In order to access items on your web site, you will need an application called an
"FTP client."
If you do not have an FTP client, use one of the following links to download one:
- Windows users - download WSFTP 32 Client or download WSFTP 16 Client
- Macintosh users - download Fetch
Using an FTP client application, the following steps will establish a connection to
your account on t INFOPAGE SERVICES' servers:
- Open a TCP/IP connection - just as you do when you wish to use a browser. (In fact, you
can have a browser application and an FTP client open at the same time, though doing so
may slow each considerably.)
- Launch your FTP client
- If a dialog box does not automatically open, there should be a prominent button or menu
item for connecting to a remote host - activate it
- In the dialog box that appears, you will need to enter the following information:
- HOST NAME: yourdomain.com (or infopg.com for directory accounts)
- USER ID: your user ID (usally domainname without the .com)
- PASSWORD: your password
At this point, you should be connected to your site on the Web server.
- If you are using a PC and WSFTP, you should be looking at a screen with two menu lists:
the menu on the left is your hard drive, the menu on the right is your directory on the
INFOPAGE SERVICES Web server
- If you are using Mac and Fetch, there is only one menu, which represents the contents of
your directory on the Web server
Both WSFTP and Fetch allow you to save log-on information to a file, so that you only
have to manually enter it the first time. This is an especially convenient option, but it
is not advisable to include your password in the information that will be saved to disk.
Web Site Management
Once a connection has been established, you will be able to manipulate the files on the
Web server just as if they were on an external hard drive connected to your computer
(albeit only through your FTP client's file management system).
TIP: Create a directory or folder structure on INFOPAGE SERVICES' web server
that is that is the same as your hard drive. Doing so will make managing your web site
more convenient: finding the files will be easy, and you'll have a convenient
"working copy" of everything, so you won't need to download a copy to edit.
Primarily, you will use FTP to upload, download, rename, an delete files on your Web
site
UPLOADING FILES
"Uploading" is the process of moving files from your hard drive
"up" to your directory on the Web server. The procedure differs among
applications and platforms:
If you are using a PC and WSFTP
- In the left menu, which represents your hard drive, find the file you wish to upload
- You will notice two radio buttons beneath the menus:
Select the left button, "ASCII", if you are uploading a text file
Select the right button, "Binary", if you are uploading any other kind of file
- Between the windows, there are two arrow buttons - use the bottom button, which contains
an arrow that points to the right (toward the menu for the Web server and away from the
menu for your hard drive).
If you are using a MAC and Fetch:
- Select the button or menu item for "put file" - this will activate a dialog
box
- Use the dialog box to find the file you wish to upload
- Once the file is selected, another dialog box will appear, providing format options:
If you are uploading a text file, select "text"
For any other file, select "raw"
- Another dialog box will open, confirming your decision and providing an opportunity to
rename the file. This may prove especially useful, because Fetch has a tendency to append
extensions to file names.
DOWNLOADING FILES
"Downloading" is the process of moving files from the Web server
"down" to your hard drive. The procedure differs among applications and
platforms:
If you are using a PC and WSFTP
- Highlight the item you wish to download in the menu on the right
- Specify the location you want the file to be saved on your hard drive in the menu on the
left
- Click the bottom arrow button between the menus, which points to the left (toward your
drive, away from the Web server)
If you are using a MAC and Fetch:
- Highlight the item you wish to download in the menu
- Select the button or menu item for "get file"
- Use the dialog box that opens to specify the folder in which you want the downloaded
file to save
RENAMING FILES
It's always most convenient to name the files on your hard drive exactly as you wish
them to be named on your Web site. However, there may be instances in which you need to
change the name of a file on the Web server.
If you are using a PC and WSFTP
- Highlight the item you wish to rename in the menu on the right
- In the column of buttons to the right of the menu, select the one labeled
"Rename"
- In the dialog box that appears, enter the new name
If you are using a MAC and Fetch:
- Highlight the item you wish to download in the menu
- Select the button or menu item for "rename file"
- Use the dialog box that opens to provide the new name
DELETING FILES
Downloading a file merely makes a copy from the Web server to your own hard drive, but does
not remove the file. In order to remove a file from your Web site, you'll have to
delete it.
If you are using a PC and WSFTP
- Highlight the item you wish to delete in the menu on the right
- In the column of buttons to the right of the menu, select the one labeled
"Delete"
If you are using a MAC and Fetch:
- Highlight the item you wish to delete in the menu
- Select the button or menu item for "delete file"
After uploading/downloading/managing files as necessary, disconnect from the Web server
and quit the FTP client application. (Note: although most FTP clients will automatically
disconnect when you quit, it's always best to manually disconnect before closing to ensure
the security of your data on the Web server.)
The INFOPAGE SERVICES Directory Structure
The following information is important to INFOPAGE SERVICES subscribers who wish to
know ...
- How to determine the Internet address (URL) of pages on their site
- How to reference their Web pages in other documents
- How to use files from INFOPAGE SERVICES' site
Determining Your URL
Knowing your Internet address is as important in the virtual community as knowing your
street address is in the physical world. If you wish to locate your Web site, or give
others the address of your home page, or have your page listed in the various Internet
directories, you'll need to know your URL.
Putting it all together, the Internet address of your home page will be http://www.yourdomain.com/index.htm
(Virtual Accounts)
http://www.infopg.com/username/index.htm(Directory Accounts)
Any other page on your site will have to be referenced by name. For example, John Smith
posts his resume (in a file named resume.htm) - a pointer directly to his resume
would read as follows:
http://www.yourdomain.com/resume.htm (Virtual Accounts)
http://www.infopg.com/username/resume.htm (Directory Accounts)
Linking Your Pages
Any page in your directory may be linked to any other page in your directory using a
simple relative URL. For example, if your resume is named resume.htm and your
home page is index.htm, then your home page may call your resume by using <A
HREF="resume.htm"> and the resume may be linked back to the home
page by using <A HREF="index.htm">. (By the way, it's a
good idea to have at least one link in every page, even if it's a link back to where the
user came from. It's bad netiquette to leave readers "dead-ended".)
If you wish to use absolute URLs instead, you'll need to use a tag like this:
<A HREF="http://www.domain.com/index.htm">.(Domain
Accounts)
<A HREF="http://www.infopg.com/index.htm">.(Directory
Accounts)
However, if you add subdirectories to your directory - which you may eventually
do if there are a lot of pages on your site - you will need to include them in the URL,
thus:
<A HREF="http://www.yourdomain.com/subdirectory/file.htm">
The more subdirectories, the longer the URL will become - and the more tedious it
becomes for users to type in, and the greater the chances are that they may make an error
in typing it. For that reason, it's best to keep things as simple as possible on your
site.
Using INFOPAGE SERVICES Files
In developing the INFOPAGE SERVICES site, the WebMaster and design team created
and amassed myriad art files, which subscribers are welcome to use in their own pages. As
these files will change periodically, it's not a very good idea to link these files
directly from their present location.
- gifs index
- Individual graphics files, such as bullets, arrows, and icons, are stored in
http://www.infopg.com/backgrounds/filename.gif
- You can download them into your directory by moving the mouse over the image that you
want to save and clicking the right mouse button. a window will pop up and ask you to save
this file to your computer (Netscape "Save Image As") or (Explore "Save
Picture As") this will allow you to save the image to your computer for uploading via
ftp to your directory.
- backgrounds directory
- There is a special folder for seamless background tiles, called "backgrounds."
Use the instructions above for gifs for access.
To use these files in your page, you will need to use an body tag such as:
<BODY BACKGROUND="http://www.infopg.com/backgrounds/filename.gif">
If you use one of these backgrounds, you may need to change the color of your
text and links as well - most HTML tutorials provide advice and instructions for doing
this.
Three things to be aware of:
- If you wish to link the art from its home in the INFOPAGE SERVICES directory,
you'll have to use it as-is. If you need to modify the art, make a copy that you can edit
and store in your personal directory.
- The art on the INFOPAGE SERVICES site changes periodically. Large image files and
seasonal images (such as holiday art) may be purged after the pages that contain them have
been taken down or altered. While you are free to use other art files from the INFOPAGE
SERVICES site, you do so at your own risk - only
the files listed in the indices, above, will be maintained permanently.
After your home page is posted, announce it to the Internet community. Having your home
page listed with the indexes and search engines is usually free, and requires only a few
minutes for each site.
An important consideration before you advertise your site ... Is it really
ready?
Users who are drawn to a new web site by an announcement don't expect to see "under
construction" signs or pages that don't load properly - and they can be rather rude
if they do. To be a good e-citizen and avoid flame mail, make sure that the site is 100%
ready, in complete working order with every "i" dotted and every "t"
crossed, before you announce it.
If everything checks out, make a list of important information about your site - the
URL and title, a short paragraph to describe it, keywords by which users should be able to
find it, and so on - and proceed to the following sites:
Read the instructions at each site for the best way to submit. You will need to look
for a section or button called "ADD URL" or "ADD SITE" just follow the
instructions and this will allow you to add a site.
Remember that not all sites update daily, infact some only update every six weeks.
There are hunderds of search engines out there if you would like us to submitt your
site to a number of different search engines for you please visit http://www.infopg.com/serv05.htm or contact
sales@infopg.com for a price quote