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How
do I upload my
documents? (FTP)
The
process by which
files
are
transferred to
the web server
is called "FTP" (File
Transport Protocol).
You have
unlimited access
via FTP 24-hours
a day. As such,
you can create
and
maintain your
web pages on
your
own
computer and
upload files
to your
web
site at your leisure.
Internet providers
such as AOL, Compuserve,
and Prodigy may
have a built-in
FTP interface. If
you have a PPP internet
account and need
an FTP program,
you can download
software for for
either the PC or
Mac below. PC users
should download
WinZip if you do
not already have
a program to extract
.zip files.
This can be found
at http://www.download.com
If you are using
a Mac try using
Fetch. Fetch can
be obtained from:
Fetch
If you are using
a PC try using WS_FTP
which can be obtained
from:
WSFTP
Configuring Your
FTP Software
The following information
is contained within
your account activation
notice and is needed
to connect to your
web site via FTP:
USERID
TEMP PASSWORD
FTP HOSTNAME
The hostname tells
your FTP software
to connect to the
web server upon
which your web site
resides. In general,
the process of configuring
the various FTP
software programs
is the same. We
recommend WS_FTP
for PC computer
users and will be
using it in the
upcoming examples.
Each
time you run
WS_FTP the Session
Profile window
will
be displayed. A
profile contains
the information
needed to connect
to your web site.
Creating a profile
now will eliminate
the need for
you
to configure the
software each
time
you wish to connect
to the web server
via FTP. To create
a new profile,
click
the "New" button
and enter a generic
profile
name at the top
of the Session
Profile
window. Next, enter
the userid, password
and hostname for
your web site as
illustrated below.
To
make your home
page load automatically,
name the HTML
document "index.htm"
or "index.html"
in lowercase and
upload it to the
root directory of
your account. To
upload a file or
files, simply highlight
the file(s) on the
left and click the
right-arrow button
("-->")
in the center of
the screen.
Be sure to upload
HTML documents and
scripts in ASCII
mode and images
in BINARY mode.
To transfer a file
to a subdirectory,
double-click the
appropriate subdirectory
to open it before
transferring the
desired file(s).
As
soon as a file
is uploaded to
the
web server, it
is available
for all
to see. If, after
uploading a file,
you are still
unable
to see the updated
file via Netscape,
you need to clear
both disk and
browser
cache. This function
can be found
by
selecting Options > Network
Preferences in
Netscape. Remember
that you must first
be connected to
the internet through
your local internet
service provider
in order to connect
to the web server.
Acceptable File
Names
(UNIX) is case
sensitive. In other
words,
the file name "faq.html"
is NOT the same
as "FAQ.html".
If your HTML code
references a faq.html,
but the actual
file
name is in uppercase,
this will result
in a File Not Found
error. This applies
to directory names
as well.
To
prevent errors,
we suggest naming
all files in
lowercase.
Spaces and and
special control
characters
are generally not
a good idea.
The
underscore character
("_")
is acceptable. You
should avoid special
characters ( ! @
# $ % ^ & *
: ' ) in file names.
We suggest that
you keep the length
of file names to
a minimum. The
tilde
(~) cannot be used
in directory or
file names.
Notes to Mac Users
Select "raw
data" transfer
mode when using
Fetch to transfer
both HTML and images.
PageMill may add
either a .bin or
.txt extension to
your files which
must be removed
in order for such
files to load properly.
Viewing Web Pages
in Netscape
Webmasters often
modify an HTML
document
and re-upload it
to the server.
After
returning to their
web browser they
click RELOAD only
to find the original
document unchanged.
This is a common
occurrence for
Netscape
users and is easily
remedied by clearing
the browser's disk
cache. This can
be done in Netscape
under Options > Network
Preferences.
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