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Previously, in my article How
To Publish Your Publisher 2003 Web Publication, I covered the steps
in uploading your Publisher 2003 web publication using the more common FTP Protocol.
In this article, I cover the steps involved for HTTP publishing.
If your domain hosting account has FrontPage Server Extensions (FPSE) installed,
you can upload your web site files in the HTTP Protocol. When FPSE is present
it is recommended that you use HTTP exclusively, because using FTP may corrupt
FPSE files. Additionally, the server processing functionality provided by
FPSE requires HTTP publishing to deliver that functionality.
For example, if you have a web page form in your Publisher web publication that
form will only be functional on the server if it's published in HTTP. Publisher
uses FPSE to deliver the processing functionality to Publisher web forms.
So, if you designed a web form in your web publication you then need to have
FPSE installed (that's a host support function) and you have to publish the
web publication in the HTTP protocol.
This article assumes the following:
- you have a completed Publisher 2003 web publication
- you have an available web hosting account
- you have the http protocol URL from your web space provider (not always the
same as the FTP)
- you have a web hosting account login from the provider
With that information at hand and your web publication file open and saved and your internet connection on we'll start with a few recommended web settings.
We start with a visit in the Options. Go to the Tools menu, click on Options to open the Options dialog, go to the Web tab.
On the web tab uncheck the Rely on VML... option, and uncheck
the Allow PNG... option. Checkboxes under Encoding and under E-mail should also be unchecked.
I suggest having the first two options in the Web dialog checked, but they aren’t
required.
The Organize... option means that Publisher will create a sub-folder for your site and all site files except for the home page will be in this folder. If you prefer a folder structure and may be wanting to expand the site and build upon this then you’d want the option on. If you prefer to keep it simple and keep all site files together then you’d want the option off.
The Enable... option means that Publisher will create a special
XML file on the server that is used to keep track of your pages. At a later time
when you make a modification to the web publication and need to publish it again,
Publisher will use this file to know what pages in the publication are effected
by the modification and only upload those files rather then the entire publication.
If you have a small site or if you plan to make changes that are across the publication,
the use of the Enable option would be unnecessary. However, if you have
a large site that can take considerable time to upload or if you plan to
make very limited changes, then the use of this option can be a time saver.
Click the OK button to save the settings and close the Options dialog.
Now go to the File menu and click on Publish to the
Web... You
may receive a dialog box informing you that you need a Web host. As stated earlier,
this article assumes you have such already. Click OK to close
the dialog. Optionally, check the Don’t show option to avoid
the dialog in the future. Next, the Publish to the Web dialog appears.
In the Publish to the Web dialog box, click the My
Network Places icon in the menu.
That setting will display a list of your current Network Places. You'll now
create a new Network Place to your domain hosting account. In the File
Name box
type in the HTTP protocol URL for your hosting account (this is not always
the domain name so check with your host first) including the "http://" - for
example: http://www.yourdomainname.com - and then click the Save button.
Publisher then locates the web server and you will then receive the login dialog
box prompting you for your hosting account username and password. Input the
login information. After it accepts your login, the Publish
To The Web dialog box will then update and show that it is connected
to your web server space.
The domain name will be shown in the Save In box at the top of the dialog and your server folders and files will be displayed. Do not change, move, or delete any file or folder on the server that you (or Publisher) did not create. Such files and folders are created by the provider and may be critical to the function of the web space they are providing you.
Some providers may state that you have to upload to a specific folder. If that
is the case with your provider's directions and you see that folder in the
file list, click that folder to move into it.
The file name box will already have the sites home page file name of index.htm filled
in. All you have to do now is click the Save button.
Once the Save button is clicked, Publisher generates the html web page files
and the image files and writes all the site files to the server. The time
this process takes varies by several factors, such as publication size,
the number and size of your images, your ISP connection
speed, and the web server, itself.
Once the process has completed, close dialogs and close Publisher and then open
your browser to your web address and test the site. If you have a form be sure
to test it. Web forms cannot be tested in Publisher's Web Page Preview. You
can only test them from the server. This is because they are a server side
function.
That's all there is to publishing your Publisher web publication in HTTP.
If you are using a Publisher form here's an FYI...the confirmation page displayed
on the submit of the form is dynamically generated by the FPSE. There is
no option available to customize that confirmation page or to use your own
confirmation page.
I'll close this article with a helpful tip. If you experience issues with using
HTTP uploading or you experience issues with your published web form, you'll
want to verify your host has installed FPSE. That is very easy to do, simply
browse to a hidden web page called _vti_inf.html on your domain.
For example, http://www.yourdomainname.com/_vti_inf.html
If the server extensions are indeed installed, you'll be reading a FrontPage
Configuration web page. If you don't get that page, talk to your host.
If you do get that page, but you are still having HTTP issues, that may indicate
FPSE corruption; so talk to your host.
© 2004 David
Bartosik. David is a Software Developer and Web Site Designer. He has been a Microsoft MVP for Publisher since 2001. You can learn more about Web design
and Publisher by visiting his site at davidbartosik.com.
David is also the Editor of BARVIN, an online magazine for motivation, insight, and helpful ideas. He invites you to visit at barvin.com. You can contact him at
dbtech@davidbartosik.com.
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