1. Accounts on Oxford Nexus

1.1. Current Staff and Students

Before you can begin using Oxford Nexus you need to have an account on the system. Talk to your local IT officer to see if your unit uses Nexus.

1.2. New Staff and Students

All new staff and students starting after 1st September 2009 from departments currently using the central Nexus system will automatically have Oxford Nexus accounts created for them for when they arrive in Oxford.

2. Accessing Oxford Nexus

Once you have an account on Oxford Nexus it can be accessed in a variety of ways. There is the Outlook Web Access interface through which all users can access their emails, view their calendar, access the global address list etc. Other ways to access Oxford Nexus depend on your computer operating system:

2.1. Windows Users

To access your account through the web interface you can use any modern web browser. However if you use Internet Explorer you will be able to access the enhanced web interface. This has more features than the Light version.

If you want to use a email program on your computer most standard programs can easily connect to Oxford Nexus using the standard IMAP protocol. See Email Clients for instructions for many common packages. To get the most functionality from the system it is recommended that you use Outlook, preferably Outlook 2007. Full setup instructions and how to use Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003 are available.

2.2. Mac Users

With the release of Mac OS 10.6, Snow Leopard, Mac users can upgrade their system so that they can benefit from the much enhanced integration of Apple Mail with Oxford Nexus. Users of previous versions can still access the service either through the 'Light' web interface using a modern web browser such as Safari or FireFox or by using the Entourage Web Services (free upgrade for Entourage 2008 users).

If you want to use Entourage 2008 to access Nexus we have a variety of guides to show you how to set the program and how to use its many features such as calendaring.

With the release of Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard), Apple Mail users can easily connect to Nexus and use its many functions e.g. calendars, tasks etc. See the Snow Leopard pages for more information.

2.3. Linux Users

As for other systems, Linux users can access their Nexus accounts through their favourite web browser. They will all give access to the 'Light' web interface and give access to your emails, online calendar and global address list etc.

If you wish to use a stand-alone program to access your account you can connect to Oxford Nexus using the IMAP protocol in a similar manner to that of Herald. At present, there is no Linux-based program available which gives access to all the functionality found in Oxford Nexus but there is a way to see your calendar using Davmail and Thunderbird. Also see the 'Work Arounds' information.

3. Courses

The OUCS ITLP team have developed a range of courses covering all aspects of Oxford Nexus. The up coming courses are listed on the Oxford Nexus home page. To see the details of a given course and to book a place on it, please visit our ITLP courses section.

4. Self Teaching

If you find that you cannot attend one of our formal courses but would like to teach yourself instead, you can find our courses documentation in WebLearn.

Other useful resources include:

5. Case Studies

With the advent of Nexus many users are the University are finding new way to work more effectively. We have interviewed different groups to find out what they are now doing. To find out what others are doing with Nexus see the Case Studies section.

6. If you need help with Oxford Nexus

Occasionally you may find that you need help with some aspects of the service. If this happens look in our FAQ for answers or try reading our through relevant documentation on our site. If you are still having problems contact your local IT officer in the first instance and if they are unable to help you, contact our Help Centre for further advice.