Generic Help for RPS/WWW

This help file is intended to be read by those who are not familiar with RPS/WWW. It is short, so please read it completely.

1. Warnings, Caveats, Etc.: PLEASE READ THIS ENTRY, IF NOTHING ELSE.

   The user of RPS/WWW, REGARDLESS of experience, should develop the habit of saving her/his work often. WWW RPS works as a stateless server (and works ONLY because it is stateless); in other words, no system anywhere is waiting for input from the user. The system responds only to a specific request, the request is handled, and the server then forgets it handled that request. NO backups of any files exist UNLESS THE USER CREATES THEM. Ignore this advice at your peril.

   If a user is not careful, s/he can also wipe out a filled-in form. Save early, save often. Use the 'Save' button at the top or bottom of the FORM, not the browser's save button.

   A good rule: once the form appears, NEVER touch the browser buttons without first using the form buttons.

   Be certain to save the form as an HTML file, by specifying `.html' as the extension. Otherwise it will NOT re-load properly.

   Finally, note that there is currently NO path to go from the e-mail handler to the RPS WWW form or back again. That code is non-trivial to develop.

2. One-line description of each RPS form button (alphabetic order)
   • Add Target - Target adding and Cloning Form
   • Delete Target - remove a target form - must have set 'delete target' flag at top of the form of the target to be deleted (note the target numbers will appear to be wrong after a target is deleted: the processor WILL correct this when the LaTeX form is generated)
   • HelpDesk - opens a sub-window for sending comments, complaints, etc. to Chandra X-Ray Center.
   • LaTeX - obtain the LaTeX version; save after receipt (blank forms may be obtained by using the LaTeX button BEFORE entering any information into the form)
   • PDF - obtain the PDF version; save after receipt
   • Reload - Reload previously saved HTML form. This option is generally only available for older browsers. If this option is not available or does not work with your browser, please try the browser's Open option for loading the file.
   • Save - save the values entered in the form boxes as HTML. Do NOT use the browser supplied save option as this will not save the data you've entered in the form.
   • Submit RPS Form - submit the electronic version to the proposal database - this should be used when you are satisfied with your proposal parameters. The submit button will not appear on the form until after the proposal has been 'verified' successfully. Please obtain a hardcopy version for your records by using the PDF button after you successfully submit your proposal.
   • Upload Science Justification - upload the science justification (PDF file). The user should not upload the justification until the forms have been submitted. A proposal number is returned with the acknowledgment of receipt of the forms. That proposal number is used to put the justification and the forms into one PDF file for printing at CXC.

     If you use LaTeX for your PDF scientific justification, we suggest you create a PDF file in one of two ways.

     1) Use a latex installation which allows you to create PDF files directly from the .tex file (e.g. pdftex). Some installations of pdftex do not allow you to include postscript figures. In this case you might use method (2).

     2) Use ps2pdf (preferably version 1.4) to convert a postscript file to PDF.

     latex file.tex
     dvips -Ppdf -G0 -o file.ps file.dvi
     ps2pdf14  file.ps file.pdf
     

     We suggest one of these methods because most proposal reviewers will be reading your Scientific Justification on a computer screen using a PDF viewer. By default, a document produced with LaTeX uses so-called cm fonts, which differ significantly from any of the standard Type1 fonts built-in to PDF. PDF uses low-resolution bitmap images of these fonts to display the document. It prints well, but shows degraded resolution on the screen.

   • Verify - send the electronic version for verification

3. Limitations
   • View the Platform support page

4. Boxes, etc.

   The boxes are dimensioned as long and as high as the allowed text for that box. If you find the text scrolling, you've typed too much.

   The forms may appear to be mixed up, particularly if you use 'Add Target'. The forms are all re-sorted if you 'Submit' the file or if you request 'LaTeX' output.

5. Scrolling, Jump scrolling

   The middle mouse button may be used to scroll or jump-scroll down the page. Move the cursor onto the scroll bar (usually on the RIGHT side of the Mosaic environment), hold down the middle mouse button, and move the indicator to the desired location. In addition, the left mouse button, if clicked while the mouse cursor lies within the scroll bar, moves the window down the file a window page at a time.

6. LaTeX concerns (e.g. LaTeX markups in the Abstract)

   The RPS processor prepends all LaTeX special characters, such as $ % # \ with a backslash (\) when generating the LaTeX file. When this file is run through the LaTeX processor, the special characters will be printed as they were entered. If these special characters are intended as LaTeX markups (i.e, a math environment delimited by dollar signs in the abstract field), the prepended backslashes must be removed by editing the LaTeX file before the file is LaTeX'd.

The Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC) is operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.    Email: cxcweb@head.cfa.harvard.edu Smithsonian Institution, Copyright © 1998-2004. All rights reserved.

Last modified: 05/16/07