Internet Access and Submission

For most uses, the easiest way to get observing requests into the scheduler is to use the forms in the regular ACP web user interface, under Scheduled. The Astro-Imaging and Single Series forms are easy to use, and conveniently split up your work into convenient and efficient Plans. Under this section is also an item for uploading RTML requests from your special tools and Planner.

If you have an ACP internet license (allowing remote users to access ACP), it is possible to see the database statistics, and to view/edit existing observing requests in the database via the Remote Schedule Browser. In addition, remote scheduler users can:

• Enter astro-photography type requests, specifying the total time desired for each filter, the sub-exposure time, etc.
• Enter time series requests for a target
• Upload RTML
• Create and edit Projects, Plans, Observations, and ImageSets in the same way as the desktop Schedule Browser.
• Use the special Photometry Request form to enter individual requests tailored for photometry
• Use the special Photometric Survey form to create multiple requests from a target list. These have the same images and constraints applied to all targets.

After refreshing the web browser, the new requests thus created will be visible in the remote schedule browser.

Logging In

To access the remote schedule browser, use the Schedule Browser link in ACP's web "main menu" along the left, or directly access the following URL:

http://your.acp.host/sc/

You will be asked for a username/password, which are the same as those you use to log into ACP for non-scheduled observing. After successfully logging in, you'll see a display similar to (but a bit less functional than) the local Schedule Browser.

Special Forms

In the Schedule Browser tree you will see a folder Special Forms. Inside this folder are a couple of special purpose forms that were build years ago for a specific photometry team. WSe have left them in case they may be useful to your efforts. Their purpose and use are descripted below, along with a one-time setup process you need to do before using them. They are not tied to your complete filter list (the one used in the other forms) bwecause it is very common for observatories to have only a subset of filters for photometry.

Getting Started (setup)

The special Photometry forms (see below) need to know what filter names and binning levels are valid for your system. This info is kept in text files along with the web pages themselves. All of these files are in the ACP Web Document Root, subfolder /sc/. If you don't know where your web doc root is, open ACP Preferences, Servers tab, and look there.

1. Edit photofilters.txt - you must have exactly four filters listed, and they must each be filters that you listed in filters.txt above. These are used to make the Photometry and Photometry Survey forms. The default filters listed are I, R, V and B, which result in entry areas for I, R, V, B, V, R, and I.
2. Edit photobinning.txt. There is just one line, and it is the binning that will be used for all photometry requests. It must be one of the binning levels that you listed in binning.txt above.
3. Log in and verify that the contents of the filter and binning selection boxes are correct in the special forms for your system.

Requests entered via the web will be assigned to the Scheduler observer whose name matches the "friendly name" of the ACP user's account.

Photometry Request Form

For photometrists, this form should be self-explanatory, so no image is included here. Any of the image specs that are left blank will result in that spec simply being skipped. You can either pick an existing Project to add the request to, or enter the name of a new project for the request.

Photometry Survey Form

This form allows you to submit a batch of requests, with the same image sets, for multiple targets. Prepare a file in which each line contains a target field in the format name, tab, RA, tab, Dec. Then use the Photometry Survey Form to specify the images to be taken for each target in your list, and use the Browse button to locate your target list file. Clicking Submit Request will cause multiple Plans, one for each target, to be entered into the scheduler's database.