Many universities use EZproxy to control off-campus access access to journal subscriptions and online databases.
Will it also work with CAS SciFinder?
Yes, if configured properly. Two configuration items are essential:
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EZProxy must be configured for SSL: OCLC - EZProxy Website - SSL
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The configuration settings are specified in the file "config.txt" (EZproxy version 6.0 or later).
The HTTPMethod PUT statement is required within the stanza to ensure full feature function.
Note: The Option X-Forwarded-For and Option No X-Forwarded-For lines are very strongly recommended to enhance the security of your investment in CAS SciFinder and deter hacking and theft of your CAS SciFinder license.
The following stanza entries are recommended in the configuration file if your license is only for CAS SciFindern.
Option X-Forwarded-For HTTPMethod PUT HTTPHeader x-cas* T CAS SciFinder-n HTTPHeader -request -process x-cas U https://CAS SciFinder-n.cas.org/ H CAS SciFinder-n.cas.org H https://sso.cas.org H sso.cas.org H chemport.cas.org H content2.cas.org D cas.org
Option NoX-Forwarded-For
Note: CAS testing has shown that Host (H) lines are not needed; however, some IT staff prefer Host URLs rather than blanket Domain proxy.
If your institution offers both CAS SciFinder and CAS SciFinder, then you may choose to use a combined stanza. In this case, your website should have two starting URLs: one for CAS SciFinder at https://CAS SciFinder.cas.org/CAS SciFinder/ and another to set a starting URL on your institution's site to CAS SciFinder. Replace the full URL after the EZproxy prefix for your institution with the host line: https://CAS SciFinder-n.cas.org/.
OCLC EZproxy support has an updated combined stanza that has been tested. The URL to access their page is https://help.oclc.org/Library_Management/EZproxy/Database_stanzas/CAS SciFinder
Option X-Forwarded-For
HTTPMethod PUT
HTTPHeader x-cas*
Title CAS SciFinder
HTTPHeader -request -process x-cas*
U https://CAS SciFinder.cas.org/CAS SciFinder
H https://CAS SciFinder.cas.org
H https://CAS SciFinder-n.cas.org
H CAS SciFinder.cas.org
H CAS SciFinder-n.cas.org
H https://sso.cas.org
H sso.cas.org
H chemport.cas.org
H content2.cas.org
D cas.org
Option NoX-Forwarded-For
There is one setting that should NOT be used in the configuration settings: DJ cas.org. This setting is known to cause "HTTP 500 Internal Server Error" on IE and "500: Server Error" on Firefox during the CAS SciFinder login process.
IMPORTANT: Ensure that the line "DJ cas.org" does not appear ANYWHERE in your configuration file, especially that it is not PRIOR to the CAS SciFinder stanza (the section for CAS SciFinder Web). EZProxy will treat that as a global argument, so even if it appears in another stanza, it will return the "500" error for CAS SciFinder Web.
CAS offers this information as a suggested starting point for EZProxy configuration for CAS SciFinder, it is not the only configuration that may work. Technical support for EZproxy is provided by OCLC. They can be contacted at 1-800-848-5800 or support@oclc.org. There is also an EZproxy E-Mail List maintained by OCLC at: http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/ezproxy/list.htm .
A PDF file with suggested stanzas for both CAS SciFinder and CAS SciFinder is available for download below.