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In This Chapter:
Introduction
to FTP
Files are transferred from your computer to the web-server
by a process known as FTP (File Transfer
Protocol). FTP makes it possible for you
to create, modify, and maintain web pages on your own computer,
and upload them to the actual web site at your leisure. All
of the files and directories pertaining to your website should
be uploaded to the "www" directory
of your account. See Chapter
1 for a description of all the directories in
your account.
Do not delete, rename, or otherwise
alter any of the other files and directories in your account.
You have unlimited access via FTP to your website 24 hours
a day 7 days a week. Some Internet Service Providers such
as AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy have built in FTP interfaces.
If your ISP does not have a built in FTP interface, and you
do not have an FTP client, visit http://www.wsftp.com/
to download the most recent version of WS_FTP
(a very popular FTP program) for the PC. MAC users may use
Fetch
or any other compatible FTP program.
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WS_FTP (for
PC users)
In order to access your website via FTP you will need the
following information:
USERID (Your Username)
PASSWORD (Your Password - same as your control
panel password)
FTP HOSTNAME (Your Domain Name or its IP
Address)
This information was sent to you in your account activation
notice.
The First step in setting up your FTP client is to create
a Session Profile. Upon opening WS_FTP the "Session Properties"
window will be displayed. To create a Session Profile for
your website, click the "New" button. Give your
session a generic name for example: "MYACCOUNT".
For Host Name/Address enter your Domain Name or its IP Address,
for User ID enter your username, and for password enter your
control panel password.
Once you have entered this information, click
"OK" to connect to the FTP server. This session
information will be saved so that the next time you wish to
connect to your website, you simply have to select your profile
("MYACCOUNT") from the "Profile Name"
drop-down box.
The main WS_FTP screen is divided into two windows.
The window on the left displays files and directories on your
computer, while the window on the right displays the files
and directories of your website. If you see such folders as
"www" and "access-log"
in the right window, then you know that you have successfully
connected to your website. Conversely, if you do not see anything
in the window on the right, then you have not connected to
your website. A successful connection window is displayed
below:
To open your "www"
directory, simply double click on it. Be sure that any website
files and directories you upload get placed inside this "www"
directory. The only other directory that you may use is "cgi-bin".
Here you can place any of the custom cgi scripts you have
for your website.
If you would like your homepage to load automatically
whenever someone points to your URL, name it "index.html"
in lowercase and upload it to the "www"
directory of your account. To upload from your computer to
the desired destination on your website, simply highlight
the files or directories and click on the "->"
button found between the two windows. Be sure that you upload
HTML documents and scripts in ASCII mode and images in Binary
mode. To create a new directory on either your computer or
website, click the "MkDir" found to the right of
the appropriate window.
As soon as a file has been uploaded to the web
server, it is available on the internet 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 may 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.
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Fetch
(for MAC users)
In order to connect to your website via FTP,
you will need the following account information:
USERID (Your Username)
PASSWORD (Your Password - same as your control
panel password)
FTP HOSTNAME (Your Domain Name or its IP
Address)
This information was sent to you in your account
activation notice.
The first thing you see when you run Fetch will
be the "New Connection" window.
Here you must enter the above information to create a new
profile for your website. For "Host"
enter your Domain Name, for "User ID"
enter your Username, and for "Password"
enter your control panel password.
Don't worry about the "Directory"
option for now. When you have your Host, User ID, and Password
entered, click the OK button.
The next window to appear will resemble the
one shown below, however it will be for your website.
Bookmark the Connection
You should now take a minute to bookmark this
connection profile so that in the future you can bypass the
"New Connection" process and connect using the information
you have already entered. To do this, under the "Customize"
menu, select "New Shortcut". This will display the
"Bookmark Editor" window. This window will already
contain the website information you have entered. For "Type"
select "File" from the drop-down box. If you would
like Fetch to remember your password every time it connects,
type it in the "Password" field.
If you would like fetch to automatically open
the connection to your website at startup, set it as the default
shortcut. To do this, under the "Customize" menu,
select "Preferences" and click on the "General"
tab. From here you can set the connection that you just created
to be the default shortcut. The next time you open up Fetch,
your shortcut will be opened automatically and all you'll
have to do is click the OK button!
How to Transfer Files
To open any of the directories on your website,
simply double click on them. To upload website files and create
directories, be sure to first open your "www"
directory. The only other directory you may need to use is
the "cgi-bin" directory which stores
any custom cgi scripts for your website. To have your homepage
load automatically, be sure to name it "index.html"
and upload it to the base of the "www"
directory (not inside any sub-directories). Be sure to upload
HTML and scripts in Text mode, and images
in Binary mode. To make things easier, you
may select the "Automatic" radio
button and have Fetch determine which mode to use for transfer.
To ensure that the Automatic selection works
properly, check that the selections under the "Upload"
tab in the "Preferences" window
looks the same as below.
As soon as a file has been uploaded to the web
server, it is available on the internet 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 may 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.
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