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FTP Web Site Hosting Maintenance
FRONTPAGE
USERS If
you requested to have Frontpage Extensions installed on your
web hosting site, you should NEVER use regular FTP to upload files. This
will damage the extensions and cause major transfer problems
with your site. Stick with one or the other all the time. You
can still use FTP to view and delete files, you just can't
upload files.
If you are using FrontPage,
you must create your new web on the "localhost"
system. This is accomplished by selecting "create new
web," and then entering "c:\mywebsite"
(without the .com) in the line where it asks for the web
location. Once you have completed your web on your computer, you
can then select the "publish web" option from the file
menu in FrontPage Explorer. You will be prompted for your domain
name. You should enter http://yourname.com
(all lowercase). Next it will ask for your username and
password. Your username is always the domain name without the
.com and should be all lowercase. The password is the one you
chose when you activated the account. The password is case
sensitive. After Frontpage validates your login info, it will
begin to upload your files.
 
What
is FTP anyway?
Please
Note: If you requested to have Frontpage Extensions
installed on your site, you should NEVER use regular FTP to
upload files. This will damage the extensions and cause major
transfer problems with your site. Stick with one or the other
all the time. You can still use FTP to view and delete files,
you just can't upload files.
The following information is
contained within your account activation notice and is needed to
connect to your web site via FTP:
HOSTNAME:
yourdomain.com
(use your
IP Number
if domain registration is not complete)
USERID:
yourdomain
(enter your domain name
WITHOUT the .com)
PASSWORD:
(your
FTP password)
Each time you run WS_FTP the
Session Profile window will be displayed. A profile contains the
information needed to connect to your website. 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 profile, click the "New" button and
enter a generic profile name at the top of the Session Profile
window, such as "My Website." Next, enter your Host
Name/Address (yourdomain.com), User ID (yourdomain), and
Password for your website as illustrated in Figure 1A.
Figure 1A
Next you need to click
"OK" to continue. This will connect you to the
webserver, where you will connect directly to the root
("home") directory of your account. WS_FTP will
display a split screen where files on the left-hand side are
within your own computer. You will see several folders on the
right-hand side such as www, and infobots which are landmarks
suggesting a successful connection to your website, as
illustrated in Figure 1B.
Figure 1B
You need to double click on www
to get to your web directory. This is where all your files will
be downloaded, and/or you will create subdirectories. The only
system directory that you may need to use is cgi-bin; this
directory is reserved for custom scripts. To make your home page
load automatically, name the HTML document "index.htm"
in lowercase and upload it to the www 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 window. 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). To create a new
directory, click on the MkDir button when you are inside the www
directory or subdirectory.
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, try hitting the "Refresh" or
"Reload" button. If that fails, 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.
 
What
is FTP anyway?
Please
Note: If you requested to have Frontpage Extensions
installed on your site, you should NEVER use regular FTP to
upload files. This will damage the extensions and cause major
transfer problems with your site. Stick with one or the other
all the time. You can still use FTP to view and delete files,
you just can't upload files.
The following information is
contained within your account activation notice and is needed to
connect to your web site via FTP:
HOSTNAME:
yourdomain.com
(use your
IP#
if domain registration is not complete)
USERID:
yourdomain
(enter your domain name
WITHOUT the .com)
PASSWORD:
(your FTP
password)
The hostname tells your FTP
software to connect to the web server upon which your web site
resides.
Each time you run Fetch, the New
Connection... 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, select "New
Connection..." from the File menu. Next, enter the Host (yourdomain.com),
User ID (yourdomain), and password for your web site as
illustrated in Figure 2A.
Figure 2A
Don't worry about the Directory
option right now. When you have your Host, User ID, and Password
entered, click on the OK button.
The next window which will pop up
will look virtually the same as Figure 2B, except that
yourdomain will be in the popup window.
Figure 2B
Bookmarking the Connection
You should take the time, now
that you have established your connection, to make it easier for
you to get here next time. Under the Customize menu, select New
Shortcut. A window will pop up called Bookmark Editor, as shown
in Figure 2C. It will already have your name, Host, and User ID
filled in. Under Type, choose File from the popup menu. If you
would like Fetch to remember your password so you won't have to
type it in each time, type in your password in the Password
field. Now, under the same Customize menu, choose Preferences,
and under the General tab, make sure the connection you just
entered is selected as the default shortcut. Next time you open
up Fetch, your shortcut will be opened automatically and all
you'll have to do is click the OK button!
Figure 2C
How to Transfer Files
Refer again to Figure 2B. You
need to double-click on www to get to your web directory. This
is where all your files will be downloaded, and/or you will
create subdirectories. The only system directory that you may
need to use is cgi-bin; this directory is reserved for custom
scripts. To make your home page load automatically, name the
HTML document "index.htm" in lowercase and upload it
to the www directory of your account. To upload a file or files,
simply drag them from your hard drive onto the Fetch window when
you are in the appropriate directory or subdirectory. Be sure to
upload HTML documents and scripts in Text mode and images in
BINARY mode. Or to make life easier, click on the Automatic
button as shown in Figure 2B, and Fetch will decide the proper
format. To transfer a file to a subdirectory, double-click the
appropriate subdirectory to open it before transferring the
desired file(s).
To insure that the Automatic
selection works properly, make sure the selections under the
Upload tab in the Preferences window looks the same as Figure 2D
below.
Figure 2D
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 hit the Reload button in the Netscape
button bar. Remember that you must first be connected to the
Internet through your local Internet service provider in order
to connect to the web server.
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