Working with Web Site Files and Folders

It's best to do all site-related tasks inside Expression Web, such as creating new pages and adding files from outside your Web site, shifting files between folders, and renaming pages. We show you how to do most tasks related to Web sites in Chapter 1 and to Web pages in Chapter 2. In this section, we tell you about a few more useful housekeeping duties, especially as the size of your site grows.

Renaming files and folders

If, for any reason, you need to change the name of a file or folder in your Web site, Expression Web automatically updates all the file's associated hyper-links. This is a big deal. Back in the days of hand-coding HTML, changing a file or folder name without updating associated links throughout the site resulted in broken hyperlinks. Not so with Expression Web! The program is smart enough to search your site for links containing the old file or folder name and to update the references for you.

You can rename a file or folder in several ways, but the easiest is by following these steps:

1. In the Folder List task pane, or in any Web site view except Tasks view, right-click the icon for the file or folder you want to rename and, from the pop-up menu that appears, choose Rename.

   A box appears around the filename, and the filename is highlighted.

2. Highlight the part of the name to the left of the extension (.htm) and type a new name.

   Be sure to maintain the same filename extension so that Expression Web knows what kind of file you're renaming. Also, choose either one-word names or short words separated by a hyphen (-) or underscore character (_). You should also use only lowercase letters.

3. Press Enter.

   If the file contains associated links, the Rename dialog box appears, asking whether you want to update the links to reflect the new name.

4. In the dialog box, click Yes.

   The dialog box closes, Expression Web updates the links, and all is well.

Renaming the home page

Renaming the home page involves extra consideration. The home page must be named index.htm, index.html, default.htm, or default.html (or whatever name the host Web server recognizes as the site's default page), or else your site doesn't work properly. If you're not sure which home page filename your host Web server recognizes, give the customer service staff a call.

To make a page the home page, follow these steps:

1. In the Folder List task pane, right-click the icon for the file you want to make the home page.

   REMEMBER 

   The home page must be located in the top level of your Web site folder.

2. From the pop-up menu that appears, choose Set As Home Page.

   If your site already contains a home page named either default.htm or index.htm (or either one with the extension .html), the Confirm Rename dialog box appears.

   Expression Web just wants to make sure that you know what you're doing. If you click Yes, Expression Web renames the previous home page default_old (or index_old). Don't worry. Expression Web doesn't destroy your old home page-it just renames it. You can still open, edit, and rename the old home page, just as you can any other Web page. It has, however, lost its former status as the top dog in your Web site.

   If you click No, the dialog box closes and nothing changes.

Renaming a Web site

Need to change the name of a Web site? No problem. You can change it at any time.

REMEMBER 

A Web site name is simply a glorified folder name that Expression Web uses to identify that folder as a Web site because it contains a collection of interrelated Web pages. Your Web visitors never see the site name. Renaming a Web site is a housekeeping matter for you.

To rename a Web site, follow these steps:

1. Choose Site Site Settings.

   The Site Settings dialog box appears.

2. In the Web Name text box, type the new name.

3. Click OK.

Really. It's that easy.

To rename a subsite, follow these steps, but do so in the subsite's workspace window. (We tell you how to work with subsites next.)

Working with subsites

Small, straightforward Web sites are easy to maintain in Expression Web. As the Web site grows or the number of people involved in the site's creation and maintenance increases, keeping track of the Web site's exploding number of pages can turn into a major pain.

If your Web site is starting to resemble an ever-expanding amoeba, consider breaking the Web site into a core parent Web site with second-level tiers of information called subsites. A subsite is a complete Web site that lives in a folder inside the parent Web site.

The parent Web site/subsite setup works well when you're creating a large network of interrelated Web sites-for example, a main company site with subsites for each of the company's different products. The Microsoft Web site offers a good example; check out the Microsoft parent Web site at http://www.microsoft.com and the Expression Web subsite at http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression (dedicated to the Expression family of products).

Another example is a companywide intranet site, to which members of different departments contribute material. The entire operation exists inside a single parent Web site, but each department works on its own subsite. In this situation, you can take advantage of Expression Web workgroup features. (See the sidebar "Using Expression Web as a workgroup tool," earlier in this chapter.)

A subsite is a complete Web site in its own right. You can therefore open a subsite in its own Expression Web workspace window and manage the Web site as you see fit. This is a good way to break an overwhelmingly big Web site into easy-to-manage chunks.

You have two choices for creating a subsite: Either convert a folder inside an existing Web site into a subsite, or create a new subsite from scratch or by using a Web site template.

To convert a folder into a subsite, follow these steps:

1. With the parent Web site open in Expression Web, right-click the folder you want to convert into a subsite, and then, from the pop-up menu that appears, choose Convert to Web.

   The Microsoft Expression Web dialog box appears, warning you that pages inside the folder will be affected by the conversion. If you change your mind and decide to maintain the status quo, click No. Otherwise….

   Tip 

   The page changes relate mainly to features that only pages formerly created in FrontPage would contain (such as include files, link bars, and themes.)

2. In the dialog box, click Yes.

   The dialog box closes, and Expression Web converts the folder into a subsite. If the folder contains lots of files, the conversion may take a few moments. You can tell that the conversion has taken place because a little globe appears on top of the folder icon.

REMEMBER 

If you change your mind and want to consolidate a parent Web site and its sub-sites back into a single Web site, you can convert subsites into regular folders.

To convert a subsite into a folder, with the parent Web site open in Expression Web, right-click the subsite's folder, and then choose Convert to Folder from the pop-up menu that appears. The Microsoft Expression Web dialog box appears, listing the changes that will occur in the subsite's pages as a result of the conversion. If the changes are okay with you, click Yes to close the dialog box and convert the subsite into a folder.

To create a new subsite from scratch, follow these steps:

1. With Expression Web running, choose File New Web Site.

   The New dialog box appears, with the Web Site tab open.

2. In the New dialog box, choose the desired options for creating a new site or creating a site from one of the templates.

   We talk about how to create a new, blank site or a site from a template in Chapter 1.

3. In the Specify the Location of the New Web Site text box, change the path so that the subsite folder is inside the parent Web site folder.

   For example, if the parent Web site folder is C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\My Web Sites\nwgardening, the path for the subsite should look like this: C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\My Web Sites\nwgardening\subsitename.

   REMEMBER 

   The subsite folder name you choose should include all lowercase letters and only one word or short words separated by a hyphen (-) or underscore (_).

4. After you specify the Web site's location, in the New dialog box, click OK.

   The dialog box closes, and Expression Web creates the new subsite. The subsite appears in a new Expression Web workspace window. In the parent Web site, the subsite's folder appears in the Folder List task pane with a globe icon on top, as shown in Figure 13-4.

   
   Figure 13-4: A parent Web site with a single subsite, named plants.

You can now update and work with the subsite just like you would any other Web site.

REMEMBER 

Try to maintain a unified design or include common design elements across your subsites to help them blend with their brethren. Although a few subsites can help make a large site workable, too many can turn into a mishmash of styles that can dilute your company's cohesive look and feel.

Deleting files and folders

If your Web site contains a file that has outlived its usefulness or is otherwise cluttering your Web site, you can boot the file out with one swift click. To delete a file or folder, do the following:

1. In the Folder List task pane or in any Web Site view, click the file or folder you want to delete.

   To select multiple files or folders, hold down the Ctrl key while you click each file.

2. Press the Delete key.

   The Confirm Delete dialog box appears, making sure that you want to delete the files or folders.

3. Click Yes.

   If you're deleting more than one file, click Yes to All to delete them all in one step (rather than have the Confirm Delete dialog box pop up before deleting every single file). If you change your mind, click No or Cancel to close the dialog box without deleting the file.

Warning 

Be careful: After you delete a file or folder by using Expression Web, you can't change your mind and bring it back into existence later.

Also, if you delete a file that's the destination of a link from elsewhere in your Web site (whether that file is a Web page or a picture file), the link breaks. The damage isn't irreparable; you can always use Expression Web to find and fix broken hyperlinks. You should be aware of the problem all the same.

Backing up and moving a Web site

Expression Web enables you to copy your Web site to other locations. By backing up your Web site, you not only have a clean copy in the event of a computer glitch, but you can also maintain a working copy to use as a scratchpad so that you avoid making permanent changes to the original. You can also use this method to transfer your Web site from one computer to another, if the need arises.

To back up your Web site, you follow similar steps to the ones you would follow if you were publishing your Web site:

1. With the Web site open in Expression Web, choose File Publish Site.

   The Remote Web Site Properties dialog box appears. You use this dialog box to tell Expression Web where you want to back up or copy your Web site files.

   REMEMBER 

   If you already published your Web site on a host Web server, you can still follow these steps to back up or copy your site's files. By doing so, you don't affect the files already sitting on the host server's hard drive.

2. On the Remote Web Site tab, select the File System option.

3. In the Remote Web Site Location text box, type the path to the location to which you want to back up the Web site.

   Alternatively, you can click the Browse button to display the New Publish Location dialog box and either navigate to a folder already located on your computer or network or create a new folder by clicking the New Folder button in the upper-right corner of the dialog box.

   Do not type anything in the Site Name box. Just use the New Publish Location dialog box to navigate to a folder location. When you have located or created the folder to which you want to back up your Web site, click the Open button to return to the Remote Web Site Properties dialog box.

4. Click the Publishing tab and, in the Publish area, choose from these options:

   • Changed Pages Only: If you already backed up your Web site to this location and you want to back up only changed pages, choose this option.

   • All Pages, Overwriting Pages Already on Destination: Choose this option if you want to back up the whole Web site, regardless of whether you previously backed it up to this location.

5. If the Web site contains subsites and you want to back up the subsites at the same time, select the Include Subsites check box.

6. In the Remote Web Site Properties dialog box, click OK.

   If the path you entered into the Remote Web Site Properties dialog box doesn't yet exist, Expression Web first prompts you to create a new folder there. Click Yes.

   The Remote Web Site Properties dialog box closes, and Remote Web Site view becomes visible again. The contents of the open Web site are displayed on the left side of the view, and the contents of the publish destination are displayed on the right side, as shown in Figure 13-5.

   
   Figure 13-5: Backing up a Web site.

   REMEMBER 

   If Expression Web created a new folder in Step 6, the Remote Web Site area is blank.

7. Click the Publish Web Site button.

   A status indicator appears at the bottom of Web Site view to tell you what's going on.

   REMEMBER 

   After the work is done, an encouraging note appears at the bottom of the view, saying that your Web site was published successfully. Don't be misled: Your Web site isn't live yet. This is just the way Expression Web lets you know that the copy process went smoothly.

   To close the Remote Web Site view and return to the Folders view, click Folders in the lower-left corner of the editing window. To move your Web site to a different computer that's not connected to yours by way of a local network, follow the steps in this section to copy the Web site to an archive media (such as a USB flash drive). From the destination computer, launch Expression Web and follow this process, but specify your local computer as the remote Web site and publish the Web site from the archive media to the destination computer's hard drive.

When you publish your site on the Internet for real, follow the instructions in Chapter 12 and, in the Remote Web Site Properties dialog box, choose the option button that corresponds to the way you transfer files to your Web server (for example, FTP).

Tip 

An alternative to this method is to use Windows Explorer to copy your Web site folder to a backup device. Make sure that you copy the entire folder so the hidden metadata files also get backed up. (See the sidebar "Weird Expression Web folders," earlier in this chapter, for information about meta-data folders.)