JCU - SciFinder Scholar

User Agreement and Client Software Installation Package

James Cook University has a subscription to the Chemical Abstracts Service SciFinder Scholar database. The subscription only provides access for one user at a time to the database,

so please Log Off the service when you have finished,
SciFinder Scholar is at present restricted to use on the University campus network,
it CANNOT be used off-campus.

For assistance with SciFinder Scholar please contact InfoHelp (phone 4781 5500).

How to use SciFinder Scholar

Note that this is not a web based service:

a) Client software MUST be loaded to a directory on your PC or Macintosh
b) A configuration file MUST be added to that directory
c) You MUST authenticate yourself to gain access through the University Firewall.
d) Seek assistance from your computer support officer (for schools and labs) or the library information desk (for the library buildings) if you require access to SciFinder Scholar from computers not under your control.

Step 1: Read the User Agreement

You certify to the following before you use SciFinder Scholar:

1) I am a current faculty or administrative staff member, or officially registered student of the University;

2) I will use SciFinder Scholar only for my own academic research done in the course of pursuing my degree, or in instructing my students, or in the course of my own research funded by the government or a non-profit foundation and intended for publication in the publicly available literature;

3) I will NOT use SciFinder Scholar for commercial research; for example, research that is done under a funding or consultant contract where the results are delivered to a for-profit organization, or for research that involves patentability searching. If I require SciFinder for commercial purposes, I will have the search done using a commercial account by contacting the librarian responsible for chemistry searches on campus, by contacting CAS and having them perform a search for me, or by acquiring and using the commercial SciFinder product;

4) I will use my search results in the ordinary course of academic research and acknowledge that I may store search results in electronic form, provided that at any one time, I store no more than 5,000 records. I may share search results in a limited, reasonable way with other University students or faculty working on the same project, but I will not aggregate my electronic search results with those of anyone else. I will delete stored records when I no longer need them for the relevant research project, or after the completion of my degree program, whichever occurs first. If I need to use search results beyond what is described here, I will contact my University Key Contact to discuss and to obtain CAS permission. I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I AM NOT PERMITTED TO DISTRIBUTE ANY CAS DATA OR SCIFINDER SCHOLAR, FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN OR OTHERWISE, OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSITY OR TO THIRD PARTIES.

5) I acknowledge that the University has entered into a license agreement with CAS to provide me with access to SciFinder Scholar, and that violation of the license by any user could result in a termination of the license for all users.

6) I will contact University's Key Contact, Neil Renison (phone 4781 5073) with any questions related to the use of SciFinder Scholar.

Step 2: Installing the Client Software

(It is recommended that you first print these instructions for easy reference.)

Windows Users:

Download sfs2007.exe (12.2MB), the Windows 2000, XP, Vista, version of the self installing client software. (Save or right click to "Save link target as sfs2007.exe").
Install by double clicking on the icon and following the prompts provided.
It is recommended that you choose the "Typical" installation option.
If asked if you have a disk named "Custom Site Files" answer no.

Macintosh Users

Download sfs2007a.dmg (14.2 MB), the OS X (10.3, 10.4 and 10.5) version of the self installing client software.
On some systems file will automatically mount, if not doubleclick sfs2007.dmg
Doubleclick on the "SciFinder Scholar" icon.
Drag and drop the SciFinder Scholar Application Package (the SciFinder Scholar icon on the white button) into your Applications folder
Double click the HardDrive/Applications/SciFinder Scholar icon to launch SciFinder Scholar

Step 3: Add the local configuration file

Windows Users

Download site.prf the local configuration file
Right click to "Save as link target" site.prf to the directory created for SciFinder Scholar (normally this will be named Sfschlr). If text appears in your browser window you can still "save as" site.prf

Macintosh Users

Download macsite.prf the local configuration file. (Hold down Option key and click mouse.)
Rename as "site.prf"
Add site.prf to the User Location: (All users can access this location within their Home Folder, which is HardDrive/Users/[Login Name]/)
1. Create a folder named SciFinder Scholar within HardDrive/Users/HomeFolder/Library/Application Support/SciFinder Scholar
2. Copy site.prf into the SciFinder Scholar folder (HardDrive/Users/HomeFolder/Library/Application Support/SciFinder Scholar/site.prf). Note: When SciFinder Scholar is started, it will copy any site.prf file located within the Application Package into the User Location.

Step 4: Authenticate yourself

Go to http://authenticate.jcu.edu.au using your personal JCU account and password for access through the University Firewall.

To test that you now have access to SciFinder Scholar, just click on the SciFinder Scholar program icon on your computer. A welcome screen to SciFinder Scholar should appear. SciFinder Scholar support Information is available from the CAS website. If you have any problems, contact InfoHelp.

Don't forget that you must authenticate yourself every time before connecting to SciFinder Scholar (unless access through the JCU firewall is already enabled).

If this information is inadequate, incorrect, or can be improved in any way, please let us know