If you would like to use CGI/PERL scripts and plan on installing yourself on your directory, be sure to follow the script’s instructions, if available. Helpful instruction sets are included with most freeware CGI and PERL scripts available on the World Wide Web. When you upload your scripts, be sure to have you FTP client set in ASCII mode (click the “A” button or “ASCII” radio tab in FTP Explorer) since the file is composed of straight ASCII based text. And definitely make sure you’re uploading the scripts in the correct folder, usually titled “cgi-bin” on most servers. The “cgi-bin” directory is usually assigned special administrative permissions so that only you can access its contents over the Net. Speaking of permissions, you’ll want to set your CGI/PERL scripts to various administrative, group, and user access rights. Using Telnet (a UNIX-based environment based entirely on text), you can set permissions to either chmod 755 or 777, depending on the script’s behavior. The “chmod” command is followed by obviously the number (i.e. 755) and the location of the file you wish to apply specific permissions to. The command chmod 755 allows virtually all permissions to be implemented except “Write” permissions for the group and user while chmod 777 sets permissions for everything (Read, Write, and Execute) for all groups.

In any case, be sure to look at the files that came with your CGI/PERL script for the proper installation of the program. Many CGI/PERL packages come with a “readme” file that contains valuable information regarding the file setup. You might also want to refer to the lines following continuous number symbols (#) since these lines are not part of the CGI/PERL script’s performance and are generally intended for identification and installation guidance purposes. Number symbols are also used to “rem” (or remove) lines to make them dormant or unable to initialize from within the script without actually deleting the entire line in case its wanted in the future. (Just be careful not to “rem” too many lines because it adds to the script’s file size, which increases it’s download time.) In addition, its also important to point out that if you wish to use any special characters (i.e. “$” or “@”) you must place a backslash “\” in front of them so the script does not recognize the character as a variable (which can send an error message on-screen).

Side Note: Although Telnet may be accessed within the Microsoft Windows interface by going to “Start”, “Run…” and typing in “telnet” followed by a space and the location, most FTP clients support chmod permission settings directly within the program. You might find taking advantage of setting permissions within FTP helpful, especially since logging onto Telnet can be rather slow at times.

Also, if you don’t have a “cgi-bin” you can create one by making a new directory and using the “chmod” command to set permissions to chmod 777. Normally, you’ll want to set permissions to chmod to other directories you create from within this “cgi-bin” directory, especially for scripts that save user-inputted data (i.e. scripts that create customized Web pages).

If updating your site on a frequent basis is too much of a hassle, you can insert a JavaScript into your pages to produce the current date. You can also install another script that greets the user with “Good morning!” or “Good afternoon!” appropriately to the time of day. And best of all, its all automated so you don’t have to maintain the scripts. This is a great marketing strategy to make your visitors believe your pages are updated with current information. If you’re interested, you can test these scripts and copy/paste them to your Web pages from an excellent online resource intended as a companion Web site for the book “JavaScript for the World Wide Web.” The Web site is located at http://www.chalcedony.com/javascript. If you’re ever interested in expanding your knowledge for more powerful Web page functionality, this book is definitely worth looking into.

If you would be interested in adding news headlines that automatically update, check out http://www.isyndicate.com. Their “express” version of this service should be fine for most cases and it doesn’t cost you a dime. Basically the way this works is you sign up for their service, choose the content you want and copy/paste JavaScript code to your HTML. Whenever your page is viewed online, the user will see fresh, updated content that didn’t require you to update yourself. You might also want to look into Reuters news photographs that automatically update. This is a free service through your membership with isyndicate.com and you will have the opportunity to add additional services to your site with your membership. Just be careful you don’t make the mistake adding too much content. All of these special features can only be accessed through other servers, which means you’ll have to attach a link to these locations. With the high popularity of many of these free and useful services, you can expect a somewhat moderate delay for the additional content to load.

Updating files is easy. Simply select the file(s) you want to update and transfer it to the appropriate directory on your online account. The update occurs almost instantly.

To view Web page document updates, you may have to click your browser’s “Reload” button. The reason for this is because the programmers of Web browsers created a method where Web pages, graphics, and other content become cached. With cached Web pages, the Web sites you visit most often load faster than having to download the entire site all over again. By clicking the “Reload” button, the cache file will regenerate.

Side Note: Speaking of the caches, it’s a good idea to erase these collective files on a frequent basis (we recommend once every week) because they are known to take up large amounts of disk space and virtual memory.

The default cache folder for Netscape Communicator is: C:/Program Files/Netscape/username/Cache (where “username” is your specific username.

The default cache folder for Microsoft Internet Explorer is: C:/Windows/Temporary Internet Files

Your “host address” is generally the determinant of your URL. If you uploaded your contents to “www.pcmachines.com” or “www2.pcmachines.com”, your URL would most likely be http://www.pcmachines.com/username or http://www.pcmachines.com/~username. If none of these variations work, give your hosting provider a call and ask them how to determine your site’s URL.

If you get a listing of your directory structure instead of having your home page display, most likely you forgot to name your home page as “index.html” (the Internet standard for naming home pages). Another possible variation of a proper home page filename is “home.html”. If none of these variations work, there may be a server misconfiguration error. Contact your hosting provider if you need further assistance at this point.

To upload files with FTP Explorer, first switch to Binary mode if its not already set there (click the “B” button). We suggest clicking on the “Details” button (showing a list) on the taskbar. This will allow you to view information pertaining to a specific file’s size, type, creation date, etc. You can upload files through using the “Upload” button (the up arrow). Be sure to be in the current directory that you plan to upload the files in and that the directory matches the directory you’re uploading your files from. In the “Upload” dialog box, select the files you want to transfer (use the “Ctrl” button to select specific scattered files or click the first file and hold down the “Shift” key and click on the last file listed to select all you files in the current directory) and click “Open.” Repeat this process to upload files from other directory locations.

Side Note: If you ever want to download files from your directory, be sure to set a download path in your profile. If you download files using the “Download” button, they will download to the default path provided by FTP Explorer. This will save you valuable time trying to find your downloaded files. (You can always use the “Download To” option if you don’t set a download path or use the download feature on a less frequent basis.)

We’re going to assume that you already know how to install programs to your hard drive. If you don’t, installation is simple. If you have WinZip (available at http://www.winzip.com) or another program capable of decompressing ZIP (.zip) files, then double click on the installation icon and “unzip” them to a temporary folder (such as C:/temp). Afterwards, double-click on the “Setup” file to proceed with installation. Follow the given instructions for assistance in the program installation process.

1. Click “Next”
2. By default, the installer will specify the path “C:\Program Files\FTP Explorer”. If this is ok with you, click “Ok.” If you get a message asking if you want to create the directory, click “Yes” to continue.
3. By default, you’ll see 4 checkbox fields checked. Unless you really want to read the “readme” file to view program-related information, you can eliminate the fourth choice (deselect “Display Readme File”). This will leave you with 3 choices, which you may find useful at some point.
4. You’ll get a message saying your system needs to be restarted. Click “Yes” to restart your computer to complete the initial program set-up process.
5. Read the License Agreement and click “I Agree” if you agree to the specified terms.
6. Click “Yes” to provide an e-mail address to log onto FTP sites anonymously in the future. If you don’t have an e-mail address at this time, or wish to provide an acceptable temporary e-mail address, enter “someone@somewhere.com” for the time being. This e-mail address will serve as your password to log onto FTP sites allowing anonymous users. Click “Ok” to proceed.
7. Click “Yes” to create some sample connection profiles. You will find these profiles useful for assisting you in setting up future profiles, if needed.

Among these profiles includes addresses to the Microsoft and Netscape FTP sites. From here, you can download the most recent copy of either browser program faster on the FTP network.

At this point, the program set-up is complete. To set-up your directory to reflect your specific directory information, give your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or Web hosting provider a call. Some ISPs actually provide free hosting as a promotional offer, so it’s worthwhile checking with them. Just ask them for information on setting up your Web directory for hosting your Web site. Additionally (and if the phone lines are busy) you might want to check the company’s Web site as another option. Be sure to write this information down in the case you may need reference to it in the future or you accidentally delete your profile information. Refer to page 92 for a listing of popular hosting providers and their appropriate URL so you can obtain an account with them.

When you get this information (make sure you get the host address, login, and password), refer below for profile set-up assistance. When you load FTP Explorer (or click on the “Connect” button) you’ll see a list of profiles you created in step 7 above. Click the “Add” button to add your new profile and use the explanations and/or recommendations given below to assist your input.

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are generally supplied by your hosting provider.

• Profile Name: Use your Web site’s name
• Host Address: *
• Port: 21 (default for most servers)
• Login: *
• Password: *
• Initial Path: This field is typically non-mandatory. It’s generally used when your Web site is hosted off a shared account. It’s also helpful when you want easier, faster access to a specific area far from your root directory.
• Attempts: 1 (default). This field allows you to specify the amount of log-on attempts in the case you’re disconnected from your server due to heavy traffic, etc.
• Retry Delay: 10 (default time in seconds). This field specifies the wait period before continuing the next log-on attempt, if given.
• Download Path: This field sets the default path for all server downloads. It is typically non-mandatory but helpful if you need to download files from your account and don’t want to click the “Download To” button and specify a location all the time.
• Description: This area allows you to place a short description of your site if you maintain several Web sites at one time. We recommend you provide a copy of your username and password in this area in the case you misplace your written record or accidentally change your username and password information, usually crucial for logging on to your directory. Accidentally deleting your log-on information can easily be done in the event you select “Anonymous.”

Click the “Save” button when you’re done entering your account information.