FTP
File Transfer Protocol
(Uploading files to your web site)
For PC Users (LeapFTP)
For PC Users (Cute FTP)
For PC Users (WS-FTP)
For Macintosh Users (Fetch)
Front Page98
We also have a "Web Site
Manager" where you can upload and work on your web site right though your
browser.
For an
example click here.
The process by which files are
transferred to the web server is called "FTP" (File Transfer
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.
NOTE: If you are using FrontPage,
you should use caution when using FTP to upload your files. This can damage
the extensions. See Warning below!
The following information is
contained within your account activation notice and is needed to connect you
to your web site via FTP:
HOST NAME: or DOMAIN NAME:
USER ID:
PASSWORD:
For PC Users (LeapFTP)
When you first open LeapFTP
you will see the main FTP window. Click on "Sites" then "Site
Manager". You will notice a drop down box with FTP sites already entered.
We suggest clicking on "Add Group" towards the bottom to start a new
group of your own FTP sites, calling this anything you wish.
With your new group showing in the drop down box click on "Add
Site", naming your new site anything you wish (We suggest your domain
name) and then "Ok". With your new site highlighted on the right
pane in the IP address type your domain name with out the "HTTP://"
or the "WWW". (eg: rshweb.com) Un-check the "Anonymous"
box and in the "Username" line, type your user name. In the
"Password" line type your password, It is your choice to have
LeapFTP save your password. Next click "Connect". If sugsecfully
connected, your web site directory will now been seen in the right pane where
your computer is in the left pane. Browse to the files you wish to upload,
right click on the file then "Upload"
For
PC Users (Cute FTP)
When CuteFTP is launched, the first thing
that is displayed is the Site Manager. First select a folder from the left
window in which you would like your web site to reside, or create a new folder
by clicking on the 'Add Folder' button. Enter a folder name (anything you
want) then click OK. Next, highlight the newly created or selected folder, and
click on the Add Site button. This will bring up a very important screen
called the FTP Site Edit screen, as this is the screen where all your web site
information is stored. The 4 (four) main things you need to be concerned about
in this screen are the Label box, Host Address box, User ID box, and Password
box. The other options and fields will be covered in the Site Edit section.
The Label box is simply identification for your site so that you can easily
access your FTP server from the Site Manager. In other words, name it whatever
you want. The next box is the Host Address box. This is the place where you
type in the FTP server address or your domain name. You would type in that box
your domain name or your IP address, like 205.252.116.13 The next two
fields are also important. The first is the User ID or user name. The same
goes for the Password box. It is unique, and case sensitive. As you cannot see
what you are typing into that field, you must use special care not to make any
mistakes. Once you have entered this information, click on the OK button. You
should be back out to the Site Manager, and your site should be in the right
window. You can now highlight the site you have created (unless it is already
highlighted) and click on the Connect button to connect to your server.
For
PC Users (WS_FTP)
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 profile, click
the "New" button and enter a generic profile name at the top of the
Session Profile window, such as "My Web Site." Next, enter your Host
Name/Address (yourdomain.com), User ID (yourdomain), and Password for your web
site Next you need to click "OK" to continue. This will connect you
to the web server, where you will connect directly to the ("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 images, cgi-bin, which are landmarks suggesting
a successful connection to your web site.
This is where all your files will be uploaded or downloaded, and/or you will
create subdirectories. To make your home page load automatically, name the
HTML document "index.html" in lowercase and upload it. 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. 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 your browser, try hitting the "Refresh" or
"Reload" button. If that fails, you might need to clear both disk
and browser cache. This function can be found by selecting Options>Network
Preferences in Netscape, and in Microsoft Explorer open Windows
Explorer>Windows>Temporary Internet Files.
Remember that you must first be connected to the Internet through your local
Internet service provider in order to connect to the web server.
For
Mac Users (Fetch)
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. 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 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. 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!
How to Transfer Files
To make your home page load automatically, name the HTML document
"index.html" 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. 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 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). 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 your browser, you need to hit the
Reload button. Remember that you must first be connected to the Internet
through your local Internet service provider in order to connect to the web
server.
Front
Page98
If you are using FrontPage you have two ways of uploading your web site.
"Publishing" and "Importing"
Publishing:
You must create your new web on the "localhost" system (your
computer). This is accomplished by selecting "create new web," and
then entering "localhost" 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 or IP address and then it
will send it to our servers. Please note that you will be prompted for your
user ID and password.
Importing:
This is my preferred method of working on my web site, working
"live" on your site. From the "File" drop down box click
on "open Front Page web", make sure "open existing
front page web" is checked, then click on "more webs". In the
"select a web server or dick location" type in your domain
name, and click "list webs". After Front Page finds your web site it
will prompt you for user id and password. You are now working on your site
"live" right on the server, if you have already made your web pages
you can use the "import" option under "file-import" to
import your images and html files. If you need to make your web pages feel
free to make them "live" right on the server.
There are more resources on using
Front Page in our Front Page Tips
section and in our Resources
and Links page
Warning:
Whether you use FTP, Publish, Import or whatever means to "upload"
your web pages, DO NOT upload any hidden files that Front Pages uses,
i.e. ._vti ._hidden ._private
You will not see these files with Front Page because there "hidden"
files, but with any FTP program you will!
This will corrupt the servers Front Page Extensions possible causing the
Server to crash.
To be safe only upload your .html .htm or image files only!