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Using CuteFTP to upload a site home page to the server

CuteFTP is a Windows based File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client that allows users to utilize the capabilities of FTP without having to know all the details of the protocol itself. CuteFTP simplifies FTP by offering a user-friendly Windows interface instead of a cumbersome command line utility. CuteFTP gives novice PC users the ability to upload, download and edit files on remote FTP servers around the world. You can find more about CuteFTP at http://www.globalscape.com.

Here we are going to describe how to upload your web pages to our servers step-by-step by using CuteFTP 4.0. To see the pictures related with each step, click on Step X hyperlinks.

Step 1 Open your CuteFTP 4.0 program. Set the Center Left Window to show the directory where your files that you want to upload to the web server exists. Center Left Window always shows the files and directories of your computer's hard drive. Then, click on "Site Manager" button of your CuteFTP 4.0 program.

Step 2 You will see the "Site Manager" window of your CuteFTP 4.0 on your screen. Click on "New" button of the Site Manager window to create/add a new site.

Step 3 You will have Site Settings of New Site window. Login type should be set to "Normal." Then fill the Text Boxes of "Label for site", "FTP Host Address", "FTP site User Name" and "FTP site Password". It is always better to use the "domain name" of your web site as the Label for site. FTP Host Address is the web address of your site and usually it is in the form of www.domain.com. FTP site User Name and FTP site Password are the alpha-numeric values given to you by your Web Host. In our case, Alfa-1 Associates provides you the FTP site User Name and FTP site Password. Your "FTP site connection port" should be set to 21.

Step 4 After filling all necessary fields check if your Site Settings of New Site is similar to one shown in this picture. If it is similar, then click on "Connect" button.

Step 5 If the User Name and Password you entered is correct, you will see "Login Messages" window on your screen. You will see also some FTP instructions on this window. Please read these instructions carefully. Then click on "OK" button of the Login Messages window.

Step 6 You are going to be directly connected to your web sites /users/ftp01xxxx directory. You will see a /web folder under this directory. This web folder is for site managers where they can install their own web pages. This folder is accessible at the URL http://www.domain.com/~ftp01xxxx/ on web. However, for uploading your main web site you have to go to root of your web site. For going there, click on button located on top right corner of the Center Right Window (remote window) of your CuteFTP.

Step 7 You will see that now you are in /users directory of your main web's server side. You will see the /ftp01xxxx directory of the site manager there. If there are other users of your web, you will see their directories listed under your directory. However, for uploading your main web site you still have to go to root of your web site. So, again click on button located on top right corner of the Center Right Window (remote window) of your CuteFTP.

Step 8 Now you are in the root of your main web. You see that there are four directories listed in the root. They are /certs, /logs, /users, /web. /web is the directory where you are going to upload pages of your main web site. So, click on "web".

Step 9 If you see some folders like /_private, /_vti_bin, /_vti_cnf, /_vti_log, /_vti_pvt, /_vti_txt, /images and files like _vti_inf.html, indexv1.html and postinfo.html; you have nothing to do with them. They are related with MS FrontPage extensions and they mean that you can upload your web site by using MS FrontPage. If you do not see them, there is no issue. However, you can use the images folder for installing the images of your web site, if you have designed your web pages in that way. The index.html file is the placeholder of your web site and it is generated by our server. You have to replace it with first page of your web site. So, first page of your web site should be "index.html".

Step 10 For uploading your index.html page to your web folder. Click on index.html file at your local directory by right button of your mouse. You will see a menu. Click on "Upload" from that menu.

Step 11 You will get a warning message from your CuteFTP program. Click on "Overwrite" button on that warning message window. So that, you can replace the index.html page on server side with your own index.html page.

Step 12 You will see a message on lower window (queue window) of your CuteFTP that your index.html file is being transferred to your /web folder.

Step 13 You will see on Center Right Window (remote window) of your CuteFTP program that your index.html file is transferred now.

Step 14 If you do not have other files to be uploaded to your /web folder. Hit the "Disconnect" button on toolbar of your CuteFTP program. This will close the connection between your computer and our server.

Step 15 After closing the connection, your CuteFTP window will be like shown in this picture.

Alfa-1 does not support technical help for programmers. In general, this applies to programming HTML, applications such as databases, script, CGI, ASP, or other types of automation.