Accessing Your Account
    
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The first thing you need to do is learn how
to access your account. You will use FTP (file transfer
protocol) to transfer files from your computer to the server,
and vice versa. You will also use FTP to setup email redirects,
autoresponders, and infobots for mail lists. There are other
tasks that you will need to use Telnet for, and and even a few
things you can do with your browser.
If you use FrontPage much of this will not
apply to you. However, at the very least, you will want to review
the sections on Email Management to learn about setting up and
managing your email.
FTP Access
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the preferred
method of uploading files to your website, and vice versa..
You have unlimited access to your account via FTP 24 hours a
day. This allows you to create and maintain your web pages on
your own computer, then upload the files to your website at your
leisure.
NOTE: If you
use FrontPage you should NEVER use regular FTP to upload your
files as this will damage the extensions. Please refer to the
instructions in the FrontPage section for uploading files.
FTP is not a program, it is a "protocol",
a specific method of transferring data from one place to another.
Some online services such as AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy may
have a built-in FTP interface. If you have a PPP (Point
to Point Protocol) Internet account, you will need an FTP program.
We strongly recommend WS_FTP for PC users, and Fetch
for Macintosh users . Please see instructions below for setting
up and using these two programs.
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WS-FTP
For PC Users
In order to FTP into your website you will need
the following information which was included in your account
activation notice.
· USERID
· PASSWORD
· FTP HOSTNAME
When you have this information, and a copy of
WS_FTP installed on your computer you will be ready to setup
a Session Profile
and FTP into your website.
1. Launch your WS-FTP program. A panel
titled Session Profile will be displayed with the
WS_FTP program window behind it.
2. Click the New button
and type a Profile name into the Profile Name entry box at the
top of the panel. This can be any name you choose, "My
Website" for example.
3. Enter the appropriate information
into the following entry boxes:
- Host Name/Address: Enter yourdomain.com
- Host Type: Select UNIX (standard) from
the menu
- User ID: Enter your User ID
- Password: Enter your Password
- Check the Save Password box if you
wish.
- Leave the other entry fields blank.
4. Click on the Save button at
the top of the panel to save this Profile. This will eliminate
the need for you to enter this information the next time you
launch WS_FTP
5. Click on the OK button at
the top right of the panel. WS_FTP will now attempt to connect
to your website. When you are connected to your home directory
on the server, the Profile panel will close.
Left Window
WS_FTP will now display a split screen.
The window on the left contains the folders and files on your
own computer. Use the green arrow at the top of the window and
the scroll bars to browse your system.
Right Window
The window on the right will contain the folders
and files contained within your home directory. This is your
space on the server. This is where you will place your website
will be. You will see folders with names such as www, infobots
and access-log.
Binary vs
ASCII or Auto
You will see two radio buttons below the display
windows, one labeled Binary and one labeled ASCII
. There will also be a check box labeled Auto. If
you select Auto WS_FTP will automatically apply the correct
setting, either Binary or ASCII to the document
you are transferring. If you elect not to use the Auto
setting please note that it is very important to transfer images
in Binary mode. Everything else, HTML documents,
cgi scripts etc. should be transferred using ASCII mode.
If you fail to set this correctly your files may not appear as
they should.
Upload Files
1.
Double click on the www directory in the right window
to open it. This is the directory you will upload your
web pages, files, images etc. into.
2.
Highlight a file (or files) from your computer in the left window.
3.
Click the right arrow button (->) in the center bar between
the windows.
That’s it! Your file transfer is complete.
Download
Files
1.
Double click on the folder you want to download files into on
your computer to open it in the left window.
2.
Highlight the file (or files) you wish to download from your
website in the right window.
3.
Click the left arrow button (<-) in the center bar between
the windows.
That’s it! Your file transfer is complete.
Create
A New Directory (Folder)
To create a new directory on your website, click
on the MkDir button when you are inside the www directory
or a subdirectory of the www directory. You will be prompted
to enter a name for the new directory. Once you do this, the
new directory will be created.
Multiple
File Transfer
To transfer more than one file at a time, highlight
the first file, then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard
to select more. All highlighted files will be transferred when
you click on the appropriate arrow button to begin the transfer.
Disconnect
When you are finished transferring your files,
click on the Close button at the bottom of the WS_FTP
window. This will close your FTP connection.
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Fetch For Mac Users
In order to FTP into your website you will need
the following information which was included in your account
activation notice.
USERID
PASSWORD
FTP HOSTNAME
When you have this information, and a copy
of Fetch installed on your computer, you will be ready
to setup a New Connection and FTP into your website.
1. Launch your Fetch program.
2. Select New Connection from the
File menu to create a new Connection.
3. Enter the appropriate information into
the entry boxes as indicated below.
HOST: Enter
yourdomain.com
USER ID: Enter
your User ID
PASSWORD: Enter
your Password DIRECTORY: Leave this entry field blank for now.
4. Click on the OK button
to connect to your website on the server. When you are
connected the New Connection panel will close, and the
main Fetch window will pop up.
Bookmark
Connection
Once you have established a connection
you should bookmark it. This will save you the time and trouble
of entering your log in information each time you want to FTP
into your account.
1. From the Customize
menu select New Shortcut.
2. A window titled
Bookmark Editor will pop up. The Name, Host, and User
ID entry boxes will contain the information you used for your
current connection.
3. In the Type
field, select File from the pop-up menu..
4. If you would
like Fetch to remember your password
type it into Password field.
5. Under
the same Customize menu, choose Preferences, and
make sure the connection you just entered is selected as the
default shortcut under the General tab.
Your Bookmark has been created. The
next time you run Fetch your shortcut will be opened automatically.
All you'll have to do is click the OK button to establish
your FTP connection.
Binary
vs. ASCII or Auto
There are three radio buttons at the bottom of
the Fetch Window. One labeled Binary, one labeled
ASCII and one labeled Auto.
If you want Fetch to automatically select
the correct setting, either Binary or ASCII, when
transferring your files, do the following:
1. Select Auto in the Fetch window.
2. Select Preferences, then the
Upload tab.
3. Be sure that the following settings
apply:
Default text format---set to TEXT
Default non-text format—set to RAW DATA
Check "Add .bqx suffix to BinHex files"
Check "Add .bin suffix to MacBinary II files"
Uncheck "Add .txt suffix to text files"
Check "Encode and decode files and folder names"
Word Wrap Margin…72
If you elect not to use the Auto setting
please note that it is very important to transfer images in Binary
mode. Everything else, HTML documents, cgi scripts etc
should be transferred using ASCII mode. If you fail to
set this correctly your files may not appear as they should.
Fetch Window
Your main window will be divided into two parts.
On the left will be a large window which will display the files
and folders on your domain. The narrow section on the right
will contain your current Status, a File command
link and a Transfer command link.
Upload Files
1. Double
click on the www directory in the Fetch window to open
it. This is the directory you will upload your web pages,
files, images etc into.
2. Highlight
the file (s) on your computer that you wish to transfer to your
website, and click on the Transfer command link.
Or, you may also drag the file(s) you wish to upload from your
hard drive onto the Fetch window and drop them into the appropriate
directory.
Download
Files
1. Double
click on the folder you wish to download files to on your computer
to open it.
2. Highlight the
file (s) on your website in the Fetch window that you wish to
transfer to your computer, and click on the Transfer command
link. Or, you may also drag the file(s) you wish to download
from the Fetch window onto your hard drive and drop them into
the appropriate directory.
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Telnet Access
Your Telnet account is setup automatically for
you when you open your account. Each User ID has it’s own
Telnet account. See the Fee Schedule to add User IDs to
your account. Each Telnet account has it’s own Home Directory,
but will share the same www Directories and FTP Directories.
Telnet is much like a DOS program in both
use and appearance, requiring specific typewritten commands.
There are "power" uses for Telnet, but only Advanced
Users will be able to understand or implement them. The novice
user will probably not need to use Telnet very much or very often,
but some basic knowledge of it will be useful.
Connect
With Telnet
You will need a Telnet program to access your
Telnet account. If you use Windows, you should have a Telnet
program already on your system. To find out, do the following:
Go to Start, select Run and
type telnet into the entry box.
Once you have a Telnet program, launch it,
and be sure that you have a live connection to the Internet.
- Enter yourdomain.com into the entry
box for HOST, and click on the Connect button,
(exact label will vary depending on the Telnet program you are
using)
- When you are connected, you will be prompted
for your User ID (or userid or login) Type in your User
ID.
- You will then be prompted for your password.
Type in your Password.
Once you are logged in you will see several
lines of text scroll down the screen. When it is finished you
will see a blinking cursor after a word that may look something
like this:
helius:~$
This is called the prompt, and indicates
the name of the server machine you are logged into. That
is where you will begin entering your commands.
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General
Info For Advanced Users
Some of the programs available at the shell
prompt are:
mail - a primitive
email program
pine - a more
powerful email program
ftp - to FTP onto
other sites
telnet - to telnet
to other sites
pico - an easy
to use text editor
vi - a not so
easy to use (but standard) text editor
Joe - another
easy to use text editor
lynx - a text-based
world wide web browser.
In general, it's a pretty complete POSIX
environment. You access these programs by typing in their names,
and then following commands relevant to each program. If you
need help with any of the programs, at the shell prompt,
type man and the name of the program to get instructions
for that program online. If your problem is not knowing the name
of the program, try apropos subject (i.e. apropos mail). It is
important to remember that Unix is case sensitive. "Index.htm"
is not the same as "index.htm."
Note:
If you experience problems with your Telnet
program when accessing the above programs you will need to make
an entry in your login directories bash_profile file. Just add
the following to the last line export TERM=vt100. This will allow
you to access all shell programs properly.
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