How to access your Web Account via FTP
Thank you for choosing Why? InterNetworking to supply your Web/FTP hosting needs. In this document, we'll explain how to access your account via FTP in order to place your documents and files on the Why? InterNetworking Web/FTP server.
To copy files from your computer to the Web server, use FTP. "FTP" is the Internet's primary protocol for transferring computer files from one computer to another. Its an acronym standing for "File Transfer Protocol." Which FTP program you use to connect to Why? InterNetworking's web server depends on what type of computer you are using. We'll present instructions for generic FTP, MS Windows' WS-FTP, and the Macintosh's Fetch.
Windows: WS-FTP
Start up WS-FTP, and click the connect button. For "Host Name," type in "www.dirtside.com". (If you have a Corporate account, type in the name of your server instead.) Under "User-ID" type in your user name, and under "Password" type in the password to your web account. (This may be different from your main Why? InterNetworking password.)
![[Graphic: WS-FTP Open Window]](gif/wsftopen.gif)
Figure 1. WS-FTP Login Window
Once logged in, you can upload files.
Files that you put your www subdirectory are available via the web at "http://www.dirtside.com/~yourname/". If you have a Corporate account, they are also available at "http://www.yourserver.com/".
Files in your ftp directory are available via FTP at "ftp://ftp.dirtside.com/pub/users/first-letter/userid/" and via the Web at "http://www.dirtside.com/pub/users/first-letter/userid/" where "userid" is your user ID (such as "johndoe") and "first-letter" is the first letter of your user ID (If your user ID is "johndoe" the the first letter is "j".)
When you upload files, be sure you use the right transfer mode. Graphics, computer programs, compressed files and such must be uploaded in the "binary" mode while HTML, text, and imagemap files must be uploaded in "ascii" mode. The toggle switch for which mode you're using is in the lower right hand corner of the WS-FTP window.
![[Graphic: Binary/Text toggle for WS-FTP]](gif/wsftbin.gif)
Figure 2. Text/Binary Toggle for WS-FTP
The Web Server is running a variant of Unix. This means you need to be aware that filenames are case sensitive. So, "index.html" is not the same file as "INDEX.HTML" which is not the same file as "Index.HTML." If you're not sure what the practical consequences of that are, just use lower case and you won't have any problems.
The Web Server knows about five different "default" files. The default file is the web page displayed when the URL you type in has a directory but not a filename. For example, "http://www.dirtside.com/~johndoe/" would cause the server to display the default file in John's www directory while "http://www.dirtside.com/~johndoe/stuff.html" would not. The default html files the server knows about are "index.html" and "index.htm". The default server side include files the server knows about are, "index-s.html", "index-s.htm", and "index.shtml". Server side include files are the ones you can put hit counters in.
Apple Macintosh: Fetch
When you start up Fetch, you will be presented with the Open Connection window. Type in "www.dirtside.com". (If you have a Corporate account, type in the name of your server instead.) Under "User-ID" type in your user name, and under "Password" type in the password to your web account. (This may be different from your main Why? InterNetworking password.)
![[Graphic: Fetch -- Open Connection]](gif/fetch-op.gif)
Figure 3. Open Connection window for Fetch
Once logged in, you can upload files.
Files that you put your www subdirectory are available via the web at "http://www.dirtside.com/~yourname/". If you have a Corporate account, they are also available at "http://www.yourserver.com/".
Files in your ftp directory are available via FTP at "ftp://ftp.dirtside.com/pub/users/first-letter/userid/" and via the Web at "http://www.dirtside.com/pub/users/first-letter/userid/" where "userid" is your user ID (such as "johndoe") and "first-letter" is the first letter of your user ID (If your user ID is "johndoe" the the first letter is "j".)
When you upload files, be sure you use the right transfer mode. Graphics must be uploaded in the "raw" mode, programs should be uploaded in "binhex" mode, and HTML, text, and imagemap files must be uploaded in "text" mode. When you select the file to upload you will be presented with these options.
Note: When you select "Text" format, Fetch will add the extension ".txt" to your filename. You should remove this before clicking OK.
![[Graphic: Upload a Binary File]](gif/fetch-ub.gif)
Figure 4. Upload a "binary" file such as a GIF or JPEG
![[Graphic: Upload a Text File]](gif/fetch-ut.gif)
Figure 5. Upload a "text" file such as a HTML page or
.map Imagemap file
The Web Server is running a variant of Unix. This means you need to be aware that filenames are case sensitive. So, "index.html" is not the same file as "INDEX.HTML" which is not the same file as "Index.HTML." If you're not sure what the practical consequences of that are, just use lower case and you won't have any problems.
The Web Server knows about five different "default" files. The default file is the web page displayed when the URL you type in has a directory but not a filename. For example, "http://www.dirtside.com/~johndoe/" would cause the server to display the default file in John's www directory while "http://www.dirtside.com/~johndoe/stuff.html" would not. The default html files the server knows about are "index.html" and "index.htm". The default server side include files the server knows about are, "index-s.html", "index-s.htm", and "index.shtml". Server side include files are the ones you can put hit counters in.
Generic (Unix, Windows, Etc.): FTP
Generic FTP works like the other FTP programs except that you type in commands on the command line. Here's an example for connecting to the Web server:
> ftp www.dirtside.com
Connected to www.dirtside.com.
220 apollo FTP server (Version wu-2.4(1)
Fri Jan 5 11:30:54 EST 1996) ready.
Name (www.dirtside.com:johndoe): johndoe
331 Password required for johndoe.
Password:
230 User johndoe logged in.
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp>
Once logged in, you can upload files.
Files that you put your "www" subdirectory are available via the web at "http://www.dirtside.com/~yourname/". If you have a Corporate account, they are also available at "http://www.yourserver.com/".
Files in your "ftp" directory are available via FTP at "ftp://ftp.dirtside.com/pub/users/first-letter/userid/" and via the Web at "http://www.dirtside.com/pub/users/first-letter/userid/" where "userid" is your user ID (such as "johndoe") and "first-letter" is the first letter of your user ID (If your user ID is "johndoe" the the first letter is "j".)
When you upload files, be sure you use the right transfer mode. Graphics and programs must be uploaded in the "binary" mode while HTML, text, and imagemap files must be uploaded in "ascii" mode. Here's how to set those two modes:
ftp> binary 200 Type set to I. ftp> ascii 200 Type set to A. ftp>
You can get a directory listing with "dir", download files with "get," and upload files with "put," and change directories with "cd."
ftp> dir
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
total 1130
lrwxrwxrwx 1 johndoe webuser 31 Jan 17 00:03 ftp ->
/apollo2/ftp/pub/users/j/johndoe
drwxr-xr-x 13 johndoe webuser 1024 Feb 4 11:56 www
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> cd www
250 CWD command successful.
ftp>
The Web Server is running a variant of Unix. This means you need to be aware that filenames are case sensitive. So, "index.html" is not the same file as "INDEX.HTML" which is not the same file as "Index.HTML." If you're not sure what the practical consequences of that are, just use lower case and you won't have any problems.
The Web Server knows about five different "default" files. The default file is the web page displayed when the URL you type in has a directory but not a filename. For example, "http://www.dirtside.com/~johndoe/" would cause the server to display the default file in John's www directory while "http://www.dirtside.com/~johndoe/stuff.html" would not. The default html files the server knows about are "index.html" and "index.htm". The default server side include files the server knows about are, "index-s.html", "index-s.htm", and "index.shtml". Server side include files are the ones you can put hit counters in.
Corporate and Corporate deluxe customers may also log in to the server with "telnet" and use the Unix shell prompt. You will need to this to create and compile CGI programs. If you're not familiar with Unix, we recommend that you purchase a book on the subject; an introduction to the Unix operating system is beyond the scope of this document.
It is possible to use PERL CGI scripts without telneting to the server. You must set the first line of the perl file to "#!/usr/bin/perl", you must change the file permissions (via chmod) to "755" and you must change the filename so that it ends with the extension ".cgi". Your PERL CGI script will not work at all unless you do all three of these things. If you have followed these instructions and still can't get your PERL CGI script to work, please read the page about debugging your CGI programs.
Where to put CGI programs: You can put CGI programs in any directory inside your account's "www" directory except directories that include "/cgi-bin" or "/icons" somewhere in the path. The program's filename must end with ".cgi" and the permissions must be set to 755 as well for the program to work. (see below).
Executable permissions: Each digit in the file permissions (The "755") represents a user class: The first digit is your permissions for accessing the file (or the file's owner if the file is not yours). The second digit is your group's permission to access the file (other web users but not the server program). The final digit is everyone else's permission to access the file. To calculate the value of the digit, start with 0 and add 1 if you want the program to be runable (executable), 2 if you want the program to be writable (as opposed to read-only) and 4 if you want the program to be readable. So, 755 (the value your CGI program should be) means: Read, write, and execute by you, read and execute by other web users (not the server), and read and execute by any users (the web server).
.cgi filename extension: All CGI programs must end with the extension ".cgi" and must be both readable and executable. They do not need to be in any special directory in order to work, however please be aware that the directories /cgi-bin and /icons are redirected to the public icons and cgi-bin directories, so if you try to put files there, it won't work.
The ways to do set the file permissions vary depending on what type of FTP client you're using:
Windows: WS-FTP
To use the CHMOD command with WS-FTP, click on the file listing window with the right-hand mouse button. This will bring up the FTP Menu. Select FTP Commands and then SITE. Finally, type in the command "chmod 755 program.cgi" where program.cgi is whatever program you want to change the permissions on.
![[Graphic: Chmod via WS-FTP]](gif/wsftchmd.gif)
Figure 6. CHMOD via WS-FTP
Newer versions of WS-FTP also have a "chmod" command on the menu bar that you access with the right-hand mouse button. This command will work as well.
Apple Macintosh: Fetch
To use the CHMOD command with Fetch, look under the Remote menu and select Send FTP Command down at the bottom. This will bring up a dialog box where you can type in the command. Type in "site chmod 755 program.cgi" where program.cgi is whatever program you want to change the permissions on.
![[Graphic: Chmod via Fetch]](gif/fetch-ch.gif)
Figure 7. CHMOD via Fetch
Generic (Unix, Windows, Etc.): FTP
There are several ways that may or may not work to use the CHMOD command with a general ftp client. Normally, you can type, "chmod 755 program.cgi" where program.cgi is whatever program you want to change the permissions on. Sometimes you have to type "site chmod 755 program.cgi" or "literal site chmod 755 program.cgi".
ftp> chmod 755 program.cgi 200 CHMOD command successful. ftp> site chmod 755 program.cgi 200 CHMOD command successful. ftp> literal site chmod 755 program.cgi 200 CHMOD command successful. ftp>
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