BCT 400 GOALS

UPLOADING YOUR WORK
TO AN ISP (Internet Service Provider)

Important information before you begin

GOALS STUDENTS: Your ISP should provide you instructions on how to upload files to your ISP account. You are going to be publishing or upoading your .html resume, your course reader, your community service page, and your own homepage, so check with your ISP about how to do this.

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT AT UA AND HAVE A BAMA ACCOUNT:
First of all you need to have an ISP to upload your work in. Being a students at the University of Alabama, you already have a Bama account and you already have web space provided your your webpages. If you don't have your Bama account, click here to know where you can get one.

Another important thing to consider is setting your Bama account shell so you can use FTP and upload your work. If you have never uploaded to Bama before, or you have not done it in a long time, it would be wise to change your shell. Click here to go to the page that will help you out with changing your shell. If your shell is not setup for FTP, then you won't be able to log in.

FTP Client

In order to be able to upload your work to your ISP, you need to have a program that will transfer your files to the remote server. This type of program is called an FTP Client. The FTP Client will connect your computer to the remote computer to be able to exchenge files.

There are many kinds of FTP Clients available. Most of them you can download online and install them in your computer for a trial period before you actually buy it. Most FTP Client programs are easily recognized because they have the word FTP in its name, for example, WS-FTP, CuteFTP, Ace FTP, etc. All these programs work basically the same way.

For this tutorial we have chosen WS-FTP LE which is also the program we have installed in the computers at the labs. However, you can use your own FTP Client you wish for your computer at home. If you do not have an FTP Client installed in your computer, just go to http://download.com and find one. Download it to your computer and install it before you befin the upload process.

Uploading using WS-FTP

Once your WS-FTP is installed (or which ever client you chose), connect to the Internet and launch WS-FTP LE (or your choice).

Click on the "Connect" button. In the "General" tab you will see areas to fill in...

Profile: any name you like
Host: Your host address -- If you are using Bama, the address is: bama.ua.edu
Host Type: automatic detect
User ID: your email name
Password: your password -- your password is encrypted so all you see are asterisks
Account: leave blank

Click "OK". The screen should look something like this:

The right side of the window is the "Remote System". In other words, it shows the files and directories/folders in the server that you have access to. In Bama, the remote system will say: /st1/smith001 (your username instead of smith001).

You should have a directory called: public_html, in Bama, or might have instructions to go to another directory. Double click on public_html to move to that directory where your webpage will be placed. If if instead of public_html you need to go to another directory where the webpage should go, just double-click on that directory.

The left side of the window is the "Local System". In other words, this is your computer. What you need to do is look for the drive and directory/folder where your webpage is located. If you need to go to a previous directory within a drive, use the arrow up (look at the image below). This will let you travel through the folders.

Now that you found your files on your hard drive or disk using the left side of the window, select the files that want to upload. You can select one file, or you can select many files at one time.

To select one file, just click on it.
To select several files together in a block, click on the first file. Then go to the last file and click while pressing the "Shift" key. Once the set of files is selected, you can release the "Shift" key.
To select several scattered files that are not together in a block, click on the first file. Then go to the next file and click while pressing the "Ctrl" key. Continue doing this until all the files you want are selected. Once the set of files is selected, you can release the "Ctrl" key.

Now, that all your selected files are highlighted, you will want to click on the right arrow

to transfer the files to your remote system. This will initiate the upload process, and you will see on the lower pare of the window that files are being transferred.

When the process is done, you will see a copy of the files you transfered on the right side in the remote system. Now that your webpage is uploaded, you can view it in your bowser. Just Open your browser and go to the address of your page. If you are in Bama and you saved in public_html, then your address will be: http://bama.ua.edu/~smith001/homepage.htm (just change "smith001" for your username, and change "homepage.htm" for the name of your webpage's main page).

Once the trnsferring of files is done just click opn "Exit" and WS-FTP LE will close. You are done.

Important to Remember:
Make sure that ALL your files (sounds, webpages, images, etc.) DO NOT USE SPACES OR SYMBOLS IN YOUR FILENAMES. Remember that many ISPs, including BAMA, are case sensitive, so there is a difference between uppercase and lowercase letters. If you use spaces your files will NOT come up when viewed online. A similar thing happens if the computer is trying to look for a name that has a different latter case, those files will not appear. BE CONSISTENT: NO SPACES, USE ONLY LOWERCASE. If any of these affect your webpage, go back, fix your problems and upload it again.

Uploading to Another Directory/Folder

Is is always a good idea to keep your projects together, but separate from one another. This will help organize your files and make it easier for you to manage. In order to do this, it is a wise idea to make new directories/folders to save a new project. For example, I can create a nre directory called "ppt" to save the Power Point project. Similarly I can do with the other projects. I might leave public_html for my personal homepage. This way I can organize my files so I can easily update them.

To create a new directory/folder, you have to be in the "public_html" directory first (or any other initial directory). Tis initial directory is "public_html" in Bama. Then click on "MkDir" on the righthand window. Type the name of the new directory (remember: no spaces or symbols, and write in lowercase). For example: I create a directory called "ppt" for my Power Point.

Then double click on the name of that new directory you created to go there.

Now find your files on your hard drive or disk using the left side of the window, select the files that want to upload. You can select one file, or you can select many files at one time.

To select one file, just click on it.
To select several files together in a block, click on the first file. Then go to the last file and click while pressing the "Shift" key. Once the set of files is selected, you can release the "Shift" key.
To select several scattered files that are not together in a block, click on the first file. Then go to the next file and click while pressing the "Ctrl" key. Continue doing this until all the files you want are selected. Once the set of files is selected, you can release the "Ctrl" key.

Now, that all your selected files are highlighted, you will want to click on the right arrow

to transfer the files to your remote system. This will initiate the upload process, and you will see on the lower pare of the window that files are being transferred.

When the process is done, you will see a copy of the files you transfered on the right side in the remote system. Now that your webpage is uploaded, you can view it in your bowser. Just Open your browser and go to the address of your page. If you are in Bama and you saved in public_html, then your address will be: http://bama.ua.edu/~smith001/ppt/homepage.htm (just change "smith001" for your username, change "ppt" for the name of the directory you created, and change "homepage.htm" for the name of your webpage's main page).