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If you plan to share files from your iDisk's Public folder, why not add a web interface to the files within for the people who visit your .Mac HomePage? As mentioned earlier, the latest revision to the .Mac services includes a new option for creating a My Downloads sharing page as well. This section shows you how to create both a File Sharing page and a My Downloads page. 7.7.1 Creating a File Sharing PageTo create this page, just follow these steps:
Figure 7-31. Out in the Public, my iDisk's Public folder as seen through the File Sharing page.The actual web page that gets created for your File Sharing page is stored in the Sites folder of your iDisk. As Figure 7-31 shows, the file is named FireSharing # .html , where the # is an actual number that's assigned, based on which number the page is for your .Mac HomePage. (In the case of the example shown in Figure 7-31, the File Sharing page created for my site is FileSharing9.html , so it's the ninth page I've added to my .Mac HomePage.) Your iDisk's Public folder now has a web frontend to it, as shown in Figure 7-32. Figure 7-32. My HomePage's File Sharing page.The files and folders stored in your iDisk's Public folder are displayed in the file listing. This area displays the filename and its size , and includes two links: Preview and Download. If you click on the Preview link for an image file, a smaller version of the image will be displayed to the right, as shown in Figure 7-33. If you click on the Download icon, the file will download to your Mac. Figure 7-33. See pictures before you download them from someone's Public folder.If you have added any folders to your iDisk's Public folder, they too will be displayed in the file listing, as shown in Figure 7-33. If you click on a folder, the actual folder won't download to your computer; instead, you will be taken to another page, showing you the contents of that folder. Also, the folder within your iDisk's Public folder appears in the pop-up menu above the file listing, as shown in Figure 7-34. Figure 7-34. Switch between folders in your iDisk's Public folder from the pop-up menu.As mentioned earlier, if you have opted to password-protect your iDisk's Public folder, that won't apply to people who come to your File Sharing page through your .Mac HomePage. (However, it does stay in effect for people who opt to connect to your Public folder through the Finder or by using the iDisk Utility.) Unfortunately, you cannot password-protect a single page for your .Mac HomePage. Instead, if you opt to password-protect your HomePage, the password applies across the board to any page of your site that people try to enter (but once in, they're free to roam about and view and download whatever they'd like). 7.7.2 Creating a My Downloads PageThere are times when all you want to do is point someone to your .Mac HomePage for a file they can download. While this is possible by just dropping a file in the Sites folder on your iDisk and sending them a link in an email (such as http://homepage.mac.com/chuckdude/randomfile.zip), wouldn't it be nice if you could add a graphical interface for the download? Well now you can with the new My Downloads theme. When you select this theme from the File Sharing tab, you'll be taken to the Edit page for setting up your My Downloads page. To customize the My Downloads page, follow these steps:
If you're okay with the changes you've made, you can click on the button with the plus sign (+) in it to add another item to the My Downloads page, or click on the Preview button at the top of the page to view your My Downloads page. Click on the Publish button to publish the My Downloads page to your .Mac HomePage. After publishing the My Downloads page, you will be greeted with the message shown in Figure 7-37, which gives you a link to the page. Figure 7-37. Here's the link for your My Downloads page.
When all is said and done, your My Downloads page should look similar to the one shown in Figure 7-38. When someone goes to your My Downloads page, all they need to do is click on the icon for the file. Figure 7-38. The My Downloads page, as published on your .Mac HomePage. |
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