Connect from Home - Helpful Information

What is it? Why use it?
"Connect from Home" is a means of making your home (off-campus) computer appear to be on-campus. Use it to prove that you are affiliated with UW; you will then be able to use online library resources (research databases, electronic journals, etc.) from off-campus.

Note: If you use UW's dial-up modem pool, you will not need to "Connect from Home."


Can I use it?
Current students already have a WatCard with the required information. Faculty or staff at UW need to get a WatCard and register with the Library.

Centre for Extended Learning students may contact Library Circulation to request a temporary barcode (include your name and student number) if you do not have a student ID card (WATCARD).  You may apply for a WatCARD as described at the Centre for Extended Learning Student Support site, in order to use online resources throughout the term or in subsequent terms when you are registered in UW courses.


Connecting
For smoothest results, use "Connect from Home" before attempting to access any online library resources from off-campus.

Otherwise, you may or may not be prompted to "Connect from Home" when you attempt to access a resource.  If not prompted, you will have to "Connect from Home" and retrace your steps from the library home page to the desired resource.

Alternatively, if the link of a resource does not start with "http://testtube.uwaterloo.ca/", you may make a link that allows you to first "Connect from Home" and then access the resource directly.

You will know you are connected when you see ".proxy.lib.uwaterloo.ca" in your URL, as shown below.

Staying connected
Once connected, use hyperlinks, search engines, and buttons on the page. If you use bookmarks or manually enter a URL, you will be disconnected.

If you do not see ".proxy.lib.uwaterloo.ca", you are no longer connected.

Warning: If you sign onto the proxy from a shared or public computer, it is important that you close the Web browser after you finish.  This will prevent non-legitimate use of these resources or services in your name.


Problems?
Many (most) of recent proxy problem reports have been traced to browser caching as the cause of the preservation of information on a failed sign-on attempt.  Your browser can save information from a single failed attempt and resubmit it on subsequent attempts, even overwriting the barcode you had manually typed. This has been a frequent cause of authentication failure.

To fix this, or remove it as a source of the problem, please clear the cache on your browser and clear any auto-complete function before you try again.

In IE7, this is done by going to Tools/Internet Options, and in the GENERAL TAB click on the DELETE button in the Browsing History section.

Click on DELETE FILES in both the Temporary Internet Files and DELETE PASSWORDS in the Password section. That should clear your browser from trying to force an old or inaccurate barcode into the authentication form.

FireFox has a Tools/Clear-Private-Data option that achieves the same goal.

Chrome's cache can be cleared by going to "customize and control Google Chrome" (the wrench icon) and selecting "Clear browsing data" from the drop-down menu".

If performing these steps does not fix the problem, please fill out a problem report form and your query will be answered shortly.


Bookmarks work differently
To create Connect-from-Home-friendly bookmarks to online library resources, which preserve Persistent URL information, right click on the hyperlink and select "Add to Favorites..." (Internet Explorer) or "Bookmark This Link" (Netscape or Firefox).

In the future, once you have accessed "Connect from Home," you will be able to use these Connect-from-Home-friendly bookmarks without losing your connection.

Note: Due to the dynamic nature of some URLs it may not be possible to successfully bookmark certain pages, regardless of whether you are on-campus or off-campus.