation.
2. The lab must be staffed to offer support to its users.
3. The lab must be advertised as an open lab with scheduled hours published in the UA web site and in the Information Technology Services brochure.
4. The labs must provide computers, network access, and software for text and word processing, presentation graphics, spreadsheets, and databases.