To use a SilverEye VM, you need to make sure you have two things:
When you have both of the above things, you can connect to your VM. First, login to VCL and click on "Current Reservations". Click the "Connect" button beside your reservation.
Note the connection information displayed. To make it easier to connect to your VM with RDC, VLC prepares an RDC configuration file (called an "RDP" file) that will automatically configure your RDC software in a variety of ways. Click "Get RDP File" to use this configuration file.
Your web browser will download the RDP file. (Depending on the configuration of your browser, it may prompt you in a variety of ways. Follow the prompts as required.) Once downloaded, open the RDP file. This will start your RDC software, and configure it to connect to your VM. By default, you first will see this message:
(This message is from the Mac version of RDC. On the Windows version, the message is similar.) By sharing your local computer disks with your VM, you can easily load and save files to and from your VM. See Saving Your Work for important information about saving your work. Click "Connect" to continue.
Next, you will see a login window. Enter the user name and password provided to you earlier on the VCL webpage with the "Get RDP File" button. (Note that the user name will be the same as your VCL userid.) Leave the "Domain" field empty.
Next, you may see a warning about an incorrect certificate, similar to the one you might have seen when you first connected to the VCL website. Click "Connect" to continue.
And, finally, you will see the desktop of your VM, just as it would appear if you were sitting right in front of it.
Use your local mouse and keyboard to control your VM. Note that there is an icon for Stata on your desktop. Double click it to open it.
To access files on a disk connected to your local computer, find the icon for the disk in the 'open' or 'save' dialog box. It will appear just as if it was connected directly to your VM:
In the above example, showing the Stata open dialog, the disk "Macint1" appears. This disk is physically in the user's local computer ("Bob's iMac"), but can be used by the VM as if it was connected directly to it.
Important Note: A VM is not a permanent place to save your work. When your reservation ends, your VM and all data in it are deleted. To save your work, you must store it somewhere outside the VM. Using RDC, it's easy to save your work to your local computer. Remember always to do so, or you will lose your work. See Saving Your Work for more information about this.
You can disconnect and reconnect with your VM at any time during your reservation. To disconnect, choose "Log off" from the 'Start' menu in your VM, or simply close the RDC window or Quit the RDC application.
To reconnect, simply repeat the above login process.
If you have finished using your VM and do not need it anymore, you can end your reservation. When your reservation ends, your VM will be deleted. Remember to properly save your work outside of the VM before this happens! You will also receive a warning within your VM 10 minutes before your reservation ends. Be aware that this warning will NOT appear if you are connected to your VM but using a different program on your computer at the 10 minute mark.