Tech Setup & Support

Need equipment?

See the Equipment Section of the Onboarding Chapter for how to obtain your work computer & hardware. Your supervisor will help you with this process.

Remote desktop vs. VPN

Remote desktop and Virtual Private Network (VPN) enable staff to securely connect to the Water Board’s network and access various online resources including the Intranet (waternet) and shared drives.

  • VPN is used on Water Boards’ approved devices to access the network when working remotely. See the VPN User Instructions.

  • Remote desktop is used when the individual is working remotely but does not have access to a Water Boards device (i.e. when using a personal computer).

Regardless of which option you use for remote access, all staff are required to use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) when accessing the Water Boards’ network. See the Remote Access Guidence Page for instructions to set up your MFA method.

Your supervisor and DIT can help you get set up.

Installing Printer(s)

Instructions on how to install printer(s) near your cubicle in the office.

Accessing & Downloading Software

Use your computer’s Software Center to download most programs. You can also download & install some programs outside of the Software Center, such as Git, which may have a more recent version than what the Software Center provides. Some external software will not play nice with the VPN (e.g., Slack) so keep that in mind if you’re unable to connect and use some software.

Also see this Business Intelligence Handbook for guidance on business intelligence tools (i.e., software) that are available to Water Boards staff.

If you have issues accessing or downloading any of the below software, email the IT Help Desk and they can help you download and/or troubleshoot.

Microsoft Office 365

All staff have access to Microsoft 365 applications, such as Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneDrive, and more.

Many of these applications are already loaded onto state devices, and you can access them through any web browser:

  1. Go to the Office 365 Portal
  2. Enter your FULL username [Water Boards email address]
  3. Follow the prompts to get your email
  4. Confirm MFA when prompted

ESRI Services (ArcGIS Pro/ArcGIS Portal) 

  • ArcGIS Pro is the main desktop GIS application available to Water Boards staff. ArcGIS Pro can be downloaded from the Software Center. If you do not see ArcGIS Pro in the Software Center, contact the Help Desk at help@waterboards.ca.gov so that they can add it your list of available applications. Future releases of ArcGIS Pro and other ESRI applications should be automatically added to the Software Center as they are approved by DIT. You can use the Software Center to update your installation. 

  • The Water Boards ArcGIS Portal (https://gispublic.waterboards.ca.gov/portal/) is an online platform for publishing and sharing ESRI-produced GIS resources with others at the Water Boards. These resources can also be shared with people outside of the Water Boards (with approval). For those familiar with ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Portal is the enterprise version of ArcGIS Online. With ArcGIS Portal, you can: 

    • Create and share maps, story maps, and other applications 
    • Search for GIS content within the Water Boards 
    • Create groups to share GIS information with colleagues 
    • Download maps, layers, and GIS data for use in ArcGIS Pro and other applications 

    To activate your Water Boards ArcGIS Portal membership (required for viewing, downloading, and publishing resources on the portal), email the DIT GIS Unit at gis@waterboards.ca.gov.  

    To log into Portal, use the same username and password that you use for your state-issued laptop or computer. 

    • Username: The default format is “[your work PC login]@EPA” (e.g. jsmith@EPA) OR “epa\[your work PC login]” (e.g. epa\jsmith) 
    • Password: [your work PC password] 

  • Public sharing: Resources published on the ArcGIS Portal can be shared outside of the organization to the public (no Portal log-in required), but this requires approval from the DIT GIS Unit. See the Public Sharing Requirements on the GIS Unit wiki (start [gis] (ca.gov)) and ensure that you complete each one of the steps before you submit a completed Public Publishing Form to the GIS Unit. The approval process can take some time, depending on how complex your project is and how busy the GIS Unit staff are, so plan ahead if you are working against a deadline. 

For more information about ArcGIS Pro and the Water Boards ArcGIS Portal, view the GIS Unit wiki.

R & RStudio

  • R is a popular programming language widely used for statistical analysis and graphics. It is a powerful language in the field of data science.

  • R Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) with support for both R and Python.

Both R and RStudio are available for installation in the Software Center. If you do not see either of them on the list of available programs, please contact the DIT Help Desk at help@waterboards.ca.gov to request them.

R Shiny is a platform for developing web applications using the R programming language. The State Water Board maintains a cloud-based Shiny account (shinyapps.io) that can be used to publish Shiny applications online. For more information, please see the Shiny publishing procedures and policy.

Git & GitHub

Signing up:

  • You will need a GitHub account to access work-related & open-access projects in GitHub. Jenny Bryan (R developer and professor) provides some recommendations for signing up for a GitHub account.
  • We also strongly recommend setting up 2-factor authentication, which is required for becoming a member of the official Water Boards GitHub organization (see below). To keep things simple, you can use the same authentication system (e.g., Microsoft Authenticator) as you do for logging into the VPN.

Getting access to the Water Boards Water Data Center GitHub

  • Why join? So you can easily work with other GitHub users in the Water Boards, as well as have a central place to publish projects relevant to other Water Boards colleagues & the public. The Water Boards GitHub organization also has a “sandbox” team to test & process projects before pushing them to public access.
  • Follow link above to learn more and connect with the WB GitHub organization managers to introduce yourself & request to join the WB GitHub organization

How do I connect my Water Boards computer to Git/GitHub?

  • While there is plenty of work you can do in the browser in GitHub, the real power comes in using it as a version control system connected to your local computer.
  • For all users, we recommend GitHub Desktop, which is available in the Software Center. There are lots of good resources on how GitHub Desktop works – here are a few of our favorites:
    • The “installing and configuring” section from GitHub docs. The other section is useful, but non-seasoned users can ignore information about forks, branches, and pull requests.
    • A ~22 minute Youtube video from Coder Coder introducing GitHub Desktop setup and workflow. For some of the workflow options, the instructor uses VS Code. If you do not use VS Code, I suggest writing a brief .txt file using Notepad instead (e.g., the text `hello world!` saved as index.txt) and saving that file in the same place as your repository to continue with the walkthrough. Non-seasoned users can ignore the section on ignoring files, branching, and pull requests (though the explanation is good!)
  • For R users who want to integrate a Git tab in their RStudio window, we recommend following Jenny Bryan’s directions on Happy Git with R, sections 4-13. If you have any questions, the current R users in SWAMP are happy to chat with you.
  • If you use the command line to access Git/GitHub, congratulations! You likely know more about using Git than many of the people currently in SWAMP - and we’d love to learn from you!

Tableau

Tableau is a business intelligence tool that can connect to and access data from a wide variety of data sources, perform data preparation and cleaning tasks, produce interactive visualizations and dashboards, and publish these products on the web.

Tableau Software for Desktop

  • Tableau Desktop is the full (or unrestricted) version of Tableau that can be installed onto one’s state-issued laptop or desktop computer. Once installed, it can be run as a desktop application and visualizations can be published on either Tableau Public or Tableau Server. A limited number of Tableau Desktop licenses are available to Water Boards staff. These  licenses are named licenses only (not shared) and are tied to a specific user. Contact the DIT Help Desk at help@waterboards.ca.gov to request a license or contact Rafael Maestu (Rafael.Maestu@Waterboards.ca.gov) in OIMA for further guidance. 

  • Tableau Desktop Public Edition is the free version of Tableau Desktop that is available to all Water Boards staff. The software can be downloaded from the Tableau Public website (Tableau Public Product Download). If you run into any permissions issues trying to install the software package on your computer, you may need to request that the DIT Help Desk at help@waterboards.ca.gov install it for you. Compared to Tableau Desktop, Tableau Desktop Public Edition has a number of significant limitations (e.g., limited size and file type of data sources, inability to save Tableau workbooks to the desktop, inability to control access to the Tableau workbook or the underlying data), so it is likely only useful for evaluation purposes or projects with a very limited scope. 

Tableau Server

  • Tableau Server is an online platform for creating, publishing, and sharing Tableau data sources, visualizations, and dashboards. Tableau Server is a web-based platform, so it does not require an installation of Tableau Desktop or Tableau Desktop Public Edition, but its functionality is enhanced when the two are used together. See our SharePoint page for more information about Tableau Server.

  • Access: Users with a Water Boards account (i.e., have an email address that ends with “@waterboards.ca.gov”) should be able to access the internal Tableau Server website (https://tableauint.waterboards.ca.gov/#/site). If you cannot log in, or if you need help publishing your dataset or visualization, email waterdata@waterboards.ca.gov.

  • Advantages: 

    • Sharing data sources: Data sources published on Tableau Server can be shared with others on your team or with others in the organization. 
    • Automation: Data visualizations and sources published on Tableau Server can be automatically refreshed on a time schedule.  

  • Limitations:

    • Tableau Server can be used to create data visualizations and dashboards like you would in Tableau Desktop or Tableau Desktop Public Edition.

    • Most of the functionality is the same; however, there are some differences. For example, Tableau Server does not provide as many options for customizing and formatting your visualization.

    • Related to this, transferring and viewing Tableau files between Tableau Desktop software and Tableau Server can result in formatting issues.  

Publishing Tableau Visualizations 

  • Visualizations created in Tableau Desktop or Tableau Desktop Public Edition can be published on Tableau Server or Tableau Public. Visualizations created in Tableau Server are automatically published on Tableau Server (sharing permissions can be changed in Tableau Server). 

    • Tableau Server: Requires Tableau Server access. See the Tableau Server section above. 

    • Tableau Public: Requires a Tableau Public account. Free (self-registration). https://public.tableau.com/  

  • Once a visualization is published on Tableau Server or Tableau Public (and configured for public sharing), then that visualization can be embedded into a Water Boards web page. 

Note

Reminder to add recommendations section once we hear about what RM recommends (i.e. Tableau Desktop Public or Tableau Server)

PowerBI

  • Power BI is a business intelligence and data visualization software product developed by Microsoft used to create interactive data visualizations and dashboards. Additionally, it includes a collection of tools that can be used to clean, transform, and aggregate data. There is significant overlap with Tableau, so it is usually not necessary to have/use both Power BI and Tableau at the same time, but you are welcome to try both.

  • Access: If Power BI Desktop is not already installed on your workstation, check the Software Center and see if it is available there. If it’s not available, then contact the DIT Help Desk at help@waterboards.ca.gov to request the software. Once installed, open the software and log in using your Windows account. If you cannot log in, then you may need to contact the DIT Help Desk for an account.

    Power BI Web App, the online version of Power BI that does not require installation of the desktop software, can be accessed here (https://app.powerbigov.us/). Similar to the desktop app, you may need to contact the DIT Help Desk for access if you cannot log in using your Windows account. The Web App does not have the full functionality of the desktop software, but generally speaking it is easier to share your work and collaborate with others on the web version of Power BI.

  • Publishing Power BI visualizations: TBD - need to find out what is the process for publishing Power BI projects and if it requires DIT permission.

Zoom

While the majority of our internal meetings use Microsoft Teams, meetings with external partners or the public may require the Zoom platform.

Download the Zoom application through the Software Center.

Attending a meeting

See the Zoom Getting Started Resources (Participants Tab) to learn how to join and actively participate in someone else’s Zoom Meeting or Webinar.

Hosting a meeting

The Water Boards has a Zoom license, which enables our staff to host zoom meetings or webinars. Use Zoom meetings when communicating with select external partners and use Zoom webinar for large, publicly facing events. See Meeting vs Webinar comparison.

Work with your supervisor to gain access to the OIMA Zoom Account and/or to get help scheduling a Zoom Meeting or Webinar.

See the Zoom Getting Started Resources (Hosts/Co-Hosts Tab) to learn how to schedule and manage your own Zoom Meeting or Webinar. Also see Zoom Hosting Tips.

Inviting others to your meeting

Once you have a zoom meeting scheduled, there are a couple of steps we recommend you take before you send out invitations:

  1. Whoever schedules the meeting and has access to the OIMA Zoom account should open the meeting, scroll to the Zoom meeting’s “Time” section, click the Outlook Button.

  2. Click on the downloaded .ics file to open the zoom meeting invitation - this will add it to your outlook calendar. 

  3. Click “Invite Attendees”

  4. Add the OIMA Zoom email to the required attendees list. Add any Water Boards co-hosts to the Optional Section. Do NOT include your external partners yet!

  5. Save the Meeting Invite.

  6. Create & complete a separate Outlook Meeting invitation - you will forward this invitation to your external partners. Note that we do this because the automatically created zoom invite restricts our ability to create nicely formatted text in the meeting invitation.

    • Create a “New Meeting” in Outlook

    • Populate the Meeting Invitation will all necessary information (e.g. Title, Required and Optional Attendees, Start/End time, Location (write Zoom), Body of the invite)

    • Navigate back into Zoom’s meeting information, “Invite Link” section, click “Copy Invitation”

    • In the “Copy Meeting Invitation” pop-up, click the “Copy Meeting Invitation” button, and then press “Cancel”

    • Navigate back into your Outlook Meeting Invitation, paste the Zoom Meeting Invitation information at the bottom of the invite

    • We recommend

      • Deleting the top three lines of the meeting invitation information (i.e. everything above “Join Zoom Meeting”)

      • Selecting the “Join Zoom Meeting” and Invitation Link URL in the Zoom meeting and (1) Increase the size to 14 pt font, and (2) Bold the text.

    • Review your Outlook Meeting invitation to:

      • Confirm all of the correct emails are included in the invitation

      • Confirm the date and time in: zoom and outlook all match

      • Check for and correct spelling or formatting errors

    • Press send!

Starting your Zoom Meeting (or Webinar)

If you are hosting a Zoom Meeting (or Webinar), you (or whoever in OIMA helped you schedule the meeting/webinar) will need to login to Zoom and start the Zoom Meeting (or Webinar).

We recommend logging into your Zoom Meeting (or Webinar) 5-20 minutes early to get set up, grant permissions to co-hosts, and complete any other preparation you need to ensure your meeting runs smoothly.

Microsoft Teams Communities

In Microsoft Teams, Teams are groups of people brought together for work, projects, or common interests. We utilize Teams Communities, Channels, and direct chat messages to communicate and stay in touch asynchronously (i.e. outside of meetings). See Get Started with Microsoft Teams and the Communication Section for recommended use of Teams and norms for SWAMP communications.

Your supervisor will add you to any OIMA or SWAMP Teams Channels or Group Chats (e.g., OIMA Team, Unit Group Chat).

Join the Water Boards Data Community

You can also join the Water Boards Data Community to connect with folks across all State Water Board Regions, Divisions, and Offices. See the Water Data Communities page for join instructions (see the “Data Communities At The Water Boards” box) and a list of other external water data communities that might be of interest (see the “Other Data Communities” box).