Uploading Files to a Web Server

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Probably the most critical step in this entire hour involves actually uploading all the necessary files to a web server. Although you can test your files on your computer, other people won't be able to see your creation unless you put it on a web server.

A web server is a computer that is connected to the Internet and is configured to let others view files through common Internet means (such as a browser). Your computer is likely connected to the Internet, but unless you're running server software (and have the right kind of connection), other people won't be able to browse the web pages on your hard drive. Many service providers, however, provide space on their web servers for subscribers to upload files.

The process of uploading may be simple if you are running a web server on your computer. Maybe you work at a company where the process is as simple as copying files to another computer's hard drive. In the simplest of cases, you just copy the .swf and .html files to the hard drive, making sure you put them both in the same location.

If you have an Internet service provider (ISP) that gives you a certain amount of disk space on its web server, you can simply copy the files to the appropriate location. Your ISP should be able to give you more information, but the most common way of uploading files involves using a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program. There are several popular (and free) FTP programs that let you specify an FTP address, a login name, and a password to gain access to a server, where you can copy and move files. Also, Dreamweaver has a built-in feature to upload files. A simple (although not ideal) way to upload files is to use Internet Explorer and type into the address box ftp://login:password@ftp.server.com/, where login is your login name, password is your password, and ftp.server.com is your ISP's server name. Check with your ISP, but this method should allow you to copy files from your hard drive to the ISP's server all you do is drag files into the Internet Explorer window, as shown in Figure 19.11.

Figure 19.11. Although this isn't the best method, you can use Internet Explorer to upload files to a server.


Watch Out!: Many Web Servers Are Case-Sensitive

Because many web servers use Unix file-naming conventions and Unix is case sensitive, your best bet is to keep all your filenames lowercase from the start. For example, if your .fla is called myMovie.fla and you publish it, Flash will create files named myMovie.html and myMovie.swf. This is asking for trouble because if you change the .swf to mymovie.swf, the HTML file may not find it. The general rule is simple: Keep all filenames entirely lowercase.


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    Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Flash 8 in 24 Hours
    Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Flash 8 in 24 Hours
    ISBN: 0672327546
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2006
    Pages: 235

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