Setting up your account on the web server.
1. Install and Configure the "DePaul Virtual Lab" software.
3. Once on the DePaul Virtual Lab computer, access the software called "FileZilla". Configure FileZilla to connect to your account on the web server. 4. Know how to contact Tech Support if necessary. 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. Configure Your FTP Client to
Connect to the Server
Transferring Files to/from (uploading/downloading) Your Account
All documents must be inside a folder called 'public_html'
URL to Your Account on the Server
Only web page documents should be on your folder on the web server
Using folders
Do Not Use FileZilla’s ‘Copy URL to Clipboard’ Functionality
Duration of Account Access
404 Permissions Error
Contacting CDM Technical Support