Using FTP Programs to Post Web Pages

If you're not currently a Wright State University web page publisher and would like to have access to the web server, see Requesting access to a Wright State University web server.

You may use any FTP (file transfer protocol) program to send and retrieve your html and graphic files to/from the web server. If you are connected to the campus network and are a Windows PC user, link to these online instructions for accessing the FTP program. If you are a Macintosh user, link to these online instructions or you may download Dartmouth University's free Fetch FTP program.

To change a web page, follow these steps.

1. Open Netscape and locate the page you need to change. Copy the URL to your desktop or write it on a piece of paper.

The words following the slashes are directory names. The last name in the string is usually a file name with the ending "htm" or "html." Sometimes no file name is listed. That means the file name is "index.html," "index.htm," "home.html," "home.htm," or "default.html" or "default.htm"

e.g. URL http://www.wright.edu/cwis/publish.html

This file (called "publish.html") is located in the "cwis" directory.

2. Open an ftp program. Connect to the host www.wright.edu (you will have to create a new session). Log in with your Campus username and password (given to you by CaTS). Locate the directory where your files reside on the server. Highlight the file you want to change.

3. Choose "Copy," "Get" or "Receive" (depending upon the ftp program you're using) to get your file from the web server.

4. Save the document to your hard drive. Unless you rename the document, it will use the current filename. If you're using an FTP program for Windows 3.x, the filename will convert to an 8.3 format (e.g. the file "templatenew.html" from the server will convert to "template.htm" when copied to your hard drive.

5. Make corrections to your document, then save it using A DIFFERENT NAME than is currently on the web server -- do this to safeguard the original web document because if you reload your corrected document with the same name as the original web server document, the original web document will be replaced WITHOUT asking you if you want to replace it, e.g. instead of using "publish.html," use "publish2.html." Remember the document may already have a different name than the web server document if the web server filename was converted to an 8.3 format when you downloaded it to your hard drive. (See #4 above).

6. Go back to the FTP program and BE SURE YOU'RE IN THE SAME WEB SERVER DIRECTORY from which you took the document. Then "Copy," "Send" or "Put" your corrected file with the new name onto the web server.

7. Through Netscape, type in the entire URL with the new filename (of the file you've just corrected). Check to see if it looks OK. Check any links on this page to be sure they work properly.

8. If everything is OK with your new file, rename the file back to the original (web server) filename. This will eliminate your old (web server) file.

9. Reload your document through Netscape and check once again that all links to and from your document work properly.

1. Graphic files will not transfer unless the "binary" option is chosen in the FTP program. NOTE: Fetch and some other Macintosh-based FTP programs use the term "Raw Data" as an option for binary transfers. DO NOT use "Mac Binary."

2. Transfer text files using the ASCII text option rather than binary. Then if you're using Notepad to edit your documents, the text will retain some formatting rather than appearing as one continuous line of text.

3. The web server is UNIX-based, and so it is case-sensitive. If your filename is "Getinfo.html" but the link in your HTML document says "getinfo.html," the link will not work. It's better to use all lowercase letters when creating filenames and reference lines.

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