Posting a web page

  1. Telnet to the alpha. (Remember that telnet is an internet service that essentially allows you to log on to a computer you are not in front of. The alpha is a Unix system. Recall that Unix is an operating system.) There may be an icon labeled Telnet to Alpha on your desktop, double click that. Alternatively, you may find Telnet to Alpha under Start/Programs/Internet Applications. A window will open and prompt you for your username with login: After you enter your username, it will prompt you for your password with password: Your username and password should be the same as usual (provided you never changed them). When entering your password, the alpha does NOT print asterisks or anything else in place of the letters of your password.

    The alpha may prompt you to change your password. Don't panic. If I recall correctly, you type a p to let the alpha know that you will be choosing your own password. Think up a password, something you can remember and no one else can easily guess. I think it must be at least six characters long; I recommend a longer password that contains both letters and numbers. The alpha will ask you to type your old password, then your new password, then ask you to retype (verify) your new password. (If you forget your pasword, you will have to see one of the IT staff in the basement of Wistar.)

  2. The command pp_orig. After the prompt which will look like [1] %, type pp_orig and enter. Then you will see [2] %. Unix is a command-line operating system. You've just given it a command. This command creates a public_html directory (the Unix version of a folder) and sets things up ("sets permissions") such that people can look at your page on the web. To verify this you can type ls, this will show you the files and folders in your area. You should see the public_html folder just created.

  3. Logoff the alpha. Type exit after the prompt and enter, or click on the close button (with the X) at the top.

  4. Naming your files. You have to let the computer know which file you intend a viewer to come to first on your web site. You do this by giving that file a special name: home.htm. For instance, if you are in Explorer, you can right click and choose Rename. (Unix is case sensitive; your file should NOT be HOME.htm or Home.htm.) Recall that Windows often doesn't show extensions like .htm. If you saved your file as HTML and it has the appropriate icon (part of a wheel for Netscape, a blue 'e' for Internet Explorer) then it has the proper extension. You need only worry about the filename. It must be home. Another thing about file names: Unix does not like file names with spaces in them, avoid using them in any file you intend to be a part of your web page. (Remember that if you changed a file's name, you may need to change any hyperlinks you made to it.)

  5. FTP. Now you are ready to transfer the files you have prepared to the alpha. You will use FTP (File Transfer Protocol). You can find FTP on the f drive (stu_srv1), go to the ws_ftp32 folder and click on the WS_FTP95 file icon. Three windows will appear.
    1. The first window does not always appear, it asks if you accept certain conditions, click Accept.
    2. The second window has places for you to fill in your username and (alpha) password, do so. The top spot, Profile Name will probably have ALPHA already typed in. If not use the drop down arrow to put in Alpha. Then click OK.
    3. The third window is divided into two sides: the left represents the computer you are at, the right the alpha. You must put the files into your public_html directory so double click on that folder on the right. On the left, locate the files you want to send. You may find that the floppy (the A drive), ([-a-] next to a blue icon), is down at the bottom of a long list. Highlight the files and folders you want to send. Recall that you can highlight several files at once by holding down the control key and clicking on them. Finally, click on the arrow button ®. (There are little circles (radio buttons) with the choices ASCII, Binary and Auto. I use ASCII to send .htm files and Binary to send .gif and jpg files; however, Binary will work for all of these.) Make sure you have sent all the necessary files and folders, including .htm, .gif, and .jpg files. When you send over a folder, it will ask if you want to keep the directory (folder) structure. Say yes.
    Close the FTP window.

  6. Test it. Your URL should be http://www.lasalle.edu/~ followed by your username. You should especially test your graphics and hyperlinks. It's easy to forget to send all of your graphics files over. If you created your .htm files partly on the C drive and partly on the A drive (floppy), the hyperlinks may have become confused. You can view the source. Hyperlinks tags look like <A HREF="file.htm">. If A: or C: appears in those quotation marks there's a problem, get rid of it.

  7. Permission problems. Sometimes files with no mistakes cannot be viewed on the web. This may be a permission problem. Try telneting to the alpha and typing the command pp_perm. Just follow the instructions in 1. With pp_perm instead of pp_orig.