Defining
a Site
Dreamweaver's
site maintenance function includes the ability to transfer files between
your desktop computer and the campus web server. Once you have defined
a site as described below you can use Dreamweaver's "Site Files" window
to view the local and remote locations and transfer files between
them. Note:
Only the settings required to publish
pages to central CSUN web server are described in this document.
Please refer to your Dreamweaver manual for additional information.
If
you've never defined a site, you can click the Define a
Site link in the Site window of the Files
panel group to begin the process (see Figure 1, below). You can
then go through the site definition wizard
(a step-by-step setup process) or click the Advanced tab and enter
the necessary information in the Site Definition
dialog box.
FIGURE 1. Site
Window of the Files Panel Group
Using
the Site Definition Wizard
Do
one of the following to begin:
- In
the Site window of the Files
panel group, click the Define a Site link.
- From
the Site menu, choose New Site.
If
not already selected, select (click) the Basic
tab. Then go through the wizard, making selections and/or entering
information on each screen and clicking the Next button
to move to the next screen.
There
are three main sections in the procedure:
- Editing
Files — where you set up the group's local folder
-
Testing Files — where you can set up a
folder for processing dynamic pages (not discussed in this document).
- Sharing
Files — where you set up the group's remote folder
A bolded
selection at the top of the each wizard screen indicates where you
are in the process. The individual screens are explained in the
table below.
Wizard
Screen |
What
to Enter/Choose |
Editing
Files |
Enter
a short descriptive name for the site you are defining (e.g.,
COMSweb for the Communication Studies department website). |
Editing
Files, Part 2 |
Select
"No, I do not want to use a server technology".
Note:
Server technology is not supported unless contained wholly
within the user's site. |
Editing
Files, Part 3 |
Select
"Edit local copies on my machine, then upload to server
when ready". |
Testing
Files |
This
selection will not be displayed unless you said you wanted to
use server technology (Editing Files, Part 2). |
Sharing
Files |
Enter/select
the following:
- How
do you connect to your remote server? — FTP
- What
is the hostname or FTP address of your Web server? —
ftp.csun.edu
- What
folder on the server do you want to store your files in?
— ~webfolder/public_html
(where webfolder is the group's web folder). Note:
If your access is to a subfolder of public_html (rather
than the main folder), include the subfolder name: ~webfolder/public_html/subfolder
- What
is your FTP login? — Enter you campus account (e.g.,
xyz12345)
Note:
For security reasons, it is recommended
you DO NOT enter (or save) your password. You'll be prompted
for the password when you transfer files. |
Sharing
Files, Part 2 |
Select
"No, do not enable check in and check out". |
Summary |
A
summary page will display the selections you made. Click Done
to complete the process. |
Using
the Site Definition Dialog Box
Do
one of the following to begin:
- In
the Site window of the Files
panel group, click the Define a Site link.
- From
the Site menu, choose New Site.
Select
(click) the Advanced tab. Make selections and enter
information for both your local and remote site as described below.
-
For the Local Info category (already selected), enter the
following information.
Site
Name: |
Type
a short, descriptive name to identify your site (e.g., COMSweb
for the Communication Studies department website) |
Local
Root Folder: |
Click
the folder next to the text box and locate the folder on your
desktop computer where your site files are or will be stored
(e.g., C:\MyFiles\COMSweb) |
- In
the Category panel of the dialog box, select (click) Remote
Info.
-
From the Access drop-down menu, choose FTP.
-
Enter the following information in the text boxes that appear.
FTP
Host: |
ftp.csun.edu |
Host
Directory: |
~webfolder/public_html
(where webfolder is the group's web folder)
Note:
If your access is to a subfolder of public_html (rather than
the main folder), include the subfolder name: ~webfolder/public_html/subfolder |
Login: |
Enter
your campus account here (e.g., xyz12345) |
- When
finished, click OK.
Site
Definition dialog boxes (Local Info and Remote Info) are shown in
Figures 2 and 3, below.
FIGURE
1. Local Info Dialog Box for a New Site Definition
|
|
FIGURE
2. Remote Info Dialog Box for a New Site Definition
|
|
Transferring
Files
To transfer
files from the local folder (on your desktop computer) to the remote
site (on the University's central web server), do the following:
- In
the Site panel of the Files
palette (as shown in Figure 4, below), select the folder or file(s)
you want to transfer (upload). For example:
-
To transfer the entire site, select (click) the top-level
folder. You may want to make this selection the first time
you publish the site. Once the site is published you'll probably
want to transfer only files that you add or modify.
-
To transfer a single file, select (click) the desired file.
-
To transfer several files, hold down the CTRL key and click
each file to be transferred.
FIGURE 4. Site Window
![Site window](images/dreamweavermx-group-fig04.gif)
- Click
the Put File(s) button (a blue upward pointing arrow) or
choose Put from the Site menu.
-
When the "Enter Password" dialog box appears, enter the password
for your campus account and click OK.
-
A question appropriate to your transfer selection file(s), folder(s),
or the entire site will appear in a dialog box. For example:
-
If you choose to transfer the entire site, the question will
be "Are you sure you wish to put the entire site?" Click OK
to continue with the transfer; click Cancel to cancel
the procedure.
-
If you choose to transfer one or more files, the question
will be "Include independent files?" Make your selection
Yes, No, or Cancel. You can also choose
not to see this question in the future by clicking the box
next to "Don't ask me again".
Other
File Management Features
In
addition to uploading files (put) to the campus web server, you
can also download (get) files from the site. Click the Connects
to remote host button to
display the remote site. Then select (highlight) the desired file(s)
and click the Get File(s) button (a green downward-pointing
arrow) — or choose Get from the Site menu.
Deleting
files from your site — either local or remote — is simply
a matter of selecting (clicking) the desired file(s) and taping
the Delete key.
To
update the file listing, click the Refresh button .
In
short, you can use the Dreamweaver Site window in much the same
way as you can use any FTP (file transfer protocol) software. For
additional information about the Site window click the Displays
help for this window button (a question mark in a gray circle).
The
Web Address(es) of a Group's Published Site
The web
address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for any page published
on CSUN's central web server includes either the name of the web account
or some form of a group name (see Custom Web Addresses,
below). If
your group's main web page file is called index.html your
web page address is:
http://www.csun.edu/~webfolder
The
web page address for any page other than index.html is of the form:
http://www.csun.edu/~webfolder/filename
where
filename is the name of your web page file (homepage.html,
for example).
Custom
Web Addresses
If a custom web address (URL) has been assigned for your department,
organization, or other campus group, replace the "~webfolder" portion
of the URL with the assigned alias.
If
an alias exists for the group and the main web page file is called
index.html, the web page address is:
http://www.csun.edu/GroupAlias
where
GroupAlias
is a unique name assigned to your group. The
web page address for any page other than index.html is of the format:
http://www.csun.edu/GroupAlias/filename
where
filename
is the name of your web page file (homepage.html,
for example).
To
request a custom web address, contact the University Help Desk at
campus extension 1400.
A
Note About Multiple URLs:
If more than one alias has been assigned for your group, any one
of those may be used.
Example:
Academic departments might have four custom addresses, as exemplified
by those for the Department of Communication Studies shown below.
All four URLs are correct and all go to the same site.
- Full
department name:
http://www.csun.edu/CommunicationStudies
- Lowercase
department name:
http://www.csun.edu/communicationstudies
- Catalog
abbreviation:
http://www.csun.edu/COMS
- Lowercase
abbreviation:
http://www.csun.edu/coms
Questions?
If you
have questions about these procedures, please contact the University
Help Desk at (818) 677-1400 or via email to helpdesk@csun.edu. |