Publishing Your
Pages
Once you have finished creating your
Web page, or perhaps an entire Web presentation and tested it on your
own system, you can publish it to a server. Right now your page
exists on your local disk; you can browse your Web page, but no one
else can. When you publish to a server, you're copying your Web pages
(HTML files) to a Web server so that others can see what you've done.
What is a Web server?
A Web server is a program that runs all
the time and waits for Web clients (such as Navigator) to connect to
it and request data, usually a file. Servers and browsers communicate
using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a language created for
transferring hypertext documents over the Web. Web servers are often
called HTTPD servers.
Note: The "D" in HTTPD
stands for daemon. A daemon is a UNIX term for a program that sits in
the background and waits for requests. You don't have to be on UNIX
for a program to behave like a daemon, so Web servers on any platform
are still called HTTPD servers, or simply HTTP servers.
Finding
a Web server
Ideally, you'll be able to publish your
Web pages using the same organization that gives you access to the
Internet. If you get access to the Internet through a commercial
provider, that organization might offer Web space that you can use as
well. Ask your system administrator if they offer Web server access.
Filename Conventions
Filenames have different conventions
and restrictions depending on the platform. It's important to
understand these distinctions before publishing your Web information,
because you want your documents to be as portable between platforms as
possible. If you are working with more than one platform, naming your
files is very important.
For example, if you're moving your
files to or from DOS-based systems, you'll need to follow the 8.3
rule, which means that file names must be only 8 characters long with
a 3-character extension. Also, if you're moving files from a Macintosh
to other systems, don't use spaces or other funny characters, use only
letters and numbers and keep your file names under 8 characters.
Using
One-Button Publishing
The one-button publishing feature in
Composer makes publishing your Web pages quick and easy. You can
select which files or directories you want to upload (publish) to a
remote server. You can also specify the remote server site.
- Choose File|Publish or click
the Publish button on the Composition toolbar. If
you have specified default publishing preferences in the Composer
Preferences dialog, those settings appear in the Publish dialog.
- Select the "Files associated with this
page" option to display all of the image files in the current
document (default). Then select any image files you want to
publish along with the document. Select the "All files in
page's folder" option to display all of the files (.HTML,
.GIF, .JPG) in the current document's directory. Then select the
files you want to publish along with the document. This is a quick
way to publish an entire Web presentation that is made up of
several HTML files. Note: If a file on the remote server
where you're publishing has the same file name as the one you're
uploading, it will be replaced with the new one without asking you
to confirm the action.
- Type the location of the remote site you want
to publish your Web pages to. For example, if you were using the
FTP protocol, the URL you entered in this box might look something
like this:
ftp://ftp.chre.vt.edu/topfolder/myfolder/
Once you've typed some locations here, in the
future you can select from the list of remote locations you've
established. Click Use Default Location to have the editor
automatically enter the location you've specified in your Editor
preferences.
- Type your user name in the appropriate space.
- Type the password for your user name in the
appropriate space. Check "Save Password" to save your
password information so you don't need to retype it each time you
publish your Web pages.
- Click OK to have Composer upload the files.
Publish Files
dialog box
Learn about each item on the Publish Files
dialog box.
About the Publish Files dialog
Lets you select which files or directories you
want to upload (publish) to a remote server. You can also specify
the remote server site.
Page Title - The title of the
page you are publishing. The title will appear at the top of the
browser window.
HTML Filename - If you have
already created and saved a page, this field is filled in. If not,
enter a filename for the current page you want to publish. The
filename must have an .htm or .html extension.
HTTP or FTP Location to publish to - Enter
the location of the remote site where you want to publish your web
page.
User name - The name you type when
accessing the network your Web pages will be located on.
Password - The password for your user
name.
Save Password - Saves your password
information so that you only need to type it in the box once instead
of each time you publish your Web pages.
Files associated with this page - Click
to display all of the files referenced by the current document. Then
select the files you want to publish along with the document. Click
Select None or Select All to quickly select and deselect files in
the list.
All files in page's folder - Click
to display all of the files in the current page's directory. Then
select the files you want to publish along with the page. Click
Select None or Select All to quickly select and deselect files in
the list.
Warning: If a file on the
remote server you're publishing to has the same filename as one
you're uploading, the newly uploaded file will replace the existing
one. You will not be asked to confirm the action.
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[ Overview ] [ Getting Started ] [ Working w/pages ] [ Paragraph Formats ] [ Character Formats ] [ Images ] [ Hyperlinks ] [ Tables ] [ Publishing ] [ Page Properties ] [ Composer Prefs. ] [ HTML and Java ] [ Design Issues ]
