Student Webserver - Uploading Files

In the Windows software installations there is a program in the Windows directory called ftp.exe. You can use this to upload files to the Student Webserver.

1. After run start the ftp program, you will see a DOS window appear, with an FTP prompt. Type "?" and you will see a list of accepted commands.
2. At the ftp> prompt, type: "open studweb.north.londonmet.ac.uk"
3. For User name, enter "your user id".
4. For Password, enter your network password.
5. Type: "cd public_html" or another directory
6. Type: "binary" If you are sure this is an ASCII file, you may type "ASCII". If in doubt, type binary
7. Type: "put c:\folder\file.ext" where folder is the directory path to the file you are uploading, and file.ext is the file name including the extension.
8. Type: "close" when the transfer is complete
9. Type: "quit" to exit the program and return to Windows

Example of what you might see

% ftp studweb.north.londonmet.ac.uk
Connected to studweb.north.londonmet.ac.uk.
220 Palm.unl.ac.uk (Web Server)
User (studweb.north.londonmet.ac.uk:(none)): user1
331 Password required for user1.
Password:
230 Access granted for user1 on Web Server
ftp> cd public_html
CWD command successful.
ftp> put file.jpg
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for file.jpg.
226 Transfer complete. 
129 bytes sent in 00.10 seconds (129000.00 Kbytes/sec)
ftp> close
ftp> quit

There are numerious windows ftp clients out there. In general, the process of configuring the various FTP software/interface is the same.

The following information is needed to connect to your web site via FTP:

userid 
password 
ftp hostname 

Each time you run WS_FTP the Session Profile window will be displayed. A profile contains the information needed to connect to your web site. Creating a profile now will eliminate the need for you to configure the software each time you wish to connect to the web server via FTP. To create a new profile, click the "New" button and enter a generic profile name at the top of the Session Profile window. Next, enter the userid, password and hostname for your web site as illustrated below.

Be sure to always select "Automatic Detect" for the Host Type. It is best to select "Save Password" and "Auto Save Config" to maintain these settings for future use. All other fields can be left blank. You are now ready to connect to the web server. Click "Ok" to continue.

How to Transfer Files

When you connect to the web server, you will connect directly to your ("home") directory of your account. WS_FTP will display a split screen where files on the left-hand side are within your own computer.

You can transfer files directly to the root level and/or create subdirectories. To make your home page load automatically, name the HTML document "index.htm" or "index.html" in lowercase and upload it to the root directory of your account. To upload a file or files, simply highlight the file(s) on the left and click the right-arrow button (=>) in the center of the screen. Be sure to upload HTML documents and scripts in ASCII mode and images in BINARY mode. To transfer a file to a subdirectory, double-click the appropriate subdirectory to open it before transferring the desired file(s).

As soon as a file is uploaded to the web server, it is available for all to see. If, after uploading a file, you are still unable to see the updated file via a browser, you need to clear both disk and browser cache. This function can be found by selecting Options > Network Preferences in Netscape.