| Back in Lesson 1, you experienced what a user must do to establish a connection within Contribute. The use of the connection key file is actually just one of the ways in which users can connect to a Contribute-enabled site. There are two types of Contribute connection keys: one for sites without Contribute Publishing Services enabled, and another for sites in which it has been activated. Connecting to Sites Without Contribute Publishing Services If Contribute Publishing Services and the User Directory are not enabled for your site, the older style connection keysuch as the one used in Lesson 1is generated. This connection key includes all the necessary connection informationincluding, for example, the FTP address, user name, and passwordas well as another administrator-supplied password that is needed to unlock the connection key. All the information in this connection key is encrypted with a 128-bit security algorithm. To create a connection key for a nonContribute Publishing Services site, follow these steps: 1. | In Contribute, choose Edit > Administer Websites > SiteName. When the Administer Website dialog box opens, click Send Connection Key in the Users and Roles category.
You can also get to the same Administer Website dialog box from Dreamweaver's Site Definition dialog box in the Contribute category.
Tip Macromedia has released an extension to Dreamweaver MX 2004 that makes it easier to open Contribute's Administer Website dialog box. The filename for the extension is Dreamweaver_CT3_FP.mxp, and it's located in the Dreamweaver Extension folder of the Contribute 3 CD-ROM. After the extension is installed, you can begin to administer your site in Dreamweaver by choosing Site > Advanced > Administer Contribute Site; the extension also includes objects for inserting Flash documents created with FlashPaper. | 2. | In the Send Connection Key dialog box's Welcome page, choose Yes to send your current connection information, and click Next.
If you choose No in the Welcome page, you're given the opportunity to enter different connection information. So you could, in theory, send a connection key to any other site for which you have the information. In practice, however, this is more bother than it's worth and is an infrequently chosen path.
| 3. | On the Role Information page, choose the desired role for this particular key. All defined roles appear in a list area; selecting one displays a brief description. After you choose a role, click Next.
By default, Contribute lists the three standard roles: Administrator, Publisher, and Writer; see Lesson 11 for a complete description of each of these roles. If you defined any new roles, you'll see them listed here as well.
| 4. | On the Connection Key Information page, you're given a choice to send the connection key by email or to save it to your system. You also have to enter a password that users must input in order to unlock the connection key; Contribute asks that you confirm the password by re-entering it. Do this, and click Next.
How you choose to export the connection key depends on how you plan to distribute the file. If you're setting up a connection for a single user or a small number of users, email might be the best solution. However, if you're creating a connection for a larger number of users, you might want to create a single file and store it in a common accessible location.
| 5. | After reviewing your options in the Summary page, click Done. If you choose to send the connection key via email, an email message appears with the file attached and a descriptive message written for you. All you need to do is add the relevant email address(es) and send. (Of course, you can customize the message however you like.) If you choose to save a connection key file, a Save File dialog box appears and allows you to select the location in which to store the file.
Regardless of which export method you're using, you need to pass along the password specified for this connection key. For security purposes, it's best not to include the password with the email; it should be communicated separately.
The filename for the generated connection key is a combination of the site name and the role, followed by an .stc extension. For example, a connection key file for a Publisher in the DesignDeploy site would be named DesignDeploy-Publisher.stc.
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Connecting to Sites That Use Contribute Publishing Services When Contribute Publishing Services is enabled for a site, another type of connection key is created by the Administrator. This connection key contains only the address for the Contribute Publishing Services server and is not encrypted. All role assignments and security are managed by Contribute Publishing Services, including authenticating the user by user name and password. If the User Directory service is file based, the user names and passwords are entered when the user is added to the service. For an LDAP or Active Directorybased User Directory service, the network user names and passwords are used. Contribute Publishing Servicesenabled sites actually offer three different ways to help users connect: Via a single connection key file, which can be emailed to one or more people or can be stored locally and then distributed or accessed at will. When users are assigned a particular role, via an email with a generated connection key attached and addressed to all the selected users. By entering the Contribute Publishing Services server address, preceded by the connect: protocol; that is, connect:cps.bountygeneral.com:8900.
It's important to realize that regardless of the technique used, Administrators in Contribute Publishing Servicesenabled sites mustat some pointassign roles to the users. Assigning and managing roles is discussed in Lesson 11. Let's take a brief look at how to implement each of these three techniques. Generating a Connection Key Creating a connection key to be emailed or saved locally within Contribute Publishing Servicesenabled sites is a process similar to but far simpler than that described for sites that are not using Contribute Publishing Services. This technique is especially helpful for quickly generating a connection key to be reused again and again. 1. | In Contribute, choose Edit > Administer Websites > SiteName. When the Administer Website dialog box opens, click Send Connection Key in the Users and Roles category.
| 2. | In the Send Connection Key dialog box, you're given a choice to either send the connection key by email or to save it to your system. Click OK after you make your choice.
As before, how you choose to export the connection key depends on how you plan to distribute the file. If you're setting up a connection for a single user or a small number of users, email might be the best solution. If you're creating a connection for a larger number of users, you might want to create a single file and store it in a common accessible location.
Tip The Send Connection Key dialog box also includes a connection URL (this option is discussed later in this lesson). | 3. | If you choose to send the connection key via email, an email message appears with the file attached and a descriptive message written for you. All you need to do is add the relevant email address(es) and send. (Of course, you can customize the message however you like.) If you choose to save a connection key file, a Save File dialog box appears and allows you to select the location to store the file.
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Connecting Users While Assigning Roles In Lesson 11, you learned how to assign users to a Contribute role. An option during that process generates email to send a connection key. You'll find this method particularly efficient when rolling out Contribute to large groups. 1. | In Contribute, select Edit > Administer Websites > SiteName. When the Administer Website dialog box appears, make sure that you're in the Users and Roles category and choose Add Users.
| 2. | In the Add Users dialog box, under the Search Results area, select one or more users. You can add multiple users in one operationeither by pressing the Shift key to select a range of contiguous user names or by pressing Ctrl (Command) to highlight individual names. Click Add. After the selected name(s) appear in the Users to Add list, choose a single role for all selected users from the "Role for the new users" list. Check the "Send connection key email to users" option and click OK.
It's important to note that although all selected users must be assigned to a single role, the connection key is not role specific.
| 3. | A prewritten email message appears, addressed to all the selected users. The email includes a connection key as an attachment. Customize the letter however you like and then send it.
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Connecting Users Directly One of the more interesting benefits of a Contribute Publishing Servicesenabled site is the capability to connect without a connection key. The connection key in this case really only contains an address to the Contribute Publishing Services server. Using a special keyword, users can enter the same address in the Location or URL field of Contribute's built-in browser to establish a connection. 1. | While in Contribute's Browse mode, the user clears the Location field of the browser and enters connect:CPSName (where CPSName is the server name for the Contribute Publishing Services server). Press Enter (Return) or click Go.
| 2. | The Log in to Publishing Services dialog box appears. The user enters the appropriate user name and password and then clicks OK to complete the login.
The user name and password might be specific to working with Contribute Publishing Services if a file-based user directory is employed. If the User Directory service is connected to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory server, the user name and the password that the user normally uses to log into the network is expected.
 The beauty of this approach is that after you determine the correct connection string, it can be sent in email or posted on a central Web site page.
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