Section 71. Configure the Settings to Publish Your Site

71. Configure the Settings to Publish Your Site

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

37 Use the File Manager

SEE ALSO

36 Preview and Use the Easy Upload

Using FTP requires that you have an exact address on the Internet where you are supposed to send your files. You need to get this from your service provider. When you log into the support page, there is usually an entry in the FAQ that gives you all the information and even step-by-step instructions on how to set up different programs to use FTP to manipulate your site. In my case, I have upgraded my GeoCities registration to GeoCities Pro, which enables me to upload files via FTP.

Once upgraded, there is a link on the GeoCities home page to your FTP settings in the right column when you log in to your account.

In my case, the host is ftp.geocities.com, my username is tacothechook , and my password is whatever I used as my password when I originally set up the account.

The FTP settings for any site can be used in any program to connect with that server, so you don't need to use a GeoCities program such as File Manager to connect to your GeoCities site. You can use Netscape Composer, Macromedia Dreamweaver, HomeSite, Microsoft FrontPage , an FTP-only program such as SmartFTP , or even Microsoft Internet Explorer to upload your files to your website.

1.	Write Down Your FTP Settings Get your FTP settings from your service provider and write them down where you are going to remember them and have them ready. 71. Configure the Settings to Publish Your Site
2.	Open the Page You Want to Upload Open the page you want to upload and click on the Publish button on the Composition toolbar. The Publish Page dialog box comes up on the Publish tab. You are going to use that in the next task. Click on the Settings tab.
3.	Enter Your FTP Information In the Site Name box, enter an easy name that will help you differentiate this site from others you create. In the Publishing Address box, enter the address of the FTP server. In the HTTP Address of Your Homepage box, enter the web address of your site. In the Login Information section, enter your username and password. KEY TERM FTP File Transfer Protocol is a web protocol much like HTTP ( H ypertext T ransfer P rotocol) that moves information around the Web. The difference between the two is that HTTP opens a connection between the server and the browser, downloads the information (like a web page), and then closes the connection so that other browsers can access the server. FTP creates a connection and then leaves that connection open for a time to allow files to move to and from the server. This forces the server to focus on fewer dedicated connections at one time than on an HTTP server. A simple example is a bartender (HTTP) who takes orders and delivers drinks, and then goes on to take another order, and so on. An FTP server is more like a barber who focuses on one thing until it is done and then accepts another customer. The Site Name box is just plain language for "your site," so that in a list of several, you are easily able to pick the one you want without having to dig through a bunch of long addresses or cryptic names . You can call the site anything you want in this text box. The Publishing Address box is where you enter the actual FTP address of your server. You can see an example in the dialog box in which the site is preceded by ftp:// (so my address, for example, would be ftp://www.geocities.com/tacothechook ). If you get an error when you publish, this is the first place to look to see whether you might have missed the ftp:// part of the address. The HTTP Address of Your Homepage section is where you enter the home page of your site. In my case, that is http://www.geocities.com/tacothechook/index.html.
4.	Publish Your Page Click the Upload button. This uploads the page you are working on to the server address you specified. You are going to do more uploading in the next task, but you need to publish right now to save the settings for your FTP site.