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W3U Customer Support
Getting Started with FTP
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Contents of this Page
The process by which files are transferred to the web server is called "FTP" (File Transport 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. Internet providers such as AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy may have a built-in FTP interface. If you have a PPP internet account and need an FTP program, you can download software for the PC from the W3U web site. We suggest that you contact your local internet provider to inquire about compatibility. Note: If you are a FrontPage user, you should not use an FTP program for uploading your regular web pages, but rather upload such data with FrontPage itself. For more info on this matter, please refer to our FrontPage Support page. Of course, you may wish to obtain an FTP program in order to work on files outside of the FrontPage directory structure. What FTP Software Does W3U Suggest? Win95 Users: We recommend using an excellent shareware program called WS_FTP, or another program called CuteFTP. You can download WS_FTP for free at: To get the Pro (or pay) version go to: You can download CuteFTP for free at: For sites that offer a wide variety of free software see: http://cws.internet.com/ Mac Users:If you are a Mac user, we suggest that you try Fetch, which may be downloaded for free at: or at: For sites that offer a wide variety of free software see: http://cws.internet.com/ The following information is contained within your account activation notice and is needed to connect to your web site via FTP:
The hostname tells your FTP software to connect to the web server upon which your web site resides. In general, the process of configuring the various FTP software/interface is the same. We have specific tutorials on the configuration of WS_FTP and CuteFTP. Click here for the WS_FTP configuration tutorial. Click here for the CuteFTP configuration tutorial. Note that most other software programs that incorporate an FTP feature require configuration that will be similar to WS_FTP or Cute. Note: If you receive the "Blocking Call Canceled" error message, try 'closing' your connection, and then reconnecting. When you connect to the web server, 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 cgibin, docs, and logs, as well as files such as .domains and .mreply.rc. These are landmarks suggesting a successful connection to your web site. You should upload the files you want visible to people's web browsers to your DocumentRoot. The actual name of this directory should be listed in the setup email you received when your account was created. If you no longer have a copy of that email, one is available on your web site at: If you are unsure of which directory to use, contact us here. If you have custom cgi scripts, upload them to the /cgibin directory (cgi scripts will also run from any directory within your document root directory). To make your home page load automatically, name the HTML document "index.htm" or "index.html" in lowercase and upload it to the DocumentRoot. 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 screen. 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). As soon as a file is uploaded to the web server, it is available for all to see, although you will likely have to click on the web browser 'refresh' or 'reload' button. If you are still unable to view the updated file, try clearing your web browsers disk and browser cache. This can be done by selecting Options > Network Preferences in Netscape. In Internet Explorer, click on View, then Internet Options and click the Delete Files button in the Temporary Internet Files section. 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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