The first thing to do is set up an FTP session profile. This tells FTP all the information it needs to connect to your site, and saves it so you only have to tell it once. Start FTP (you should have a shortcut on your desktop) and you'll see a 'Session Properties' box that looks something like the one below, but it will have a session profile in it already. You want to establish a new session, so click the 'New' button on the right.
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Host Name/Address: This is provided to you by the people with the web server. Host Type: Recommended is 'Automatic detect'. User ID and Password: These you set up with the web server people as well. |
Start by giving the Profile Name. This represents the combination of settings called a session, so FTP can automatically connect you to your site when you want to post something. Give it a name that will make sense to you -- for example, the profile of Margo's site on Roadrunner could be called 'MargoRR', or Barry's site at Internet Junction could be 'MyIJsite'.
The Host Name/Address will be given to you, and it should be something like 'dm.hccfl.edu', 'home.tampabay.rr.com'. or 'ftp.netscape.com'. Type it in exactly as it's given.
The Host Type refers to technical information about the server. Unless you're given other instructions, leave this on 'Automatic detect' and let the software figure it out.
Your User ID will probably be the name of your folder on the server. As for passwords, all the books say to use a combination of upper-case and lower-case letters and numbers. (I admit to being lazy about this.) The most important thing about your password is to choose something you will remember! It's also not a good idea to use the same password for different things. Do check the 'Save Pwd' checkbox, so you don't have to do more typing later.
Account is something that most hosts don't require. If they do, they'll fill you in on the details.
Once you've typed (or pasted) all the info in, your box should look like this (with different information, of course).
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When all the boxes are filled in, click OK. You probably won't see anything in the Remote window on the right, because you haven't posted anything yet. We'll cover that in Posting. But next, let's move on to Navigating. |
