Frequently Asked Questions
- When I select a catalogue I get the message "Unable to find application"?
- Not many Australian Library catalogues are directly accessible via the WWW.
It is usually necessary to telnet to the catalogue. To do this it is necessary to have telnet software on your
local machine. In most cases the telnet software is automatically started up by your WWW browser as a helper
application when needed. If you do get a message along the lines of "Unable to find application" when selecting a
catalogue, it is necessary to tell your WWW browser where your telnet program is located on your machine. If you
don't have a telnet program you will need to get one.
NB for more information on this contact your local system support.
- When I select a catalogue, my telnet software starts up OK and appears to connect, though the resultant login prompt
is not what your page suggests it will be?
- In this case it is likely that your telnet program is not accepting the port number attached to the end of the URL
that is being sent to it by your WWW browser. If this is the case you may need to manually connect to the library
catalogue and specify the port number in the appropriate way for your telnet program (or get another telnet program).
NB for more information on this contact your local system support.
- When I select a catalogue my telnet software seems to connect briefly and then disconnect
or I get the message along the lines of "All ports in use" ?
- Most library catalogues have a limited number of ports available for external connections over the Internet.
With some of the more popular sites all of these ports are used up quite quickly. For this reason
it is important that you log off (using the recommended method) straight after you have finished searching at a site.
If this happens wait a while and then try again.
- When I select a catalogue my telnet software starts up and then nothing happens?
- Chances are either the remote machine you are trying to connect to is down or part of the network between you and the
remote machine is down (or heavily congested). If this happens try again later.
- If you are still having problems connecting to a site please contact your local IT support or the library
in question. Please only contact me if the site in question has changed address.
Mark Nearhos