SAFE Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is SAFE?
How do I obtain SAFE space?
How can I access my SAFE space?
How do I access my SAFE space if I am a student employee?
How do I access my SAFE space if I am an employee taking classes?
How much SAFE space do I get?
What if I need to increase my SAFE space quota?
Are my files safe and secure in my SAFE space?
What if I accidentally delete a file from my SAFE space?
Are there any restrictions or policies I should be aware of when accessing my SAFE space?
Can I share files with others on SAFE?
Can I host web pages on SAFE?
What happens to my SAFE space when I leave the University?
SAFE is the short name for your personal Student Academic File space. This file space can be used for your academic-related file storage needs, and is easily accessible from anywhere in the world via a web browser, through web folders, or from any of the Instructional Technology Centers (ITCs) across campus.
All current University of Iowa students will automatically have space allocated to them on SAFE. As long as you are enrolled in classes, you will retain your space on SAFE. Once you are no longer registered for classes, you will no longer be eligible for SAFE.
Additionally, students in the Medicine domain will have SAFE space provisioned to them. In order to access this space, students in the medicine domain will need to use the MyFiles Premium interface. Students in the Medicine domain can contact the ITS Help Desk to determine their SAFE Directory location.
How can I access my SAFE space?
There are three ways to access your SAFE space, including:
- MyFiles Basic - Students in the IOWA domain can access their University of Iowa SAFE space by accessing http://myfiles.uiowa.edu . MyFiles Basic offers a simple web interface to your SAFE space from any web browser, but doesn't offer the additional functionality that MyFiles Premium offers. MyFiles Basic is accessible from web browsers only, and can not be mounted permanently on your home computer, as with MyFiles Premium.
- MyFiles Premium - In order to use the MyFiles Premium interface, you must be running either Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger). MyFiles Premium utilizes WebDAV technology to provide enhanced functionality beyond MyFiles Basic. This additional functionality provides you with a Windows Explorer-like view of your SAFE space. By following the instructions provided on the MyFiles site, you can also permanently mount your SAFE space on your home computer using MyFiles Premium. This will enable you to save files directly to your SAFE space, rather than saving and uploading the files at a later time.
- ITC H : Drive - In addition to these two web interfaces, most students with Hawk IDs in the IOWA domain will have their SAFE space mounted as an H: drive on Windows computers in the ITCs. If your Hawk ID is in the IOWA domain, you can save directly to your H: drive to store files in your SAFE space. These files will then be accessible from the web by using either of the MyFiles tools.
How do I access my SAFE space if I am a student employee?
Most student employees will be able to use both MyFiles interfaces and their ITC H: drive to access SAFE space. If you are a student employee and do have issues accessing your SAFE space, please contact the ITS Help Desk at its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu or call 384-HELP .
How do I access my SAFE space if I am an employee taking classes?
All students, regardless of faculty/staff appointments can access their SAFE space using MyFiles Premium. If you are a faculty/staff member who is enrolled as a student and want to use the ITC H: drive or MyFiles basic, you will first want to consult with your departmental IT personnel.
All students are initially allotted 100 MB of disk space for SAFE.
What if I need to increase my SAFE space quota?
Quota increases can be performed by the ITS Help Desk. Please direct requests to its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu or call 384-HELP.
Are my files safe and secure in my SAFE space?
The SAFE interfaces use the Hawk ID authentication, to ensure the security of your files. You can rest easy knowing that the professionals in Information Technology Services are backing up your SAFE space every night, should a catastrophe or computer failure happen. Files stored in SAFE space are archived daily and as an additional precaution, these archives are stored off campus for your safety.
What if I accidentally delete a file from my SAFE space?
Students in the IOWA domain have the ability to restore their own files with the Volume Shadow Copy tool, which is available on all ITC Windows workstations. Simply login to a Windows computer and browse your H: drive to find the folder in Windows Explorer where your deleted file existed. Right-click on the folder, select Properties and use the Previous Versions tab to restore the directory. Additional information about using the Shadow Copy tool is available at http://helpdesk.its.uiowa.edu/windows/instructions/shadowcopy.htm. If you are having difficulty with the Shadow Copy tool or are not in the IOWA domain, you can contact the ITS Help Desk at its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu or call 384-HELP for assistance in performing restores.
Are there any restrictions or policies I should be aware of when accessing my SAFE space?
The University of Iowa has an Acceptable Use of Information Technology policy which everyone at the University of Iowa is expected to abide by, and your SAFE space is governed by this as well. To view this document, please see http://www.uiowa.edu/~our/opmanual/ii/19.htm .
Can I share files with others on SAFE?
No, SAFE does not have the ability to securely share files with others. If you require an interface to share files with others, you may do so by accessing Xythos at http://xythos.uiowa.edu, which is a web-based utility intended to provide you with an easy-to-use interface to share files with users inside and outside of this institution.
Unfortunately, SAFE does not provide an option to host web pages. However, MyWeb provides students with space for publishing individual, academic-related web sites, free of charge. For more information on this, please go to http://myweb.uiowa.edu.
What happens to my SAFE space when I leave the University?
Once you graduate or leave the University, your SAFE space will be deactivated. At this point, files will have only read and delete permissions. SAFE deactivation generally coincides with ITC access rights. At that point you will need to access your files via http://myfiles.uiowa.edu.
The deactivation period will last either until your ITC eligibility is turned on (re-enrollment) OR one year and one month after you leave the University, at which point the de-provisioning occurs. De-provisioning is a process that takes place one year and one month after your account becomes deactivated. At this point, all files will be removed from accessible file space and all Shadow Copy references will be removed. Additionally, your files will be archived to tape storage. These files will be archived for a period of no less than two years after the de-provisioning date.
Return to the SAFE Support Center
Last Updated: 04/24/2008