Uploading Pages

     

After testing comes uploading. If you defined your remote server information when you defined the initial site, you're ready to go online. If you left the remote information blank, you'll need to edit your site definition to add this information. Follow these steps:

  1. Select Site, Manage Sites from either the Document window or the Files panel.

  2. Select the name of the site from the Manage Sites dialog box.

  3. Click the Edit button to open the Site Definition dialog box.

  4. Edit the Remote Info category, as described in Chapter 6, "Setting Up Sites, Pages, and Templates."

    NOTE

    graphics/new_icon.jpg

    If you've used external FTP utilities in the past, take another look at what Macromedia provides. For example, you can now specify Secure FTP ( SFTP ) in your site definition's Remote Info page. Secure FTP helps protect both authentication credentials and file content via encryption; you formerly had to use third-party software if your remote site required SFTP.

  5. Click OK to close the Site Definition dialog box.

  6. Click Done to close the Edit Sites dialog box.

NOTE

graphics/new_icon.jpg

In the past, you had to set up a site to connect to a remote server. You can now perform "siteless" file editing by creating an entry in the Files panel for "FTP & RDS Server." Display the Desktop in the panel, then right-click (control-click on the Mac) FTP & RDS Servers, and choose New FTP Server. Fill out the Configure Server dialog box. Henceforth, the command File, Save to Remote Server lets you save files to that FTP server. Just remember that working siteless means you can't run site reports , link checking, and link replacement commands; you still need a full-fledged Dreamweaver site for that.


Going Online

At this point, most of your work will involve the Files panel. If you're still editing and tweaking pages, keep the panel docked to quickly move between views. Otherwise, use the Expand/Collapse button on the Files panel to open the site window (see Figure 11.5). The larger site view enables you to quickly move between the local and remote file lists and use drag-and-drop to upload and download files.

Figure 11.5. Unless you're still editing pages as you go, the expanded site window makes transferring files between the local and remote servers easier.
graphics/11fig05.jpg

The site window is divided into two panes: the local file list and the remote server. The Remote Site pane remains empty until you connect to the remote server to update the file view. To connect to the remote server, click the Connects to Remote Host button on the site window toolbar (see Figure 11.6). When you connect to the remote server, the Remote Site pane is automatically updated with a current file list. Use the same button to disconnect from the server.

Figure 11.6. The site view toolbar contains the most important options of the upload/download process.
graphics/11fig06.jpg

Toggling the Local/Remote Views

One key advantage of the site window is its display of both the local and remote file lists in the same window. After your site is live and you're doing more maintenance and updating than initial development, however, the Files panel might be more convenient . The upside of the Files panel is that it shares the screen real estate with the Document window, making it easy to edit files on the fly and then immediately upload them without changing views. The downside is that the Files panel can display only one file list at a time. To switch views, use the Files panel view drop-down menu.


Putting Files (Uploading)

Until you upload files to the remote server, the Remote Site pane will be remarkably empty. Unless you're working in a development group , the commands you use to transfer files are Get (download from the remote server) and Put (upload to the remote server).

Initially, you'll most likely want to upload the entire site to the remote server. To do this, simply click the Put button on the site window/panel toolbar. Because this can be a lengthy process, Dreamweaver asks whether you want to proceed.

CAUTION

You must select the site's root folder in the local pane to upload all the files and directories within the site. If you choose only one file or directory, just that element transfers.


To put individual files onto the remote server, follow these steps:

  1. Highlight the file or files you want to transfer in the Local Files pane.

  2. Click the Put File(s) button on the toolbar. (If the file hasn't been saved, Dreamweaver prompts you to save it.) The program asks whether you want to include any dependent files.

  3. Click Yes or No. You can also choose to suppress this option from appearing in the future by selecting the Don't Show Me This Message Again check box. The transfer then begins.

TIP

Use the (Shift) [Ctrl] key to select multiple files in the list.


NOTE

If you're using the site window as suggested, you can also select the files in the Local Files pane and drag them to the Remote Site pane, which automatically initiates the Put command.


More About Dependent Files

Because Web pages are rarely self-contained in one file, it's important to upload the images, multimedia, and CSS style sheet files to the remote server as well. Dreamweaver helps in this area by asking whether you want to upload dependent files when putting a document on the remote server. This feature is extremely useful when you upload pages initially. Later, however, you should use this option only if you've changed several of these dependent files. If only the document itself has changed--or if you've changed only one or two dependent files--it's much less time-consuming to upload only those files that have changed.

Set your preference in the Site category of the Preferences dialog box. A common setting is to get/download/check out dependent files only when prompted, but to automatically put/upload/check in dependent files. The rationale for this setting is that the most current version of an image or other dependent file usually resides in the local folder, thus you don't want it automatically overwritten by an older version on the remote server when you get a file. However, you do want to upload the most current version of a dependent file when you put the page on the server.

Getting Files (Downloading)

The opposite process to uploading is getting pages from the remote server to work with them locally. To download, select a file or files in the Remote Site pane and click the Get File(s) button on the site view toolbar, or drag and drop the files into the local folder.

Testing Your Site Online

After the site has been transferred to the remote server, the testing process starts all over again. Although you've checked the site for approximate download speeds, the download speed provided by Dreamweaver in the status bar is only an approximation based on the size of the document and the speed of the connection. After the site is on the server, you can test the accuracy of this estimate.

If you're using a broadband connection, visit the site using a standard modem, especially if your intended audience will include a significant number of dial-up users. Even if you're testing the site at various speeds, the true test comes when the site is live. If you're lucky enough to have a high volume of visitors , you might have slow- downs in access speed as the server struggles to keep up.

Putting the site onto the remote server also enables you to check for real-life cross-browser compatibility. Having the site on the remote server enables you to get the opinion of others with different configurations.

When you find mistakes, you can edit pages directly on the server. To do this, connect to the server by using the Connects to Remote Host button on the Files toolbar. If you're using the site view window, select a file from the Remote Site pane and open the file. If you're using the Files panel, the view automatically changes to the Remote view upon connecting to the server. Select a file from this view, and open it. You can then edit the file as normal. When you save the file, it is automatically saved to both the remote server and the local folder.



Using Macromedia Studio MX 2004
Special Edition Using Macromedia Studio MX 2004
ISBN: 0789730421
EAN: 2147483647
Year: N/A
Pages: 339

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