Accessing the CSS "S" Drive

The Center for Spatial Studies maintains a network drive for use by students and faculty in class or doing project work. All users with a valid Redlands.edu account have read access to a variety of resources on the drive including GIS data, maps, graphics, software, etc. Folders are also provided for GIS-related classes, Spatial Studies Minor portfolios, Environmental Studies capstones, and faculty projects to those that require access. Please feel free to contact us for access requests.

Please note that you must be connected to the University of Redlands network via a wired ethernet connection to access these resources. Because university lab computers are refreshed nightly, you will most likely have to perform these steps every time you want to access the CSS drive.

Using the CSS Drive Mapping Tool on a University Windows Computer (labs, offices, etc.)

Most users will have the S Drive mapped automatically when logging into a university computer. If you are connected to the University of Redlands network via a wired ethernet connection and logged in with your network account but do not see the S Drive listed as a Network Location under This PC, you can use our CSS Drive Mapping Tool to easily map it for you.

  1. Copy the following link into your browser to download the tool: http://urspatial.redlands.edu/utilities/mapcss.bat 
  2. Run the downloaded mapcss tool. The drive will be added as S:\ to your list of network locations on your computer. Your login credentials will be used to determine your file access permissions.

Manually Mapping the CSS Drive on a Windows PC

Follow these steps to map the CSS Drive in the event that the CSS Drive Mapping Tool doesn’t work for any reason OR you need to map the drive on a personal computer connected to the university network.

1. Open File Explorer by clicking the File icon in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. 
fileexplorer.png2. Right-click This PC in the folder list to the left and then click Map Network Drive...
3. Select S: from the Drive dropdown
4. Enter \\css.redlands.edu\spatialstudies into the folder box.
5. Confirm that Reconnect at logon is checked.
6. If you are using a personal computer not maintained by the University of Redlands OR logged onto the computer with a user account other than your own, check Connect using different credentials 
mapDrive.png
7. Click Finish
8. If you checked Connect using different credentials, enter you network account information when prompted and check Remember my credentials.

Connecting to the Server on an Mac

Macs don't assign drive "letters" the way Windows PC do but you can still access files on the server following the steps below

1. Click the desktop or a Finder window and then select Go > Conect to Server from the top toolbar (or hit Command+K) to bring up the Connect to Server window.
2. Type smb://css.redlands.edu/spatialstudies into the Server Address box
3. Click the + button to add the server to your favorites so you don’t have to type the address again.
4. Click Connect. You should be prompted a second time to connect if your computer was able to find the server or an error message if it wasn’t found. *If you get an error message at this point, make sure you entered the server address correctly and that you’re connected to the university network
5. Enter your full university email address and password and click “OK”. The server connection should now be added to your list of Locations in the finder.
6. Find css.redlands.edu in your list of Locations and double-click the SpatialStudies folder. This is the folder generally referred to as the “S Drive” or “Spatial Drive”.

After completing these steps, you will be able to access all of the resources that your account has been granted access to. If you are using a university lab computer, keep in mind that they refresh nightly and you will most likely have to repeat these steps each time you use the computer.