Setting up your account on the web server.
1. Download an FTP client such as FileZilla. I’d recommend starting with this one, even if you choose a different client at a later point in the course.
3. Configure your FTP client (FileZilla or whichever FTP client you use) to connect to your account on the web server.
4. Know how to contact Tech Support if necessary.
There are many different FTP clients out there. FileZilla is probably a good choice as it is simple and free, and is available for both PCs and Macs. There are also a few minor drawbacks which I will discuss in class. Be sure to download the client from http://filezilla-project.org/
ONLY download this application from the URL above! There are some sites that provide downloads of Filezilla that have malware and/or viruses! However if you install from the filezilla-project folks, then you will, of course, have a legitimate and safe version of the application.
However, avoiding this is easy.
1. Only download from FileZilla's official site. However, even on FileZilla’s own home page, the first link you typically encounter on Filezilla's download page is a big button, which has the following text underneath:
"This installer may include bundled offers". This is a very disappointing behavior by some companies in which they "offer" to bundle software – much of which is useless, unnecessary, hard to remove, or some combination of all three.
2. Solution: Simply click on the link that says: "Show additional download options". The versions shown there should not have all that extraneous and unwanted material. Here is a link that takes you directly to a “safe” page from which to download the client. (Please let me know if the link is broken since it may change from time to time).
Here are the basic instructions if you are using FileZilla. However, please note that different versions of FTP software may work slightly differently. I will also demonstrate in a video.
1. Click on File -> Site Manager -> New Site
2. Choose a familiar name for this connection such as CDM Web Server
3. Under ‘Host’ enter the server name (studentweb.cdm.depaul.edu) – fortunately you’ll only have to enter this once!
4. Under ‘Protocol’ choose SFTP (not FTP). NOTE: This is important. Your ftp connection will not work if you choose ‘FTP’.
5. Look for an option or textfield labeled ‘Port’. This must have a value of 22. Many FTP clients default to a different number such as 21. So do be sure that you change it to 22 or your connection will probably not work.
6. Under ‘Login Type’ choose ‘Ask for password’.
· If you are at home or uing a laptop, your may choose ’Normal’ and it will remember your password.
7. Enter your name and password in the appropriate fields. Use your Campus Connect login and password.
8. Click on Okay
9. The first time, you may be get a dialog box saying ‘Unknown Host Key’ and offering you the option to Always trust this host. If you see this dialog, click okay (you may have to check a box first). This should be the only time you see this dialog unless you later use a different computer. Similarly if a dialog box opens up asking something along the lines of: “Do you want to change the host key?”, you can click ‘Yes’. But again, this should only happen the first time you do this.
Please see the video on the resources page. Briefly:
· The left side of the screen shows your local computer. The right side is the web server.
· To upload, you can simply drag-and-drop from the left side to the right. To download, do the opposite.
· You can also right-click one or more files and choose upload or download.
· You can also delete files, create and remove directories, and other standard file management procedures.
For various reasons (security, organization, etc) the administrators of the web server require that all files that you wish to make available on the web be placed insode a folder called public_html . This folder should already be present the first time you log into your account on the web server. If this folder is not present, you will need to create it.
http://studentweb.cdm.depaul.edu/~your_login_name/file_name.htm
NOTE:
· Note the tilde character: ~ This must be present before your login name in order for the URL to work.
· The folder public_html is NOT part of the URL.
For example, the URL to a file called ‘my_first_page.htm’ on my account on the server would be:
http://studentweb.cdm.depaul.edu/~ymendels/my_first_page.htm
The large majority of the time the files you want to give people URLs to are html files. For the most part, the ONLY files that should be uploaded (FTPd) to your account on the web server are:
- HTML files
- Images
- External CSS files
That is not to say that there is anything wrong with placing other files on your web server, but for this course, you have no need to do this.
In other words, the URL you provide should almost always be to a web document (e.g. an HTML file). So for pretty much this entire course, every single URL you will be providing for your assignments should end in 'htm' (or 'html').
For example:
http://studentweb.cdm.depaul.edu/~your_login_name/assignment5.htm --> OKAY - this is a URL to an HTML document
http://studentweb.cdm.depaul.edu/~your_login_name/assignment5_files.zip --> NOT OKAY – this is a URL to a zip file
For example, if I were to look at your folder on the web server, I do not want to see any zip files up there (unless you have a very specific reason for putting one there).
If you wish to experiment with folders, the folders must be placed inside the public_html folder. If you do not wish to use folders, you may disregard this section. So if inside your web account you wish to have a folder called it130 and another called it238, then you would create both of these folders inside the public_html folder.
Now suppose you had a file called 'mozart.htm' in your it130 folder. The URL to this file would be:
http://studentweb.cdm.depaul.edu/~ymendels/it130/mozart.htm
I have seen instances of non-functioning URLs being generated when students use this tool. However, his will almost inevitably generate a non-functioning URL. Remember to always copy and paste your URL into a browser to make sure that it is working. The requirement is that the grader or professor should be able to click on your URL and view your page. You should also review the FTP lecture which explains URLs and shows you how to come up with a properly functioning URL to your page.
As far as I know, these accounts are available through the quarter following your IT-130 class. However, you may be able to request an extension by contacting the site administrators. Also, if you take additional courses, the account should remain active.
While this is not common, some students encounter an error saying “You do not have the proper permissions to view this file.” If you are one of the unlucky few, don’t panic, the fix is easy. Please see this file. However, if all you see is ‘404 Error’ this is different. It means that the server is unable to find your file. Either you have an incorrect URL to the file, or the file is not present on the server.
This is where to turn if you are unable to either activate your CDM account, or to access your account on the web server.
· Their email address is: helpdesk@cdm.depaul.edu . They are very helpful. Do not hesitate to contact them if you are encountering difficulties.
· CDM technical support deals exclusively with issues relating to resources of the School of Computing and Digital Media.
· Nearly all questions can be answered through careful reading of this document and watching the video.