Ariel
Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ariel?

Ariel is the name of the Electronic Document Delivery (EDD) software that the Miller Nichols and Health Sciences Interlibrary Loan (ILL) departments use to deliver articles via email. The ILL department uses Ariel to post articles as Adobe Acrobat files to the libraries' server and notify you when your articles are ready to view. With Ariel, you can access your requests 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Click on the link to get to the Ariel login page and follow the instructions. Articles will be available for you to view, save, or print for two weeks or five viewings, whichever comes first.

When I try to view my article, all I see is a blank screen! What should I do?

There are a number of potential causes for this problem. A few of the most common are:

• The first page of your document has a large amount of white space.
  The beginning of the document you requested may contain a page that is mostly blank or contains a large amount of white space. Simply scroll down or advance to the next page to reach an area of the document that contains text or graphics.

• The security settings on your browser or network prevent the article from displaying.
  
  • If you are using Internet Explorer, try accessing your document using Netscape.
    
  • If you prefer to use Internet Explorer, try resetting the security settings in the browser.
    
    • From the "Tools" menu, go to "Internet Options."
      
    • Select the "Security" tab, then select "Internet."
      
    • Click on the "Default Level" button, then select "Okay."
      
    • Close Internet Explorer, then reopen Internet Explorer and try accessing your document again.
      
  • Turn off pop-up-blocking and ad-blocking software (this can interfere with Acrobat).
    
  • Check your hardware and software firewalls for proper settings to allow access.
    

• Adobe Acrobat Reader may be trying to automatically update, causing the application to freeze.
  
  • Acrobat automatically checks for updates once a month. A hidden dialog box can freeze the application. To unhide/disable automatic updates:
    • Open Adobe from the Start menu: Start, Programs, Acrobat Reader
    • In Acrobat, click Edit, Preferences
    • Select "Updates" from the list of options at the left to view/change the Updates preferences. Switch to "Manually" to disable automatic updates; unclick button to show updates.
  • Try updating manually: in Acrobat, click Help, Updates. The application will connect to the Internet to search for available updates.

• Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed incorrectly, or has not been installed.
  If you are unsure that the Acrobat Reader plug-in or program is properly installed, this could cause problems when trying to access your document. To verify this, see if you can locate the Acrobat Reader program on your computer. In the START menu, select "Programs." Look for Adobe, then Acrobat Reader. If you see it, try to start it manually. If you still have trouble, you may want to reinstall Acrobat Reader to make sure it is properly installed.

• Your session on the document delivery server was disconnected.
  If you're using a dial-up modem, check your modem status and see if you are still connected to the Internet. If you are using a University, public or office workstation, try logging in again from another computer.

• Your computer does not have enough system resources available to display the document.
  Even the most powerful or newest computers have a finite amount of resources available to perform all of the tasks required of them. Normally you will see a message similar to "Low on System Resources" appear if you have too many applications open, though this is not always the case. Try closing some applications, particularly resource hogs such as imaging processing, spreadsheet or database products.

• Your download was canceled for some reason.
  Be sure you have not accidentally clicked on the CANCEL button during your download. Because this is often the last dialog box displayed on the screen, pressing ENTER will have the same affect. A canceled download can also be the result of a lost connection to the Internet, or the document delivery server itself. Running out of drive space may also cause your browser to terminate a download once it finds there's nowhere to store the file!

When I try to print my article the pages are not as clear as the image on the computer screen. Can this be fixed?

If your pages are not printing as clearly as they should, you probably need to check your print options. Select the Adobe print icon, which looks like a small printer on your tool bar, and view the printer options. Make sure that the box in front of "print as image" is selected with a checkmark. Since the Adobe files are scanned images, this is the best print option to choose.

What version of Adobe Acrobat do I need to view my articles?

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or later. To download and install the most current version of Adobe go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. (Information about Adobe Support for the Adobe Acrobat Reader can also be found on the Web site.)

There are large black margins on the pages that I do not want to print.

To eliminate the large black margins you will have to select the text and images that you want to print one page at a time for printing. To select the text and images, use the "graphics select tool" from your tool bar (looks like a small white square being overlapped by an equally small circle). This tool is available only for Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or later. You may need to reinstall Adobe to use this feature.

Place your cursor in the top left corner of the portion of the page you want to print, then hold down the left mouse button and drag to highlight the print area. Select the print icon and make sure that in the "Print Range" the "Selected Graphic" radio dial button is selected. Only the portion that you have selected will be printed for that page. You will have to repeat this process for each page. You may also save the document or view it 5 times from the server, within a two week period, instead of printing.

Does it make a difference whether I use a UMKC email address or a personal account, such as Hotmail or Yahoo?

The Interlibrary Loan Department has, in the past, sent articles to any email account that is submitted on the initial request. However, beginning Fall 2003, we will begin to use UMKC email addresses only to communicate with UMKC students, faculty, and staff.

To activate your UMKC email account, you will need to contact the UMKC Information Services Department. For more information, visit the UMKC Information Services Website.

I am missing pages from the article I requested.

The Interlibrary Loan Department checks all articles for missing pages before we pass them on to you. However, if we do miss a page, please let us know and we will request the missing page for you. Contact the Miller Nichols Interlibrary Loan Department by email or call (816) 235-1586. The Health Sciences ILL Department can be reached at (816) 235-1878.

It's taking too long to view my document!

Normally, you will experience a lengthy delay in acquiring your document only if you're using a dialup connection. Even at the currently "speedy" standard of a 56K modem, a large document could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to download. Here is a general guide in determining approximately how long it may take to download a document, given its size:

Article = 3 pages (1,000K), approximately 5 minutes
Article = 10 pages (3,000K), approximately 15 minutes
Article = 50 pages (6,000K), approximately 30 minutes

General Rule: It takes approximately five minutes to transfer 1 MEG (1,000K) of information using a 56K modem.

If you like to surf the Internet while downloading your documents, this will add to the time it takes to get your documents. Anything that shares the modem while you are online (email, Internet games, instant messengers, etc.) can also directly affect download times.

Also, if you are using a dial-up modem to connect to the document delivery server, the time it takes to download an article could be considerable depending on the document size. Resist the urge to cancel and restart a download because it appears nothing is happening. Clicking on the download link again will needlessly increase your views counter.

My article is no longer accessible from my documents list. What happened?

There are a couple reasons why an article may become inaccessible or disappear from the download page:

• You are allowed one copy of the material you've requested, which you may view five times. We have given you multiple views of an article to allow for any technical difficulties you may encounter while viewing/downloading a document. The views counter increases by one every time you click on the document link. Try to avoid impatient multiple clicking; this will add to your views.

• For the same reasons as stated above, the number of days a requested article can remain on the server is limited to two weeks. You must view the article within two weeks of the date it was posted. After this time period has elapsed, the article is automatically deleted from the sever.

• Ariel will allow you to remove documents from your list when you are done using them. If the title of your document appears in your list of documents but is no longer an accessible link, contact the Interlibrary Loan office to have your document re-posted to the server.

What are the minimum system requirements for my computer?

There are some absolute minimums your computer must be able to achieve in order to experience trouble-free use of the Website delivery service. At the very least, your system should have the following:

• A computer of sufficient power to support the capabilities indicated below (a Pentium 100 or above)

• Connectivity to the Internet using one of these methods is suggested:
  • University network (typically a direct connection from offices and public workstations)
  • A digital subscriber line (DSL) service
  • A broadband service (such as Time Warner Cable)
  • Dialup modem - the faster the better (56K is desired)

• An Internet browser appropriate for your operating system with the indicated version, or later (Netscape Navigator v4.0+ and Microsoft Internet Explorer v4.0+ are the most common)

• Adobe Acrobat Reader v4.06 or later

• Enough available space on your hard drive to store the downloaded documents (100MG is good)
• Optionally, an inkjet or laser printer capable of printing at 300 DPI (dots per inch)

If you try to use the service without at least these minimums, you may experience unpredictable results. Please contact the appropriate technical support staff in order to update your workstation. If you can, try moving to another computer and attempting your download again.

Why does my Internet browser "lock up" on me?

Even though the document delivery Website has been developed to be compatible with nearly any browser, there may be times when your browser appears to stop working, or lock up. To correct this problem, you may need to delete the cache or temporary Internet files from your Web browser or choose to accept cookies in your browser. If you are not sure how to do this, please contact the appropriate technical staff in your department, the UMKC Information Services Department, or your online service provider.

How do I know how much drive space I need?

In your list of available documents, there is a column that says "Size." This represents the amount of space any given document will require when you download (or save) it to your hard drive. At times, you may receive a very large file, depending on the type of material that was scanned (text or images) and how many pages. It's always a good idea to check how large the file is prior to starting the download.

To determine the amount of free space you have on your hard drive, follow the steps appropriate for your operating system:

• Windows-based computers:
• Click on the START button on your desktop (usually the lower left corner).
• Select Programs.
• Select Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer!).
• Click once on the drive letter where you plan to store your document (usually somewhere on C:).
• The amount of free hard drive space should be displayed in the bottom status bar of Windows Explorer.

• Mac-based computers:
• Click on the drive icon that represents which drive you'd like to use.
• Press CONTROL+I (simultaneously), also called the "Apple I", to bring up a list of information about that drive.

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	© 2008 UMKC University Libraries. All Rights Reserved. Part of the University of Missouri System; DMCA and other copyright information; 5100 Rockhill Road | Kansas City, Missouri 64110 Miller Nichols: (816)235-1534 Dental: 816)235-2030 Health Sciences: (816)235-1880 Leon E. Bloch Law:(816)235-1650 Page last updated: 09/10/08; Comments or Questions: Contact Us