Quick Links
Netfiles Replaces 48 Hour Storage
Connecting Your Laptop to the Network
Welcome to The Lab
On this page you will find the most up to date news on what is happening in the College of Design.
For information from last semester click here
Print Conservation Fall 2008!
Check out this link for information on the launch of the CDes Print Conservation Program.
Connecting to Classes Folder
Instructions for Connecting to the Class Folders
When accessing the class folders you need to set up a VPN, the instructions explain this a little bit but if you are still having trouble check out ADCS's website here:VPN Service through the U of MN
The College of Design offers computer labs on both the Minneapolis and St. Paul Campus
Minneapolis Campus: Rapson Hall 33, 35, & 127
St. Paul Campus: McNeal Hall 305
Rapson Hall Summer Computing Lab Hours
| Weekday | Hours |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
| Monday | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Tuesday | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Wednesday | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Thursday | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Friday | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Saturday | CLOSED |
Netfiles Drop Box for Color Plots
You can now submit your color plot through Netfiles!
Once you have uploaded your file let the Lab Attendant know and they will plot it out for you.
Click HERE for instructions on how to bookmark the Minneapolis Plot Queue in your Netfiles account for easier access in the future!
Netfiles Replaces 48 Hour Storage
Students have access to 5 GB of FREE network storage via the Netfiles service. Netfiles replaces the old "48 Hour" storage service in the case of architecture and landscape architecture students.
That's right! Every U of MN student has access to 5GB of space that you can access from home, school, anywhere there is an internet connection. We are strongly encouraging students to take advantage of this space.
NetFiles is a web-accessible storage service meaning that files can be stored and retrieved through a standard web browser from any computer anywhere in the world. Each user is given 5 GB of space to use for their personal needs.
Besides the ubiquitous access to NetFiles, some of the other interesting features are the ability to share files and/or folders with other users of the service or even with people outside the university community. This works great for faculty who need to share files with a colleague for a paper, grant application, etc. Another nice feature is that NetFiles also has a built-in web server capability. Any files put in a special folder called “www” can be accessed as though they were web documents. In other words, you can build a web site on NetFiles just like having your own personal web server.
Special client software installed in the Rapson Hall computer labs lets the NetFiles space be accessed as though it were a network drive (similar to the Active Directory service above). There are some limitations for this including the characters that can be used in a filename and some applications (notably Autodesk software) will not save files directly to NetFiles using this client software. Information about the limitations is available here.
The college recommends NetFiles for all students to keep copies of all your important files. NetFiles is very useful in the computer lab to save files that you want to be able to access from your home computer and vice versa. It can be used with scanners to save output and then access it from a home or lab computer. In general, NetFiles is the university’s and the college’s file service for students.
We have written a short quickstart guide which you can find here:
There are two ways to access NetFiles: either by a WebBrowser, or a Client. We have installed the client on all of the computers in the lab for your convienience, the client is only available to students in the Rapson Hall Computer Labs. Please refer to the quickstart guide for information on how to use both of these methods. When uploading and accessing files from home you can only use the web browser.