After creating web pages on your desktop, you need to upload those files to your public_html folder in order to publish them on the web. If you want your main home page listed under your name, you must create a main web page called index.html and upload it to your public_html folder. Some html editors such as Dreamweaver have ftp programs in them. Other programs such as WS_FTP for PCs and FUGU for Macs are available for free from the internet. Mason is now recommending SSH FTP and has installed it on most university computers.

The logic of all of these FTP (file transfer protocol) programs is similar. They allow you to log in to your web space and provide you an interface for transferring files from your desktop to your web space. On most programs, the screen will be split into to halves: the left side is the PC you are working on, and the right side is the server space you have logged into. Most programs allow you to simply drag files from one side and drop them in the other side.

Using Secure FTP

Setting up your Profile

1. Double-click the Secure FTP desktop icon (or from the Start menu, select Programs, select SSH Secure Shell, and then select Secure File Transfer Client).
2. Select the icon on the menu bar labeled Profiles.
3. Select Add Profile from the list.
4. Type the name of your profile in the field (for example, mason).
5. Select the Profile menu again.
6. Select Edit Profiles.
7. Select the tab labeled Connection.
8. Enter osfl.gmu.edu (or mason.gmu.edu) in the field labeled Host Name.
9. Enter your usermame in the field labeled User Name.
10. Leave all other tabs and fields to default settings, click OK.

Uploading/Downloading

1. Once the profile is set up, click on "mason" (or whatever profile name you chose)
2. a dialog box should appear, enter your password
3. if the password is accepted, the right or server side should appear and you will see your public_html folder
4. select the file on the left or desktop side that you want to upload and simply drag and drop it on the right side.
5. if the file appears on the right it has been uploaded to your web space
6. reverse the process from left to right to download files from the server to your PC

Troubleshooting Your Web Page

If you can't see your web page when you put in the path http://mason.gmu.edu/~username, then substitute your login name for "username".

If this doesn't work, check to make sure you have an index.htnl file uploaded to your public_html folder. If yours is not called index.html, you will need to change the filename, which you can do through the FTP program by selecting the file you want to change, or you can type out the full url with the existing filename. For example: If you create a web page called fun.htm, type in http://mason.gmu.edu/~username/fun.htm.

If none of your pages are uploading, you may have a password problem. If they are uploading but not showing up in a browser, you may have a problem with the activation of your public_html folder. In either case contact the ITU Support Center at (703) 993-8870 for basic setup assistance.

You can also contact web*STAR in Johnson Center, Room 311, for assistance in designing and creating your web site. No appointment is necessary. Please bring all necessary files.

Other links for FTP and Publishing to the Web

• Setting up your public_html directory on the Mason Cluster
• Managing/Creating multiple sites on your Mason Web Site
• WS_FTP Basics and publishing to your Mason Cluster Account
• Using FTP to send and receive files from the Classweb Web Server
• Using FTP to send and receive files from the Gunston Web Server

last update: 25 September 2004