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This section contains answers to questions regarding the Unified PPT application. Some answers may be applied to all AIS applications.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	How do I log in to the PPT Application?
A	The application is accessible from anywhere on the internet over the World Wide Web. The web address of the front page of the application is different for each project, but links to all currently supported projects can be found on the AIS PPT homepage. Although there is guest access available for PPT, it is extremely limited. You need to identify yourself to the application to use it fully - with an AIS login (using a CERN EDH or AFS account). If you have used an AIS application before - such as EDH, BHT or CFU - then use the same username and password to log in to PPT. Otherwise, keep reading.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	I have no login. How can I set one up?
A	You must contact our help desk to get a login if you have not used AIS services before. If you work at CERN, check with your secretariat first, as you may have had one created for you. If not, then they will know what to do to get one set up for you. The AIS general FAQ gives the most up-to-date details of applying for an AIS login.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	Can I access PPT from outside CERN?
A	Yes. The PPT application is on the World Wide Web. As long as you have an AIS username and password, you can access PPT from any machine with an internet connection and a web browser.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	How do I submit my report via e-mail?
A	If you do not wish to use our reporting screen to submit your reports, or you have no access to a browser, you may use the reply form included in your report request to send in your report. Simply fill in the values of your report in the form between the << double triangular brackets >>, and send it off. You will only receive a reply form in your mail if the mail contains only one request. Otherwise you will need to access the web application and either report on the item directly, or use the 'Inbox' to see all your requests at once and fill out whichever you wish. Your form will be processed automatically by our application, and although it can cope with a lot of variation in e-mail programs and reply forms, certains rules must be followed for your form to be successfully processed. Always submit your form by pressing the 'Reply' button. Never create a new message and paste the form over. The PPT uses references in your e-mail header to determine which request your mail is a reply to. If you do not send your mail as a reply, it will not be able to determine who you are. Never remove or modify any text from the e-mail, except from between the << double triangular brackets >>. The most important element of the mail is the section between and including the <BEGIN xxxx> and <END> symbols. If you remove these parts, then your mail will fail. Try to be brief Each report can have a maximum of 2000 characters in its comment field. This restriction is enforced in the web application, but cannot be on the mail. Do not remove the double triangular brackets!! The system will only look for new data between them If you follow these guidelines, you should see your report appear in the application within ten minutes. Otherwise your mail will be passed to support personnel. We recommend that you use the web application for your reports, if you can. The interface is easier to use, you are alerted to possible problems as you write your report, and data entry is more flexible. IMPORTANT If you have any comments or queries, please do not send them to the automatic reply form processor. Send them instead to ais.support@cern.ch, where they can be dealt with by our helpdesk.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	Can I use PPT together with Microsoft products such as Excel or Project?
A	The unified version of PPT supports export of followup report status, project or sub-project tasks to CSV(comma separated value) format, which is supported by Microsoft Excel. It is also possible to import these files into Microsoft Project. Links exist on the project homepage, in the project summary table, for exporting task details. See the Followup Review page for export link, either for the whole followup, or just tasks that are delayed. Currently, no automatic import facility exists in PPT. However, it is possible for us to import large chunks of data, such as whole projects, to ease the setting up of a new project. To enquire about this, contact AIS Support.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	When I click on "Select from all tasks that you can report on as Task Manager/Project Monitor " only a subset of the tasks defined in the application are displayed, even though I haven't performed a search. Can this be right?
A	Yes, that is correct. Within the Progress Tracking application, you are only permitted to change or update data that you are responsible for or supervising. Therefore you will only be shown the items you can actually change or request reports for when using these functions.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	The system stopped working at 1pm today, and has done this before at the same time. Isn't it supposed to be available all of the time?
A	The PPT server is located at CERN in Switzerland, which uses Central European Time. Our servers are generally up all of the time, but occasionally they have to be stopped temporarily for 'cold backups' during the weekend. Although this is done at the most convenient time for CERN, it may be during the peak of the working day elsewhere in the world. We also restart our web servers at 6am CET every day, and this causes a slight interruption of service. Although this only takes around ten seconds to complete, it can take longer if a problem arises during this start up.

Q	PPT Frequently Asked Question
	I submitted my progress report, but was told my login was no longer valid. After I logged back in again, my report was gone and I was given the error 'Row deleted by another user'. How can I get my report back?
A	This is a problem experienced by people using dial-up accounts with ISPs to access the PPT application. The AIS common login system carries your personal login data between the different AIS servers using an encrypted cookie. One piece of information stored in this cookie is your network (IP) address, so that your cookie and so your identity cannot be stolen by someone else. If your computer loses its connection to your ISP (as often happens with a modem!) and dials in again, the chances are it will not be given the same IP address as it had before - most ISPs only have a limited number of addresses, and so give them out to whoever is dialed in at that time. This will make our system think that your cookie has been stolen, and so invalidate your login. Some ISPs do not have this problem, as you always get the same IP address when you log into their system. These ISPs advertise this feature as 'static IP'. The login system can handle the need to re-login to a certain degree. GET parameters (used in simple requests such as searches and views) are stored while you log in, so if you requested a search, but needed to log in again, you should be returned to your search results page afterwards. However, pages that require you to enter a large amount of data (such as the progress report form) must use the POST method to send this to the application server, and this data is not stored. When you return from logging in, this data has been lost. The application now thinks you are submitting non-existent data to a non-existent WorkPackage or Milestone. It gets confused, and assumes that some other user has deleted the task before you got to submit your report. Hence, 'row deleted by another user'. Workaround If this happens to you, then you may be able to press the 'Back' button on your browser to return to your form in the state it was in before you had to log in again. Your login cookie should be updated after you log in again, and so you may be able to resubmit your report. If this does not work, you will at least be able to copy and paste your report into a new form. Some browsers unfortunately will not have kept your report, and your form will be blank again. If this happens, your report is lost. Many users who are accessing the application through an ISP find that the e-mail reporting system suits them better. You may save incomplete e-mail reports in a 'Drafts' folder on your e-mail program, old reports you have written are stored in your 'Sent' folder, and as there is no login required it doesn't matter if your computer hangs up your connection while you are writing it. For further instructions on how to do this, please see instructions in one of your request e-mails.