Q: I noticed the "Banner Prod" icon on the Employee tab of MetroConnect. Will this get me into Production Banner just like my Windows desktop icon did?

A: Yes, this icon for "Banner Prod" under the Administrative Banner header of the Employee tab will allow you to run Banner Administrative forms. Instead of running Banner forms as an application on your desktop, this icon runs Banner using your Web browser. This application should not be confused with "Banner Web," the suite of interactive pages of personal information for students and employees.

Q: Does it look and run the same as my desktop Banner icon?

A: It looks the same and has the same hot key behavior, with a couple of exceptions.

1. The "Options Menu" does not appear along the left margin. To see your related form options, the user must go to the menu bar and select the "Options" menu item. The list of available forms will then be shown.
   
2. CAPP reports will not print. For technical reasons, CAPP reports cannot be printed from the Banner Web forms at this time. This will be enabled over the next several months.

Q: Since it runs on the Web, can I run it from home?

A: For security reasons, users will not be allowed to run Administrative Banner from home unless they are using the Metro State VPN gateway currently being tested. Once ready, however, users will be able to log in to the VPN gateway, open MetroConnect and then open Banner using the icon. A broadband connection is strongly recommended over dial-up for this purpose. Announcements will be made when this feature becomes generally available.

Q: Will my regular Desktop Banner icon go away?

A: Not right away. But Banner 7.0 (Fall 2005) will work only with Banner forms over the Web, so we must begin to phase out use of the desktop icon.