Comments | howto_userdoc: The command line, DNS cache clear, nslookup, traceroute, and ping. OH MY.

aveleh in howto_userdoc

The command line, DNS cache clear, nslookup, traceroute, and ping. OH MY.

Nov 08, 2009 14:51

I have no idea how to format proper names/titles, etc. But this suggested grouping would work best for me when providing information to users who open web-ui requests ( Read more... )

[general], @ status-deferred

Comments 21

tell_me November 9 2009, 11:42:43 UTC

At the moment there happens to be a Windows Vista Enterprise in front of me, so here are a couple of comments. Please note that I'm using a computer that wasn't installed by me, so I don't know exactly what the admins might have changed through the local and domain policies ( ... )

aveleh November 9 2009, 15:38:16 UTC

Awesome, thanks. I had finalized this when I woke up in the middle of the night, so it's not a surprise I miscopied stuff.

I've already changed the tracert and ping to be correct for Windows. I haven't yet changed the directions for opening the command prompt in Vista.

intrepia November 9 2009, 22:20:05 UTC

For completeness, you might want to add "Open a Finder window." before "Click..." for Mac OS X in the "Open a Command Prompt or Terminal" section. Copying and pasting from Terminal is just like copying and pasting from anything else: highlight, cmd+C, cmd+V. (The command key is also referred to as the Apple key sometimes.)

aveleh November 10 2009, 01:30:15 UTC

edited, thanks

mlady_rebecca November 9 2009, 22:54:27 UTC

On Windows 2000/XP I've always pulled up the command prompt using Start -Programs - Accessories - Command Prompt. That gives you the actual command prompt, rather than the run box.

By the way, nice to see some of these getting documented. It always frustrates me when I know the answer to the question, but it's "out of Support's scope".

aveleh November 10 2009, 01:32:32 UTC

You know, I didn't even notice I copied the run directions from the other notes. I did very much want it to be the actual command prompt. Thanks!

trixieleitz November 10 2009, 05:29:25 UTC

Yay, thank you for writing these!

Regarding the MacOS instructions:
I can confirm that the terminal commands do work as you've described, whether the user is an admin or not.

Nitpicks:
The modifier key used for copy/paste (and most other commands) is officially called the command key (not the control key). A lot of newer Apple keyboards also have a control key, but it doesn't work the same way as the command key. More info hereThe path to the Terminal will work as you've given if the user has their Applications folder in the Finder sidebar. It is there by default, but who knows, they (or their admin) might have turned it off, in which case they'll have to navigate in via their HD icon (which can be named anything) on the desktop (Applications is in the HD directory ( ... )

av8rmike November 10 2009, 13:39:57 UTC

I'm really looking forward to citing these in Support responses :)

Keep in mind that we typically don't refer to or directly link to howto/s2howto entries in Support answers. As it was explained to me, it's because the entries themselves can be edited/hidden at will, so there might be a time at which that user or others try to access a tutorial directly that they can't see. If you need to refer someone to a tutorial in a request answer, it's better to link them to the appropriate Memories category.

idonotlikepeas November 10 2009, 19:01:55 UTC

In some ways that's a cat-specific thing. In Web, it's not at all unusual to link directly to a howto because they're often buried in longer FAQs.

For instance, if we have a FAQ on six things you can do to make LJ display correctly, and we know from experience that we can't expect people to necessarily click on every one of those six links, when we want troubleshooting information from them we need to send them directly to the appropriate howto.

trixieleitz November 10 2009, 19:50:36 UTC

!peas comment notwithstanding, having anything to cite (whether it be a FAQ, a Memories link, or an actual entry) feels much better to me than saying, "well, we can't help you without this information, but you'll have to google for it."

av8rmike November 10 2009, 13:33:40 UTC

The instructions for copy/pasting from a Windows XP terminal window are indeed wrong-- there's no context menu, no "Mark", etc. The steps should be:

Select text you wish to copy with the mouse
Right-click (which copies)
Control-V or "Paste" in the desired window.

Also, you've misspelled "retrieve" twice...

aveleh November 19 2009, 16:59:58 UTC

I'm not duplicating your experience with Windows. Are you running the default command line interface?

av8rmike November 19 2009, 17:09:16 UTC

Yep, the standard command prompt:
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
(Copied and pasted using the steps I described) Although, it *is* XP Professional at work. Maybe it's different for XP Home? Right-clicking in the command window with nothing highlighted pastes the clipboard's contents.

aveleh November 19 2009, 17:33:05 UTC

Hmm, no, I've got Windows XP Professional here too.

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

Aha! If I click in the window corner to pull up properties, I find a "QuickEdit Mode" which changes it to have the behaviour you describe? That's not a default setting, so I still think we should have the instructions for the extra clicking mode, but with a little tweaking.

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