Information for new users of Physics VMS services
                             (Revised 3/14/96)

   There are a number of sources of information on our VMS system and its 
software:

1)   We have prepared two simple introductory guides, one covering
     VMS services and the other covering the local LaTeX document
     preparation environment.  Both are available from the computer
     staff in room 2180, or online (DEV$PUBLIC:[PCF]VMS-GUIDE.PS
     and DEV$PUBLIC:[PCF]VMS-LOCAL-LATEX-GUIDE.PS, respectively).
     This same information is on the Physics Department's web pages,
     under "Physics Computer Facility".

2)   VMS provides a great deal of "HELP" material.  Typing HELP in response 
     to the command prompt (the "dollar sign") will produce a description of 
     the HELP system and a list of topics; each topic has subtopics and 
     details.  For example, HELP FORTRAN will describe the Fortran compiler 
     and its options, and offer such subtopics as "statements" and 
     "intrinsic functions"; under "statements" you will find a detailed 
     description of each statement in the Fortran language; essentially, 
     the entire manual is on-line.  Also, many commands (MAIL, EDIT, ...) 
     contain additional HELP material if you type HELP within them.

3)   When you logon to VMS, you are shown a display entitled
     "Bulletin Board".  This display contains the five most recent notices 
     from the support staff, each beginning with a "topic-name".  You can 
     read any notice that interests you by typing "TELL topic-name".  
     The complete list of all such notices is generated by typing "HISTORY", 
     and again you can read any topic with "TELL topic-name".  These notices 
     describe the software products available on VMS, and often describe 
     special HELP facilities or on-line manuals associated with them.

4)   All VMS manuals, and some manuals from other vendors, are available
     on-line via the "bookreader" software.  They are best displayed on
     a bit-mapped screen, such as the public workstation PHYVSE in room
     2097 Smith Lab.  This utility can also search manuals for particular
     terms, and can print pages from a manual onto a PostScript printer.
     A less-elegant version is available on any terminal
     by typing MGBOOK and following the menus; please be patient, for
     the manuals are stored on CD-ROM and read over a network.
     A good place to begin is the "User's Manual" under "DEC's VMS
     documentation on CD-ROM" / "OpenVMS VAX Operating System" /
     "OpenVMS General User [G] Documents".

5)   There is an extensive collection of printed documentation in the public 
     area of the computer room (Smith Lab 2097) and a smaller collection in 
     the theory terminal room (Smith Lab 4035).  This collection includes 
     DEC manuals on VMS and related products, vendor manuals on graphics and 
     networking software, and books on Kermit, electronic mail, etc.
     Additional manuals are maintained by the computer staff in their
     offices (room 2180).

6)   Introductory documents (such as this document), lists of software,
     and other useful information are stored on DEV$PUBLIC:[PCF] on VMS.
     "DIR DEV$PUBLIC:[PCF]" will give you a directory of the information
     stored there.

7)   We offer a number of on-line courses in various aspects of our system 
     (the VMS operating system, the EDT editor, and various applications  
     packages).  These courses are rather old, and only run on our
     old VAX computers; nonetheless, they correctly describe simple
     commands and editing services.  To access one of these courses, 
     connect from a VT100/VT200/VT300 equivalent terminal or PC to computer
     OHSTPW (a VAX) and type "TUTORIAL". A menu of courses will appear;
     most courses are divided into lessons, so you can learn as much as you 
     wish and study only the topics that interest you.

8)   The support staff for VMS (John Heimaster, Brian Keller, and J.D. Wear 
     -- usernames JWH, KELLER, and JDW) can be contacted in person or via
     EMAIL for more information.  Also, mail to ACTION will bring 
     response from the first of us to read it; please use this mechanism
     to notify us of problems requiring prompt resolution, such as
     printer jams.