Newcastle University

The service can be accessed from a web browser anywhere via the following URL: http://ras.ncl.ac.uk. However, before clicking on this link there are a few things you should know:

• At the login page you must log on using your ISS Windows Logon name (you do not need to specify 'campus' in front of your logon name).
• Once you've successfully logged in, you'll see various applications which you can open and use. RAS is a web based service so you only need to single-click in order to open the applications.
• You may need to install the Citrix Client before being able to use RAS

Please visit Installing the Citrix Client.

If you have upgraded from a previous version of Internet Explorer you may notice that RAS performs slowly or generates ICA error messages when attempting to load an application.
To access RAS using Internet Explorer 9 you need to have the latest Citrix Client installed, this is available from the RAS logon page. For installation instructions please visit Installing the Citrix Client.

To access RAS using Google Chrome you need to have the latest version of the Citrix Client installed; version 13.1. This can be obtained from the RAS homepage, please visit Installing the Citrix Client for further information.
Alternatively you can also use the Java Client with Chrome; visit Using the Java Client for setup instructions.

Note for users of Chromebooks:
The Citrix Receiver available from the Chrome webstore is incompatible with RAS. There is no workaround for Chromebook users at present.
However, Google Chrome on a standard computer is supported and users should follow the instructions above.

Native Client:

You need to ensure your Gatekeep settings are configured to allow applications downloaded from 'Mac App Store and identified developers'. These settings are located in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General.

After installation if you are prompted to enter your email address in the Citrix Receiver, click Cancel.

Java Client:

To use the RAS Java Client on Mountain Lion you first need to install the Java Runtime Environment version 7. The JRE7 for Mac OSX only supports 64bit browsers such as Safari-64bit. Presently there is no Java support for Chrome.

To use RAS on Windows 8 RT or Metro, please see Using RAS on Windows 8 RT.

RAS is also supported on the full version of Windows 8 by following the Using RAS on Windows instructions.

Please visit Accessing Documents and Drives using RAS

Local Printers:
In most cases, printing from RAS should be a fairly straight-forward process, the system automatically detects your local default printer. Your local printer will be identified as "Your Printer Name (from Your Computer Name) in session X"

You can also choose to print to one of the cluster printers if you would prefer.

It is recommended that if you want to print, you choose File, and then Print as this gives you the option of selecting the correct printer.

If you have problems with printing please ensure that the printer you wish to connect to is set as the default on your local machine before connecting to RAS. You should also upgrade to the latest client, available from the RAS homepage. If after all these steps the printer does not show up in the list of printers it may mean that your printer driver is not compatible with RAS and is unlikely to work, please try upgrading your Citrix Client to the latest version (available from the RAS login page) as each new release of the client increases printer support.

The following printers have know incompatibilities with RAS:

• Lexmark/Dell Printers
• HP 'PhotoSmart' Printers
• Older Epson printers
• Most all-in-one Printer/Scanners

Network Printers:

Use the Find Printer button in any office application (except Outlook) to connect to your networked printer using this method.
If you find that the application you are using doesn't have the Find Printer button, then logout from RAS and run Word and click the Find Printer button and print a test page to your printer. Logout and then this printer will be available for you for any other RAS application.

If you receive the error 'Access is denied' this means that the RAS servers do not have the available drivers for your printer. The RAS servers have the HP Universal Printing PS (5.1.1.8283) driver installed and we recommend this for most HP Printers: please contact your computing officer to ensure your local printer server is using the Universal print driver else you may not be able to print.

You can print to most business-class printers without needing to install additional drivers by using the 'Local Printers' method above. 

To access resources from your local computer through RAS, you need to give permission within the Citrix Client.

Windows:

Launch an application on RAS.
Click on the Citrix Connection Centre  / Citrix Receiver  icon on your taskbar (and select the relevant option to open the Connection Center), select File Security settings and change this as required to give Full Access.

These settings can be configured from the Accessibility folder in RAS.

When logged into RAS, before launching your application, click on Settings, then in the Sound dropdown menu (under the User Experience heading), change the option from Off to your desired quality level Low/Medium/High. Click on Save.

Please do not bookmark the page you are redirected to when logging in; due to load balancing you may return to an inactive link next time you try. Please only bookmark https://ras.ncl.ac.uk

You need to enable the drive in your local ICA Client settings.

In a terminal window, type: /usr/lib/ICAClient/wfcmgr
This starts up the ICA Client manager.

Click Tools, Settings and from the drop-down box select Drive Mapping. Select the drive letter you wish to enable and select the enabled check box. Add the local Unix path you wish to appear as the drive letter then click Apply and OK
The next time a RAS session is started this drive mapping should take effect.

You need to logon to RAS via the Web Interface with your sid. This will give you access to an additional folder called SysAdmin Tools and the Active Directory tools are located here.

Launch My Drives from RAS.
Click Map Network Drive from the toolbar and enter the path required. You will then need to press F5 (or refresh the window) for the drives to become visible.

NB: Your H Drive will automatically be mapped and labeled as 'Documents'

There are 2 web browsers installed on RAS, both of which can access internal web pages. For convenience, there are shortcuts to popular internal web pages in the Library Resources folder.

When you run Inventor 2012 for the first time, you will be asked to enter a path for the Undo Directory. Enter
c:\users\a12345\local settings\temp (replacing a12345 with your username)
as the path to the Undo directory.

If you have already entered an incorrect path and are unable to load Inventor please contact the ISS Service Desk on x5999 or email it.servicedesk@ncl.ac.uk to have your profile reset.

To access your local mapped C drive type in \\client\c$ in the 'Local Site' address bar in Filezilla then press Enter.
You can also substitute the letter before the dollar sign for any additional local drives on your computer.

Due to license restrictions Matlab is only available to Staff and Research Associates. If you meet the criteria and wish to access Matlab on RAS please contact the ISS Service Desk on x5999 or email it.servicedesk@ncl.ac.uk.

You no longer need to use RAS to access these resources. Access to most Library E-Journals and Databases is now available direct from off-campus.

E-Journals http://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/resources/ejs/
Databases http://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/resources/databases/

You can, however, continue to access library resources via RAS by launching a web browser from within the ‘Communications and Browsers’ folder.

Windows:
First ensure that your computer is fully up to date with patches available from Window Update and that you have the latest Citrix Client installed (available from the RAS logon page). If you still get this error then please click to install the Terena Root Certificate . You will be asked to install the certificate, please do so accepting all the defaults.

Mac:
If you are using the older Citrix Client please place a copy of the Terena Root Certificate in
/Applications/Citrix ICA Client/keystore/cacerts
If you are using the newer Citrix Client place the file in
/Library/Application Support/Citrix/keystore/cacerts

Linux:
The root certificate needs to be present in your ICA Client keystore directory. Please download the Terena Root Certificate  and place it in the relevant directory based on where you installed the Citrix Client /usr/lib/ICAClient/keystore/cacerts or /home/USER/ICAClient/linuxx86/keystore/cacerts. 

Other Options:
In either situation you can use the Java Client; visit Using the Java Client for setup instruction.

Firstly you need to install the Citrix Client software. This is available for download on the RAS logon page.

If you are using Internet Explorer 9, please ensure you have the latest version of the Citrix Client installed (at least 12.1.44.1). Previous versions are reported to cause problems with IE9.
Once the client is successfully installed you should also add https://ras.ncl.ac.uk to your trusted sites, as this will prevent the following dialogue from being displayed.

To add RAS to your trusted sites in Internet Explorer 9, click on the Settings icon, then Internet Options. Click on the Security tab, Trusted Sites, then Sites. Ensure https://ras.ncl.ac.uk is entered in the website field then click Add. You may need to close and relaunch Internet Explorer for the setting to apply.

If you continue to receive this error message when using the 64-bit edition of Windows we recommend using the 32-bit version of Internet Explorer.

This message can also be generated by your Internet Explorer security settings if you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 or greater installed. Please ensure that 'Do not save encrypted pages to disk' is unchecked. You can find this under Internet Options, Advanced.

Finally, if you continue to experience problems, please see FAQ 3.16 to reset your file associations.

This can sometimes happen when your Temporary Internet Files folder is full. Please delete your Temporary Internet Files.

If the Citrix window disappears after attempting to launch an application, then your local settings have become corrupt. You need to remove the ICAClient from within your profile folder. On XP this will be located within C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data and on Vista / Windows 7 this will be under C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming
You may need to have hidden folders shown to view these; see Guide for XP and Guide for Vista / 7 here.

You can also use the Java Client; visit Using the Java Client for setup instruction.

If you receive this error you need to clear out your cookies and temporary internet files as your local cache has become corrupted.

If you get this error then please contact it.servicedesk@ncl.ac.uk to have your RAS Profile reset.

If you are using a University computer off-campus then un-tick the proxy settings from your browser as the PAC file isn't available off-campus.

If you receive this error it means your Outlook Navigation pane settings have become corrupt. Close down all applications within RAS and open the application 'Reset Outlook NavPane'. Once Outlook has opened, please close it again and open Outlook via the normal icon.

This means that you are trying to run the Outlook application when you have access only to Outlook via the web (OWA).

Open the Manage my Outlook Profile application from within the Office 2010 folder. Click on Show Profiles, click on Remove and then click OK. Now when you run Outlook again, it will build a new profile for you. You will have to re-configure Outlook to look the way you are used to having it.

If you receive this error, please ensure that you have adequate free space available in your University H Drive (Documents Folder). Photoshop uses your H Drive to store temporary files.

You may receive the following or similar error message when using RAS:
'Internet Explorer has blocked this site from using an ActiveX control in an unsafe manner. As a result the page may not display correctly'
We recommend that when using RAS off-campus you ensure that it is configured as a Trusted Site in your Browser.
To do this in Internet Explorer; Click on the Tools menu, Click on the Internet Options menu option, click on the Security tab, click on Trusted Sites, click on Sites, type in https://ras.ncl.ac.uk, click Add, click Close, click OK.

If RAS is not configured as a Trusted Site, an information/messages icon will appear on the RAS webpage to inform you.

If you receive this message the Terminal Server License on your machine may have become corrupted. Please follow the steps below to fix. You will need administrator rights to do this, if you do not have them please contact your local IT support.
Open RegEdit
Create a backup of the MSLicensing registry key and its subkeys on the computer, and then remove the original key and subkeys by doing the following:

1. On the computer, navigate to the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSLicensing
2. Click MSLicensing
3. On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File
4. In the File name box, type mslicensingbackup, and then click Save
5. If you need to restore this registry key in the future, double-click mslicensingbackup.reg
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click Yes to confirm the deletion of the MSLicensing registry subkey
7. Close Registry Editor, and then restart the computer
8. When the computer is restarted, the missing registry key is rebuilt.

You might receive this error message when trying to launch an application after installing a previous version of the Citrix Client while logged in as one user, upgrading with Client as another user, and logging back on with the previous user name. Follow the steps below to fix this error.

1. Right-Click and Download the file below to a location on your computer.
   C‌lient Hosted Apps Fix
2. Double-click on on file to run it. Click 'Run' if prompted; you may also be asked to enter the password for an account with Administrator permissions.
3. Once completed, retry your connection to RAS.

You can resolve this issue by changing the keyboard options within Citrix Receiver.

1. First, close down any RAS sessions on the Android device
2. On the main Citrix Receiver screen, tap on Settings
3. Tap on Keyboard
4. Switch Enable client IME to on
5. Tap the 'Back' button to return to the main screen

When opening any application on RAS you may find that your computer tries to run the same application on your computer each time; for example Notepad or Internet Explorer. You can follow the following instructions to reset your file associations for the Citrix Receiver:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Unless it is already done, change the View by option to Small icons (top right of the window)
3. Click Default Programs
4. Click Associate a file type or protocol with a program
5. Find .ica in the list
6. Highlight it and click Change program (top right of window)
7. Windows 8 Users - Click More options scroll down and click Look for another app on this PC
8. Browse for the file C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\ICA Client\wfcrun32.exe (or C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\wfcrun32.exe if you are using a 32bit Operating System)
9. Click Open – then OK