Uploading Your Web Site

• Introduction

• WS FTP

• Cute FTP

• Dreamweaver 4

• Front Page

• Fetch for Macintosh

Introduction

The first thing you need to do to put your website online is learn how to access your account. You will use FTP (file transfer protocol) to transfer files from your computer to the server, and vice versa. There are other tasks that you may need to use SSH for, and even a few things you can do with your browser. 
If you use FrontPage, much of this will not apply to you. You will need to see the FrontPage section below. However, you may still wish to review this section to learn about the other ways you may access your account.

FTP Access 
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the preferred method of uploading files to your website, and vice versa... You have unlimited access to your account via FTP 24 hours a day. This allows you to create and maintain your web pages on your own computer, then upload the files to your website at your leisure.

NOTE: If you use FrontPage you should NEVER use regular FTP to upload your files as this will damage the extensions. Please refer to the instructions in the FrontPage section for uploading files.

FTP is not a program; it is a "protocol", a specific method of transferring data from one place to another. Some online services such as AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy may have a built-in FTP interface. If you have a PPP (Point to Point Protocol) Internet account, you will need an FTP program. We strongly recommend WS_FTP for PC users, and Fetch for Macintosh users. Please see instructions below for setting up and using these two programs.Back To Index

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WS_FTP For PC Users

In order to FTP into your website you will need the following information which was included in your account activation notice.

USERNAME
PASSWORD
FTP HOSTNAME

When you have this information, and a copy of WS_FTP installed on your computer you will be ready to setup a Session Profile and FTP into your website.

1. Launch your WS_FTP program. A panel titled Session Profile will be displayed with the WS_FTP program window behind it.

2. Click the New button and type a Profile name into the Profile Name entry box at the top of the panel. This can be any name you choose, "My Website" for example.

3. Enter the appropriate information into the following entry boxes:
Host Name/Address: Enter yourdomain.com
Host Type: Select UNIX (standard) from the menu
User ID: Enter your Username
Password: Enter your Password
Check the Save Password box if you wish.
Leave the other entry fields blank.

4. Click on the Apply button at the bottom of the panel to save this Profile. This will eliminate the need for you to enter this information the next time you launch WS_FTP

5. Click on the OK button at the bottom left of the panel. WS_FTP will now attempt to connect to your website. When you are connected to your home directory on the server, the Profile panel will close.

Left Window
WS_FTP will now display a split screen. The window on the left contains the folders and files on your own computer. Use the green arrow at the top of the window and the scroll bars to browse your system.

Right Window
The window on the right will contain the folders and files contained within your home directory. This is your space on the server. This is where you will place your website will be.

Binary vs. ASCII or Auto
You will see two radio buttons below the display windows, one labeled Binary and one labeled ASCII. There will also be a check box labeled Auto. If you select Auto WS_FTP will automatically apply the correct setting, either Binary or ASCII to the document you are transferring. If you elect not to use the Auto setting please note that it is very important to transfer images in Binary mode. Everything else, HTML documents, cgi scripts etc. should be transferred using ASCII mode. If you fail to set this correctly your files may not appear as they should.

Upload Files
1. Double click on the www directory in the right window to open it. This is the directory you will upload your web pages, files, images etc. into.
2. Highlight a file (or files) from your computer in the left window.
3. Click the right arrow button (->) in the center bar between the windows.
4. You will see a note in the status bar at the bottom when your file transfer is complete.

Download Files
1. Double click on the folder you want to download files into on your computer to open it in the left window.
2. Highlight the file (or files) you wish to download from your website in the right window.
3. Click the left arrow button (<-) in the center bar between the windows.
4. You will see a note in the status bar at the bottom when your file transfer is complete.

Create A New Directory (Folder)
To create a new directory on your website, click on the MkDir button when you are inside the www directory or a subdirectory of the www directory. You will be prompted to enter a name for the new directory. Once you do this, the new directory will be created.

Multiple File Transfer
To transfer more than one file at a time, highlight the first file, and then hold down the Control key on your keyboard to select more. All highlighted files will be transferred when you click on the appropriate arrow button to begin the transfer.

Disconnect
When you are finished transferring your files, click on the Close button at the bottom of the WS_FTP window. This will close your FTP connection.

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Cute FTP

1. Download and install Cute FTP
2. From the menu bar select "file" and then "site manager"
3. Enter in the required fields:

Label for your site = Your Web Site Name
FTP Host Address = yourdomain.com
FTP User Name = User Name
FTP Site Password = Your Password
FTP Site Connection Port = 21

4. Click the connect button
5. You will then see the screen below when you are successfully logged into your account. Click OK

Left Window
Cute FTP will now display a split screen. The window on the left contains the folders and files on your own computer. Use the drop down screen to browse your system.

Right Window
The window on the right will contain the folders and files contained within your home directory. This is your space on the server. This is where you will place your website.

Upload Files
1. Double click on the www directory in the right window to open it. This is the directory you will upload your web pages, files, images etc. into.
2. Highlight a file (or files) from your computer in the left window.
3. Click the blue up arrow button on the menu bar to transfer your files
4. You will see a note in the status bar at the top when your file transfer is complete.

Download Files
1. Double click on the folder you want to download files into on your computer to open it in the left window.
2. Highlight the file (or files) you wish to download from your website in the right window.
3. Click the blue down arrow on the Menu bar to transfer the files.
4. You will see a note in the status bar at the bottom when your file transfer is complete.

The above picture is showing that you will be transferring the folder My Pictures into your www directory. Select the blue up arrow to transfer the folder.

Create A New Directory (Folder)
To create a new directory on your website click on commands in the menu bar. Then click "make new directory" when you are inside the www directory or a subdirectory of the www directory. You will be prompted to enter a name for the new directory. Once you do this, the new directory will be created.

Multiple File Transfer
To transfer more than one file at a time, highlight the first file, and then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard to select more. All highlighted files will be transferred when you click on the appropriate arrow button to begin the transfer.

Disconnect
When you are finished transferring your files, click on "file" and then "disconnect" in the menu bar. This will then disconnect CuteFTP from your website.

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Dreamweaver 4

1. Open Dreamweaver. From the menu bar select "site" and then "open site"
2. Fill in the appropriate fields:

Site Name = Name Your Web Site
Local Root Folder = This will be the path to your local folder that holds your web site files.
HTTP Address = yourdomain.com

3. Select Remote info on the left navigation bar. Drop down the access menu and select FTP
4. Fill in the appropriate information:

Access = FTP
FTP Host = yourdomain.com
Host Directory = /home/username/www. This will then upload the files directly into your www directory.
Login = User Name
Password = Password
Click OK

5. This will then open the Dreamweaver FTP program.
6. Click on Connect button on the top menu bar. The raised button in the picture below is the connection button.

7. Your are now connected to the server and you will see two windows.

Left Window
Dreamweaver will now display a split screen. The window on the left will contain the folders and files contained within your www directory. This is your space on the server. This is where you will place your website.

Right Window
The window on the right will contain the folders and files on your local computer. This should be pointing correctly to your local Web Site.

Upload Files
1. Highlight a file (or files) from your computer in the right window.
2. Click the blue up arrow button on the menu bar to transfer your files
3. You will see a note in the status bar at the bottom when your file transfer is complete.

Download Files
1. Double click on the folder you want to download files into on your computer to open it in the right window.
2. Highlight the file (or files) you wish to download from your website in the left window.
3. Click the green down arrow on the Menu bar to transfer the files.
4. You will see a note in the status bar at the bottom when your file transfer is complete.

The picture above shows that by selecting the blue up arrow, you will be placing a file called hook.gif into your web site located on the server. To disconnect, select "file" and then "close"

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Front Page 2000/2002/2003

Microsoft FrontPage is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web building program. If you use, or plan to use FrontPage to build and manage your website you must be sure to indicate this when opening your account. FrontPage requires special "extensions" installed on the server. If you do not have a FrontPage Account, you will need to contact us to have your account modified before your FrontPage Web will work.

NOTE: IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU MAKE SUBDIRECTORYS AND NOT STORE ALL FILES IN THE WWW DIRECTORY. FOR EXAMPLE ALL IMAGES CAN GO IN A IMAGE OR GRAPHICS SUBDIRECTORY.

Publishing Your FrontPage Web

After you have built your web pages on your computer, you will be ready to publish them. Basically, this just means that you will upload them to our server. Once this is done, your pages will be viewable from the web. However, you must do this in the following manner. Warning: FrontPage Account holders should never use FTP to transfer files as it can damage the FrontPage extensions.

1. Launch Microsoft FrontPage
2. From the menu at the top of the window, select File, then Publish Web
3. If this is the first time you publish to our server, select More Webs and enter the location you want to publish your FrontPage web to. (www.yourdomain.com) Hit Return (Enter) on your keyboard.

Note: If you have published to the server before, your "Destination Web Server" (www.yourdomain.com) will appear in the Publish window.
IMPORTANT: Use yourdomain.com as the Destination Web Server to publish to our server. Leave the "Destination Web Name" blank.

4. You will be asked for your USERNAME and PASSWORD. This is your domain's User ID and your FrontPage Password (which may be different than your regular SSH/FTP/POP password). If you're not sure what it is or if you aren't allowed past this point, you'll need to contact us for a new FrontPage password. You will also need to enter your domain name in the appropriate field.

5. You will then be connect to the server and are ready to publish your Front Page Web.

Left Window
Once you connect to Front Page you will see two windows. The window on the left is your local web. This should be pointing to the folder on your local computer that stores your website. If this is not the case, please refer the the Front Page help file.

Right Window:
The window on the right will contain the folders and files contained within your home directory. This is your space on the server. This is where you will place your website. You will see folders with names such as www, infobots and access-log.

6. You are now ready to select the Publish button and publish your website to the www directory on the server.

Open Your Published Web

Once your FrontPage Web is published and online, you will need to access it to make updates and changes. Be sure that you are connected to the internet before attempting to open your web on our server

1. Open FrontPage Explorer and choose File > Open FrontPage Web.
2. You can now choose to open a previously created web on your PC or your web on our server.
3. Highlight the appropriate web or type in the web address (www.yourdomain.com) and click OK.
4. Enter your Username and FrontPage Password if required.
5. Make modifications and recalculate links if needed. (See your FrontPage Manual for info on when it's necessary to recalculate links.)

Troubleshooting Common Problems with FP 00/02

The following are common problems and solutions encountered with using FrontPage 00/02. If you are having a problem not listed here, please feel free to contact support for help. Or, refer to your Front Page manual provided with the software.

Getting error - "Root Web Busy"
FTP or SSH to your site and remove the "service.lck" file in /www/_vti_pvt. This usually happens when a FrontPage session is interrupted before completion.
Server times out when publishing large sites.
This difficulty arises when the uploading link times out in the process of copying the web to our server. The only suggestion Microsoft has offered so far is to break the main web into a group of sub webs on your PC, then upload these individually. If this problem persists for you, please contact support.

Getting Error - "Front Page Extensions not Installed"
We often see this error being reported even when the extensions have been installed. If you get this error, please contact support and we'll make sure the extensions are installed and repair them if necessary.

NOTE: The extensions are easily corrupted. Please use only FrontPage Explorer to update your web site on the server. Never use FTP.

I published but my web's not there!
This will happen when the "Destination Web Name" is filled in when publishing to our server. This box should be left blank. If you put any other name in this box it will create a subdirectory off of your root web and copy all of your files into it. Your site will exist under a subdirectory instead of at the top level /www where it should be.

My counter, bbs, guestbook, etc isn't working.
These problems are generally due to incorrect permissions on the directory, file(s) or cgi script(s) that are associated with them. Please don't change the permissions of your files or directories unless you have a specific reason for doing so and you know what effect it will have on your site.

My forms won't work through the Secure Server.
The call to a cgi script using the Secure Server must not be within a webbot. Use a normal cgi call in your html script for Secure Server calls.

My search bot doesn't return any results.
The /www directory must be world readable AND you need to recalculate links BEFORE publishing (or after editing directly on the server). If it still doesn't work: FTP to the server and go to the /www/_vti_txt/default.wti directory. Delete any files that begin with "ALL.". Don't delete any other files. Then using Windows Explorer, do the same thing on your PC. Recalculate links, test locally with your browser and publish.

FP starts the Web Publishing Wizard when I try to publish.
Cancel the operation and contact support to have the FP extensions installed/repaired.

Why is my page renamed on the server when I publish?
The "Default Document" of your web is automatically renamed by the server to what is required by the configuration of the server. For example, if you've named the main page "index.html", it may be renamed "default.html". Just check the links to your main page to make sure they refer to it the same way.

NOTE: If you are using FrontPage, you should NEVER use regular FTP to upload your files. This will damage the extensions. Stick with one or the other all the time.

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Fetch For Mac Users

In order to FTP into your website you will need the following information which was included in your account activation notice.

USERNAME
PASSWORD
FTP HOSTNAME

When you have this information, and a copy of Fetch installed on your computer, you will be ready to setup a New Connection and FTP into your website.

1. Launch your Fetch program.
2. Select New Connection from the File menu to create a new Connection.
3. Enter the appropriate information into the entry boxes as indicated below.

HOST: Enter yourdomain.com
USER ID: Enter your Username
PASSWORD: Enter your Password
DIRECTORY: Leave this entry field blank.

4. Click on the OK button to connect to your website on the server. When you are connected the New Connection panel will close, and the main Fetch window will pop up.

Bookmark Connection

Once you have established a connection you should bookmark it. This will save you the time and trouble of entering your log in information each time you want to FTP into your account.

1. From the Customize menu select New Shortcut.
2. A window titled Bookmark Editor will pop up. The Name, Host, and User ID entry boxes will contain the information you used for your current connection.
3. In the Type field, select File from the pop-up menu.
4. If you would like Fetch to remember your password, type it into Password field.
5. Under the same Customize menu, choose Preferences, and make sure the connection you just entered is selected as the default shortcut under the General tab.

Your Bookmark has been created. The next time you run Fetch your shortcut will be opened automatically. All you'll have to do is click the OK button to establish your FTP connection.

Binary vs. ASCII or Auto

There are three radio buttons at the bottom of the Fetch Window. One labeled Binary, one labeled ASCII and one labeled Auto.
If you want Fetch to automatically select the correct setting, either Binary or ASCII, when transferring your files, do the following:

1. Select Auto in the Fetch window.
2. Select Preferences, then the Upload tab.
3. Be sure that the following settings apply:

Default text format---set to TEXT
Default non-text format-set to RAW DATA
Check "Add .bqx suffix to BinHex files"
Check "Add .bin suffix to MacBinary II files"
Uncheck "Add .txt suffix to text files"
Check "Encode and decode files and folder names"
Word Wrap Margin…72

If you elect not to use the Auto setting please note that it is very important to transfer images in Binary mode. Everything else, HTML documents, cgi scripts etc should be transferred using ASCII mode. If you fail to set this correctly your files may not appear as they should.

Fetch Window

Your main window will be divided into two parts. On the left will be a large window which will display the files and folders on your domain. The narrow section on the right will contain your current Status, a File command link and a Transfer command link.

Upload Files
1. Double click on the www directory in the Fetch window to open it. This is the directory you will upload your web pages, files, images etc into.
2. Highlight the file (s) on your computer that you wish to transfer to your website, and click on the Transfer command link. Or, you may also drag the file(s) you wish to upload from your hard drive onto the Fetch window and drop them into the appropriate directory.

Download Files
1. Double click on the folder you wish to download files to on your computer to open it.
2. Highlight the file (s) on your website in the Fetch window that you wish to transfer to your computer, and click on the Transfer command link. Or, you may also drag the file(s) you wish to download from the Fetch window onto your hard drive and drop them into the appropriate directory.

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