SciFinder Intro | SciFinder Installation | Off-Campus Access to SciFinder


SciFinder Scholar Installation and Access

Use of SciFinder Scholar is restricted to OSU faculty, staff and students. Use is limited to four (4) simultaneous users. Please remember to exit SciFinder Scholar after each session.

In-Library Patrons: You must log onto the library computer network with an ONID account to access SciFinder Scholar. Close or minimize all windows on your desktop and double-click the "Reference Databases on CD-Network" icon. From the menu, select SciFinder Scholar.

Patrons outside of The Valley Library must download and install SciFinder Scholar client software; off-campus patrons must also download and install VPN client software.

Contents:


Windows Installation

You must be current OSU faculty, staff or student to download SciFinder software.

  1. If you have any previous version of SciFinder Scholar on your computer, you must uninstall it. You should be prompted to overwrite the old version while following the instructions below. If not, you can use the "Uninstall" file in the SciFinder folder.
  2. Download the SciFinder software by clicking on the link below:
    sfs2007.zip.
  3. Once sfs2007.zip is finished downloading, navigate to the folder containing the downloaded file and unzip its contents (choose to extract all the files).
  4. Run sfs2007.exe, and follow the on-screen instructions in the "InstallShield Wizard" to complete the installation
    • The system will ask if you want to install the SciFinder Scholar Toolbar on your browser. Do not install the toolbar! Because of the limited number of simultaneous users in the OSU license to SciFinder Scholar, the toolbar will reduce the availability of SciFinder Scholar for all users.
  5. If this is the first time you have installed Scifinder Scholar on your computer, you will also need to copy the "site.prf" file from the folder containign the zipped files (sfs2007) to the program folder (C:\SFSCHLR).
  6. SciFinder Scholar has now been installed to your computer. To add a shortcut to your desktop, navigate to the folder where the SciFinder files were saved (C:\SFSCHLR is the default location), right-click and choose to create a shortcut on the sfschlr.exe file.
  7. Run it by double clicking the SciFinder Scholar icon on your desktop (if you created a shortcut), or by selecting it from the list of programs under the Windows Start menu.

Macintosh Installation

Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) users: See the CAS website for details on ensuring Scifinder Scholar works properly.

You must be current OSU faculty, staff or student to download SciFinder software.

  1. First, download the SciFinder software by clicking on the link below:
    sfs2007_mac.zip - 14 MB
  2. Extract the sfs2007_mac.zip file to your desktop.
  3. Move the "SciFinder Scholar" folder (including the "site.prf" file) to the location on your hard drive at Library -> Application Support
    (the full path on your drive for the "site.prf" should be "Library:Application Support:SciFinder Scholar:site.prf")
  4. Open scifinder.dmg. Follow the on-screen directions to complete installation.
  5. During the installation, the system will ask if you want to install the SciFinder Scholar Toolbar on your browser. Do not install the toolbar! It also requires an additional 25 MB of disk space. Because of the limited number of simultaneous users in the OSU license to SciFinder Scholar, the toolbar will rarely work and will reduce the availability of SciFinder Scholar for all users.
  6. After installation, open the Applications folder and double click on SciFinder Scholar 2007 to start the program.

Installation Help / Support

Installation Help: If you are unable to install the SciFinder Software, please read the following:

  • Does your computer meet the minimum requirements?
  • If you had problems with your download, you may need to download the software again.

Support: For users who have successfully installed SciFinder Scholar but are unable to access it:

  • Please make sure you have a connection to the Internet.
  • If you are receiving the error message "Login Failed: Too many concurrent sessions for this login id.", then the 4 user limit has been reached. Please try connecting again later.
  • The message "Scholar is not authorized for use from this network address" means you have tried to use SciFinder Scholar from an off-campus location. Please follow the instructions for off-campus access to SciFinder. For additional assistance, contact the subject librarian for Chemistry, Uta Hussong (737-7278) Uta.Hussong@oregonstate.edu.