Publishing Your Site

When you complete your site design and development, you're ready to publish the results. The publishing process generates the HTML pages and associated assets. When you publish, you can control the location of your published site, directing NetObjects Fusion to store your site on a local disk or a remote server.

Note: Sites published with NetObjects Fusion work with any Web server, on any operating platform. No special Web-server extensions are required. If your site contains server-side components—including NetObjects Fusion Message Board or Form Handler components, CGI scripts, or third-party components—it will require additional server setup.

This chapter describes:

• The publishing process
• Configuring the directory structure
• Setting the site's HTML output method
• Defining server profiles
• Publishing components
• Publishing your site

The Publishing Process

When you publish your site, NetObjects Fusion generates HTML pages and associated assets from the information in the Sitename.nod file, which contains your SiteStructure, page design, content, links, and assets.

You can publish your site to a local drive, a Web server on your intranet, an ISP's Web server, or any server to which you have access. If you want to test your site before you share it with the world, you can publish it to a local drive. You do not need a Web server when you publish locally. If you want a few site visitors to test your site, you could publish to a private Web server. When you are ready to share your site with the world, publish to your ISP's Web server or your company's Web server.

To publish to multiple locations, you simply set up different server profiles. The My Computer profile included with NetObjects Fusion is preconfigured to publish your site to your local drive. You do not have to do additional setup to publish locally. When you are ready to publish to a Web server, you must set up a server profile. You can create as many server profiles as you need.

To publish a site to a Web server the first time:

1.  Select Publish Setup in Publish view.

2.  Define your site's publishing settings in the Publish Setup dialog by:

1. Defining the directory structure.
    
2. Selecting the HTML output method.
    
3. Defining server profiles.
    
4. Selecting Publish components, if necessary.

Once you successfully publish, you can re-publish at any time by clicking the Publish button on the control bar. You can also modify these settings at any time and then re-publish.

Exploring Publish View

You must be in Publish view to publish your site. When you go to Publish view, it looks similar to the Microsoft Windows Explorer or the Windows NT File Manager. You can manipulate the directory structure, rename folders, create new folders, and so on in Publish view.

The Directory Structure pane on the left displays the directory structure of your site as it will be published on your server. You can delete, rearrange, or rename folders shown in the Directory pane, and you can create new subfolders at any level below the root. Components and their related assets have a black lock image on their icons, signifying that they cannot be renamed or rearranged.

The pane on the right displays the contents of the folder currently selected in the Directory pane. For each folder, page, or asset, the pane displays its name, type, attributes, and the date and time of the last local and remote publish. You can sort the content files and folders by clicking a column heading, and you can resize the columns by dragging the column heading border. The icons associated with different file types are set in the Windows File Types Registry.

Click a folder's plus sign to expand the display to show the subfolders beneath it. Click a folder's minus sign to collapse the display and hide the subfolders beneath it. Resize the Directory Structure and Contents panes by dragging the divider bar in either direction.

Configuring the Directory Structure

When you publish your site, you control the directory structure used to arrange your files and assets on the server. Setting the directory structure does not change the structure that the site visitor sees, nor does it affect the relationships or links between pages and assets. It simply defines how your pages and assets are stored on the server, and what URL is required to access them. For example, some servers require a one-level structure, with all pages, images, and other assets in the same directory; others let you set up your own directories.

NetObjects Fusion supports three pre-configured directory structures:

• Flat for servers that require all resources and assets to be in a single directory. Many commercial ISPs require this kind of structure.
• By Asset Type arranges your site contents into folders according to their asset type. This is the structure generated by earlier versions of NetObjects Fusion. For example, if your site contains a typical mix of text and media, a structure set By Asset Type arranges your contents into the structure shown below.
  
  
   
• By Site Section arranges your site contents into a directory structure that looks like your site in Site view:
      
• Your Home page and its assets are stored in the site's root directory.
• Each first-level page is stored in its own folder with its assets.
• Any child page is stored with its assets in a subfolder beneath the folder that contains its parent page. You determine the maximum number of subfolders by setting the Number of Levels option.

For example, a structure set By Site Section would have this directory structure on the server.

This setting creates the most efficient file structure, allowing your server to load your pages as quickly as possible in your site visitor's browser. It is the default directory structure setting in NetObjects Fusion. It also provides the most effective directory structure for search engines, which might index only one page per folder.

Note: If you apply the By Site Section directory structure, shared assets are stored in the deepest folder common to all pages that use that asset. This makes the shared access to those assets as efficient as possible.

To set the Directory Structure property for this site:

1.  In Publish view, click the Setup button on the control bar.

The Directory Structure tab of the Publish Setup dialog appears.

2.  Select the arrangement you want from the Directory Structure drop-down list.

3.  If you customized your directory structure and want to reset your arrangement to the default directory structure, click the Clear All Customizations button.

NetObjects Fusion removes any custom folders and changes all customized asset names back to their original, auto-generated names. See "Customizing Your Directory Structure" below.

4.  Click OK to apply the selected directory structure type.

The directory structure is revised and displayed in Publish view.

Setting the Site's HTML Output Method

The wide range of browser versions and capabilities makes it difficult to know exactly what kind of HTML tags and functions will display effectively to site visitors. Advances in HTML coding and browser abilities have also made it possible to create pages using less code and more efficient downloads—if your site visitor's browser can support it. To address these concerns and take advantage of these improvements, you can choose among several types of HTML output when publishing your site.

• Nested Tables uses Nested Table tagging and other features of the 3.2 HTML specification. This is the default output method because it produces the most predictable and consistent results onscreen, regardless of the type, version, or configuration of the site visitor's system or browser fonts. Both Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.x and above and Netscape Navigator 2.x and above correctly display pages published in Nested Tables format.
• Regular Tables uses basic HTML table tagging to deliver your design and content. Both Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.x and above and Netscape Navigator 2.x and above correctly display pages published in Regular Tables format, although site visitors' results might vary according to their system and browser font settings.

Note: If you select either Nested Tables or Regular Tables, be sure your pages do not have overlapping objects, or your published results will not be what you expected. See "Editing Objects and Assets" for information.

• CSSP+Layers uses Cascading Style Sheet Positioning code, layers, and scripts to position and publish your design and content. Both Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x and Netscape Communicator 4.x correctly display pages published in CSSP+Layers format, although the site visitors' results might vary according to their system and browser font settings.
• CSSP uses Cascading Style Sheet Positioning to achieve a high level of layout accuracy. The resulting HTML files are smaller than the files produced when you use CSSP+Layers. If you are sure all site visitors use Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher, choose the CSSP output method.
• Layers uses Layers to achieve a high level of layout accuracy. The resulting HTML files are smaller than the files produced when you use CSSP+Layers. If you are sure all site visitors use Netscape Navigator 4.0 or higher, choose the Layers output method.

2.  Click the HTML Output tab.

3.  Select the publishing method you want to use from the Output Type drop-down list.

The selected output method becomes the default for all the pages in the site, unless overridden in a specific Layout or Layout Region.

4.  In the Options section of the dialog:

• Choose a character set from the Site Character Set drop-down list.
• Use the Quote Type drop-down list to select one of the three types of quotation marks you can use in your site's text objects.

5.  Click the Advanced button to set additional HTML options. See the "Setting Advanced HTML Options" section directly below.

6.  Click OK to set the selected HTML output options.

Setting Advanced HTML Options

NetObjects Fusion includes a variety of options you use to control HTML format and generation.

1.  In Publish view, click Setup on the control bar.

2.  Click the HTML Output tab and click the Advanced button.

3.  Set the Formatting options. These settings affect only the appearance of the HTML code; they have no impact on the appearance of the site.

• Case. Choose Uppercase, Lowercase, or Initial Cap for HTML tags and attributes.
• Indentation. Choose tabs or indicate a specific number of spaces.
• Line breaks. Choose PC/Unix or Mac.
• Wrap width. Enter a value for the number of characters on each line.
• Do not format document HEAD. Select this option to exclude the HEAD section from the format settings in this dialog.
• Maximum compression. Select this option to produce the smallest possible HTML code. The code will be illegible. To restore the code, clear the option and republish the site.

5. Click OK to close the Advanced HTML Options dialog.

6.  Click OK to save the settings.

Defining Server Profiles

The last task in configuring your publishing settings is to define the local or remote server locations where you want to store the published site.

Each server profile has a name and a set of properties that define the local path name or the remote host connection settings that NetObjects Fusion uses to publish your site to that location and server. You can select a server profile or set its properties any time before you publish the site. The profile is stored with the rest of your publishing specifications in the Sitename.nod file.

NetObjects Fusion includes two default server profiles:

• My Computer, which defaults to a local setting with the target directory of My \Sitename\Local Publish.
• Remote Publish Server, which defaults to a blank remote server profile that you must fill out before publishing.

You can modify these default profiles, create your own, or delete unneeded profiles.

Defining a Server Profile for Local Publishing

1.  In Publish view, click the Setup button on the control bar.

The Publish Setup dialog appears.

2.  Select the Server Locations tab.

To modify an existing local server profile, select the profile from the list and click Edit. Continue with step 4.

3.  To create a new server profile, click Add.

NetObjects Fusion displays the Location Properties dialog with the Server Name field blank.

Enter a name for this profile in the Server Name field.

4.  Click Local and fill in the Directory field using one of these methods:

• Enter the drive and directory path you want to use. This path can point to an existing directory or create a new directory.
• Click Browse to display the Browse for Folder dialog and select the local directory you want to use. To create a new directory, browse to and select the directory immediately above the location you want, then click OK. Enter the name of the new directory at the end of the path in the Directory field.

8.  Click OK to complete the configuration of the local server profile.

Defining a Server Profile for Publishing on a Remote Server

The information needed to connect to a remote server is specific to your server. Contact your ISP or Web server administrator for the precise information to enter in these fields. For guidance on the questions you need to ask, go to the "Remote Server Access Checklist" below.

To define a remote server profile:

1.  In Publish view, click Setup on the control bar.

The Publish Setup dialog appears.

2.  Select the Server Locations tab.

To modify an existing remote server profile, select the profile from the list and click Edit. Continue with step 4.

3.  To create a new remote server profile, click Add.

The Location Properties dialog appears with the Server Name field blank.

Enter a name for this profile in the Server Name field.

4.  Select Remote and in the Remote Host field, enter the name or IP number used to connect to the remote server. This can be your site's domain name, the name of an intranet server, or the name of your ISP's server.

5.  To specify a CGI FTP port number or custom port number, or establish aliases or virtual directories for some of your site content, click Advanced to display the Advanced Settings dialog. See "Creating Aliased Folders and Setting the CGI-Bin Directory" for information.

6.  Enter the Base Directory for your site that defines where on the server your content will be stored:

• If your site's Home page should be stored in the home directory of the user ID or server account that you use to publish your site to your Web server, leave this field blank.
• If you want your site's Home page to be stored in a different directory than the home directory, enter the absolute or relative path to the Home page here, such as ./public_html/user.

For more information on the base directory setting, see "Remote Server Access Checklist."

7.  In the Name field, enter the user ID needed to log on to the remote server so you can transfer files to it.

8.  In the Password field, enter the password that authorizes this ID to access the server. To effectively publish your site, you need server permissions that let you add files and create directories, so you can transfer scripts and other executable resources to a directory on the server that lets them run.

9.  Select the Remember password option if you do not want to be prompted for your password every time you publish remotely to this server.

10.  To set the file name for the Home page of your site, use the Rename the home page as drop-down list. You can select:

• Index, which is the default page name automatically recognized by most current servers. This is the default.
• Current Page Name, which is set by the value of the Name property for the Home page.
• Home, as in Home.html.
• Default, as in default.html.

13.  Click OK to complete the configuration of the remote server profile.

Creating Aliased Folders and Setting the CGI-Bin Directory

Sometimes you need to store certain assets of your site in a location separate from the rest of your site. For example:

• You can link to programs such as CGI scripts or other executables that have to be placed in a specific CGI directory so they run properly.
• You can place an order form or other pages in a secure location that requires authorized access, without restricting access to the rest of your site.
• You can link to images or other assets that are maintained or controlled by others, and stored in a protected location.

Note: You cannot do this with NetObjects Fusion's Message Board or Form Handler components.

To do this, you create alias folders, using a process in which you define two locations: the actual physical location where you want to FTP the pages or assets, and the URL or logical address that you want NetObjects Fusion to use when referring to that object. On some servers, this is referred to as creating " \t " "virtual folders."

Once the site is published, you or your server administrator must configure the server to look in the FTP location for assets that are described as being in the URL location. For example, your site might include several stock images from your company's marketing department, such as the company logo and other approved artwork. When you create your site, you use copies of the artwork that you stored on a local disk. When you publish and upload your site to the company server, however, you want to use the "official" images that have been approved and maintained by the marketing department.

Check with your server administrator to see if your site contents or remote server configuration requires a CGI directory or other aliases.

To specify the CGI-BIN directory:

1.  In Publish view, click Setup.

2.  Click the Server Locations tab, select a remote server, and click Edit.

3.  Click the Advanced button.

The Advanced Settings dialog appears.

4.  Enter the FTP path where CGI scripts are stored in the CGI field. This establishes an alias to the executable directory on the server where CGI scripts are kept.

You can also use the Advanced Settings dialog to define a specific server port or permissions setting—even if you are not defining aliases or virtual folders. Depending on your Web server configuration, you might need to set specific permissions so your Web server software can access your published files. This section describes how to set a different permission string to override the default permissions normally set by NetObjects Fusion. If you simply want to define a specific server port or permissions setting for this server profile, proceed to step 10.

To create other aliased folders:

1.  In Publish view, arrange the directory structure for your site the way you want it to appear on your server.

2.  Isolate the pages or assets you want to store in an aliased location into one branch of the directory structure, under a common parent folder. If necessary, create a custom folder for each set of aliased content.

If your site requires more than one alias—such as one alias for secure pages and another alias for protected assets—you can create more than one custom folder.

3.  Drag pages and assets into the appropriate custom folder(s) as needed.

4.  Click Setup on the control bar.

The Publish Setup dialog appears.

5.  Select the Server Locations tab.

6.  Select the remote server profile that you want to change, and click Edit.

The Location Properties dialog appears.

7.  Enter remote server profile information, if needed.

8.  Position the Locations Properties dialog so you have a clear view of the Directory pane of Publish view. Refer to the directory structure to make sure you type the URL to your custom folder correctly.

9.  Click the Advanced button.

The Advanced Settings dialog appears.

10.  To specify a port or permissions setting to access this server, enter the port number or permissions flag in the appropriate field.

11.  To add a new alias, click the Add button. To edit an existing alias, select it from the list, then click the Edit button.

The New Alias dialog appears.

12.  Enter the absolute or relative path from your site's root folder to the custom folder containing the aliased pages and assets as the URL Path.

Refer to the directory panel as needed to enter the path exactly as it appears, including the use of uppercase and lowercase names and spaces. For example, if you create a custom folder called \Companypix and place it under your \Assets folder, the URL Path would be./Companypix.

13.  Enter the FTP path that you want to use to actually store that folder and its contents. This FTP location must be on the same server as the rest of the site because your server profile only logs onto one server at a time.

14.  Click OK.

15.  To add additional aliases, return to step 11.

When you publish your site, NetObjects Fusion keeps all links and references to your aliased content pointing toward the URL path, but actually stores the pages and assets in the FTP location you specified.

Note: The server must be configured to support this alias. This is a system administrator task outside of NetObjects Fusion, so you or your server administrator must define the alias on the server.

Publishing Components

If you installed third-party Publish components, you can choose to publish or not publish them. These components generally perform post-publish processing of the generated HTML files.

1.  In Publish view, click Setup on the control bar.

2.  Click the Components tab.

A list of available components appears. NetObjects Fusion 4.0 does not include Publish components, so if you do not install any third-party components, such as NetObjects Fusion Connector for Allaire Cold Fusion, this tab will be blank.

3.  Select a component to turn it on.

Customizing Your Directory Structure

Although NetObjects Fusion offers three directory structures, you might need to customize your site's directory structure further. You can do this in Publish view by renaming, rearranging, or deleting site folders, creating custom folders, or changing the publishing properties for folders, pages, and assets.

Note: Customizing your directory structure does not change the appearance, design, or content that your site visitor sees; it only controls how the pages and assets are stored on the server, and the URL necessary to access the site's interior information.

Creating a Custom Folder

1.  In either pane of Publish view, right-click the folder, page, or asset where you want to add a custom folder, and select New Folder from the shortcut menu.

NetObjects Fusion adds a custom subfolder named New Folder below the selected folder or file.

2.  Enter a new name for the folder and press Enter or select another object to record your changes.

3.  Drag other folders or files into the custom folder as needed.

Renaming Folders and Files

1.  In either pane of Publish view, right-click the object and select Rename from the shortcut menu.

2.  Edit the existing object name, or enter a new name. Press Enter or select another object to record your changes.

You can rename auto-generated folders and files; NetObjects Fusion remembers the new names the next time you generate your site. Any folder or file that you rename is considered customized. If you name a customized folder with a name used by an auto-generated folder, it is still treated as a customized folder.

Aliased folders are also considered customized folders. Publish view displays them in the directory structure, even if they are empty, and tracks their name and location in the event you change them. See "Creating Aliased Folders and Setting the CGI-Bin Directory" for details.

By definition, read-only assets, such as script files used by NetObjects Fusion Components, can't be changed. NetObjects Fusion ignores attempts to move or rename read-only files.

Deleting Folders

1.  In either pane of Publish view, click the folder you want to delete, and make sure it is empty. You cannot delete a folder until it is empty, and you also cannot delete pages or assets in Publish view.

2.  Right-click the folder and select Delete Folder from the shortcut menu.

NetObjects Fusion deletes the folder.

After you delete a customized folder, the next time you publish the site, NetObjects Fusion recreates auto-generated assets that it needs.

Rearranging the Directory Structure

In either pane of Publish view, click the folder, page, or asset and drag it to its new location.

NetObjects Fusion moves the object and updates all references to it.

If you move pages, NetObjects Fusion remembers their new locations, but might continue to auto-generate folders needed to contain that page's assets. Components and their related assets have a black lock image on their icons, signifying that they cannot be renamed or rearranged.

Viewing and Setting Publication Properties

In addition to their other properties, your site's folders, pages, and assets have publishing properties that indicate or control the way they are included in your published site. Three of these publication properties are indicators of the publishing status for that folder, page, or asset:

• Folders, pages, and assets that were renamed or moved from their default location have a customized publication property. Customized assets display a C in the Attributes column in Assets view, and a checkmark in the Customized option in the Attributes section of the Properties dialog.
• Some folders, pages, and assets are marked read-only:
• Assets created by NetObjects Fusion components, such as Site Mapper or Message Board.
• Dependent Java .class files that were added to the site's assets. When you add a Java object and preview or publish your site, NetObjects Fusion analyzes the object's .class file to see if it calls for other .class files; if so, those dependent .class files are added as read-only assets.

• Pages and assets have two published date properties that display the latest publication date in both the Last Remote Publish and Last Local Publish columns of the Contents pane.
• If an asset was never published locally or remotely, it displays Never Published in red in the appropriate column, and has a check in the Needs Publishing option of the publication Properties dialog.
• If an asset was changed since the last time it was published, it displays the Last Published date in red, and has a check in the Needs Publishing option of the Publication properties dialog. If you select Publish changed assets only when you publish this site, the assets with red dates are re-published to the server.

Suppressing a Page or Asset from the Published Site

You can also suppress publishing for a selected page or asset by setting its Don't Publish property. If you set this property, NetObjects Fusion:

• Overrides Needs Publishing or Publish changed assets setting for this page or asset.
• Displays a diagonal red slash mark through the page or file icon in Publish view and adds a D to its attribute column.
• Publishes the site without that page or asset.

To re-enable publishing for a suppressed page or asset, repeat step 1, then clear Don't Publish and click OK.

Publishing Your Site

When your publishing configuration settings are complete, you are ready to publish your site.

1.  In Publish view, click the Publish button on the control bar.

The Publish Site dialog appears.

Publish the entire site the first time. Later, if you change the site, make sure you publish the page or section with the changes.

2.  Use the Location drop-down list to select a server profile.

Click Edit to change the server profile settings. See "Defining Server Profiles"  above for details.

3.  Select Publish changed assets only to publish only those assets that changed since the last time you published the site.

NetObjects Fusion determines which assets have changed since the last time the site was published, then generates and transfers only those assets.

Note: NetObjects Fusion does not query the server to see if it has all the unchanged assets needed by the site. If you publish changed assets only, be sure you publish to the same location you did previously, so unchanged assets are still available.

4.  Select what part of the site to publish.

• Entire Site. Publishes all the pages on the site.
• Site Section. Publishes everything within a section of a site. Click the arrow (>) to display the SiteStructure. In the tree structure, double-click the base section page to publish. The section name appears in the Site Section field.

Note: Any changes made to the site while it is being transferred are not automatically made in the published version.

7.  When the transfer is complete and your site is in place, access it with your browser and examine the results. You can now make changes to the site file (Sitename.nod), and re-publish the site or its changed assets as needed.

Additional Publishing Guidelines

• Sites published with NetObjects Fusion work with any Web server, on any operating platform. No special Web server extensions are required.
• When you re-publish your site, NetObjects Fusion overwrites existing files as needed. It does not, however remove old files or obsolete assets from local or remote directories; you have to perform these housekeeping duties yourself. Delete unused assets and clean out obsolete files before publishing a new version of a site. To review "Managing Assets," click here.
• NetObjects Fusion does not automatically publish through firewalls or to proxy servers. See "Publishing with Firewalls or Proxy Servers" below.
• If NetObjects Fusion has difficulty storing your site on a remote server:
• Make sure your system is online and has a valid connection to your network or the Internet.
• Make sure the server is not down or offline.
• Make sure your server profile settings are correct. Test the remote host, account name, and password settings displayed in the Location Properties dialog by using them to log onto the server using a separate FTP or telnet application.
• Make sure your account has the appropriate permissions, and that there is sufficient storage space for your site on the server.
• If you define publishing configuration settings for a site, and then export that site as a template, those settings travel with the template. If you are sharing a template with colleagues who can use the same publishing settings, you can save time by configuring the publishing settings in advance, exporting them with a template, and then distributing the template.

Publishing with Firewalls or Proxy Servers

If you develop sites behind a firewall and need to publish to a remote server that is outside the firewall, you might be able use FTP passive mode to connect to the server.

1.  In Publish view, click Setup.

2.  Click the Server Locations tab, select a remote server, and click Edit.

3.  Click the Advanced button.

4.  In the Advanced Settings dialog, select Connect passive [PASV] mode.

If the reverse is true and your remote server is behind a firewall or stored on a proxy server, NetObjects Fusion cannot publish directly to the server. If that's the case, follow these steps:

1.  Publish your site to a local folder other than the \Sitename\Preview folder of your site. Use whatever directory structure and publishing method you would normally. The default setting, My Computer, publishes to the folder \Sitename\Local Publish.

2.  Consult with your server administrator for the preferred method of transferring content to the remote server. Potential methods include:

• Transferring the entire directory structure of the locally published site to a holding location on an unprotected server, so an authorized administrator can then transfer the site to the protected location.
• Using an FTP application such as WS-FTP or other means of access authorized by the server administrator to transfer the entire directory structure of the locally published site to the protected server.

In either instance, be sure to transfer all files and to duplicate the local folder structure precisely.

Publishing Special Assets

When you publish your site, NetObjects Fusion transfers the entire site to your designated location, including special assets you told it to manage. These special assets include things like Java classes, images and assets contained on external HTML pages, and CGI scripts. The list of managed assets included in your published site is displayed in Assets view.

There are three ways to ensure that these special assets are included in your site's managed assets when you publish:

• Include the assets when you add the object that refers to them. For example:
• If you reference external HTML pages using the External HTML tool, NetObjects Fusion automatically analyzes the external pages and includes their assets in the Asset Manager—unless you select Do not manage or move assets. If you do not select this option, you have to add the assets those pages need to the Asset Manager, using one of the two methods below. Read more in "Adding a File Asset." 
   
• If you add Java objects to your pages using the Java tool, NetObjects Fusion analyzes their .class files and adds other .class files referenced there. If you listed special assets in the Java Object Properties palette, NetObjects Fusion includes them as managed assets.
• You can add a file link to a special asset, and NetObjects Fusion manages and publishes the asset.
• You can explicitly add any special asset to the Asset Manager and select Always publish file to ensure that NetObjects Fusion manages and publishes the asset. If you select Always publish file and only publish a section of the site, NetObjects Fusion places this asset at the root of the site.

Managing Script Assets

NetObjects Fusion does not analyze custom scripts that you add to pages, MasterBorders, or other objects. If those scripts reference special assets, they are not automatically included in the site's managed assets. To have NetObjects Fusion manage and publish assets called in custom scripts, you must create file links to those assets, or explicitly add them to the Asset Manager.

Remote Server Access Checklist

Before you create a remote server profile, answer these questions.

1.  Who is your service provider? This is the ISP, organization, or department that is going to store your site on its server and provide your site visitors access to it.

The technical support staff of your service provider should be able to provide the answers to the rest of these questions. ISPs and other service providers often offer technical support pages on their own Web sites.

2.  What is the name of your remote host? This is the name of the server where you are going to store your site. It might be the same as your domain name, such as www.yourname.com; a name assigned by the service provider, such as inbox.isp.com; or a specific IP address, a series of four numbers separated by periods.

My Remote Host: ______________________________

3.  What is your base directory? When you log onto your remote host, you automatically begin in the home directory for your log-in account. This might not be the right place to put your site, however. For a variety of reasons, you might need to store your site in a subdirectory of your home directory, or in another directory altogether.

You must know the absolute or relative path from your account's home directory to the base directory where your site should be stored. When NetObjects Fusion publishes your site and logs onto your service provider, it stores your site's pages and assets in this base directory. This path statement is the value you enter for Base Directory in the Location Properties palette for remote server publishing.

However, the host and base directory might not look anything like the URL that your site visitors use to access your site. For security and other reasons, service providers frequently name their host machines and user directories according to their own needs.

My Base Directory or path to my site folder:_____________________________

Note: If you have your own domain, such as www.mycompany.com, and are logging in directly to the account that owns that domain, you might not need to specify a base directory, because the home directory of that account might be the same location as the base directory.

4.  What is the name and password for your account? You need these so NetObjects Fusion can log on to the server and store your site files.

My account name:______________
Password: _______________

5.  What is the preferred name for the default Home page? Your service provider determines what file name the server displays by default for each directory on the server. Some servers are configured to display by default any file named index; others default to home or default. You must match this preferred name in the Location Properties dialog for remote server publishing.

My server's default file name is: ____________________________

6.  What HTML file name extension does your server support? Web page servers typically support .html, .htm, or .shtml as file name extensions. Some service providers map one to the other so the server recognizes all of them; others require you to use a specific one. You must set the Location Properties dialog so NetObjects Fusion publishes files with the correct extension. You can also enter a custom extension, if your server supports it.

My server's preferred or required extension: __________________

7.  Is a specific port required for upload? The service provider might have designated a specific port on the server that it wants you to use to upload files. If so, you must specify this for NetObjects Fusion. See "Creating Aliased Folders and Setting the CGI-Bin Directory" above.

My server's custom port number: __________________

8.  Does your log-in account have the necessary permissions? Servers use permission configurations to control what users are allowed to do while logged on—whether they can delete files, for example, or create new directories.

In Publish view, you can specify the server file and directory structure that you want NetObjects Fusion to create or use for your site. Your log-in account—which NetObjects Fusion uses to store the files—must have the server permissions necessary to create the directory structure you defined.

If your service provider does not let user accounts create directories, then you must use the Flat directory structure option to publish your site.

My account does / does not have permission to create server directories.

9.  How much server space do you have? Before you publish, you should publish your site locally and check the size of the generated \Sitename\Publish folder, including all its sub-folders. Make sure the space allocated on the server is enough to accommodate all the files in the Publish folder.

My account's storage capacity: _________________________

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