Rotary District 9750 - Web Site Guide
(WebFile Tools you can use on a PC).       [Print This Page]

WEB TOOLS - Web Page Editor and FTP program.

A HTML (web page) EDITOR.

There are some free applications, and many others are available with differing complexity and cost. You can do simple text changes with a basic text editor (Notepad or TextEdit even), but if the formatting needs changing that is a hard way to do it unless you know HTML very well, and not many of us do. These free offerings are more than sufficient for doing a Club Web Page if you are not an expert and do not want very fancy effects. If you have a preference for another editor then use that, but if you do not have one and don't want to have to pay for one, see below. Some editors also include an FTP function, so you don't need a separate FTP program.

NVU (pronounced N-view). This is an excellent free graphical (WSIWG - what you see is what you get) web page editor, with full access to source code if needed. It grew out of Mozilla Composer (below) and is offered as a standalone program. It includes FTP function to update a web site directly. There are guides and extensions available on the NVU site.  It is available for Windows, Mac OS-X and Linux.

Mozilla Composer - Mozilla is the FREE all in one suite that preceded Firefox (browser) and Thunderbird (e-mail). It includes a component "Composer" which is a richly featured web page editor, and you can use the Mozilla browser for previewing your pages (though Firefox is now more up to date with browser and security features for normal use on the web, and NVU above is offered as a separate application).

MicroSoft FrontPage Express came free with IE5.01 and Win98 1st Ed. It was dropped from subsequent installations (MS wants you to buy FrontPage), but can be installed on its own in Win 9x and Win NT4, and probably in Win ME, and the files themselves seem to work in Windows 2000 and XP if just copied over.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol on the Internet)

You need software that the web master knows how to use to upload your updated pages to the web site. There is a wide range of options. You may have Web Folders in your Windows installation, and it is possible to edit directly from the browser. However for PC and Mac it is easier to invest in an inexpensive FTP package, which once set up is as easy to use as a file manager, and works in a similar way. You can then edit and test your files locally on your disk and upload when satisfied and when you are connected. If FTP frightens you, use of a program such as these will make it seem child's play. Suggestions:

FireFTP is a free "extension" that you can add to the free Firefox web browser. Once installed, access it from the "TOOLS" menu in FireFox, and it gives you a two pane FTP client similar to the programs below, right in the Firefox browser window. It is available for Windows, Mac OS-X and Linux.

CuteFTP can be downloaded for trial from Globalscape and bought there on the Web (~$US40), but it is a winner of many PC awards, easy to use, includes a simple text based HTML editor (which is useful for some things that FrontPage Express can't due graphically). There is a slightly more expensive "Pro" version with more bells and whistles also. The link here will take you to the Globalscape site.

WS-FTP is a similar program from IPswitch for a similar price, and is also used widely, it is the FTP program mentioned by Rotarnet, the link here will take you to their site. HOWEVER ... there is a stripped down "LE" version of this program that is FREE, within the conditions below, and use just for Rotary at home falls within (c):

WS-FTP LE Version Number: 5.08 OS: Win 9x,ME,NT,2k,XP and possibly Vista.
Revision Date: March 17th, 2000 Size: 690 KB License: Freeware
Note: This software is free of charge if :
a) you are a student, faculty member or staff member of an educational institution (K-12, junior college, college or university);
b) you are a United States federal, state or local government employee; or
c) your use of the Software is exclusively at home for non-commercial purposes.

Right click on this link to DOWNLOAD the WS-FTP-LE installer file (ws_ftple508.exe) to your disk, note where you save it, then just navigate there in Windows Explorer, and run it.

Other good similar products are around, if you are familiar with, or have another product - use that, or to unlock the FTP facilities within most 32 bit versions of Windows check out this article on ZDnet.

FTP Configuration

To access your web site via FTP there is some information that is needed from the host;
* User ID
* Password
* Host name
* Initial directory to log in to (ie your site location). Some sites, like Rotarnet, start you in your own folder when you log in via FTP and so do not need a remote path specified, other hosts may require you to specify the path as part of the login.
You should have received all this when you paid for your site. If the person that arranged it has left and you cannot locate the information in your club's files, contact the host, explain the situation and ask for them to supply it again. If your site has "rotarnet.com.au" in the address, then this is Rotarnet, see the Web Site Host Page

Click a link here to see an example site configuration in either CuteFTP or WS-FTP.

But I don't use Windows on a PC - The majority of users do I'm afraid, so most of the application information on this WebFiles PC page is mainly for that. Some above have offerings for other OS systems, and that is noted. If you don't like them and you use a different OS (operating system), like Mac or Linux, then the software you need is available and judging by your individualistic choice of OS, you are more than likely capable of locating it. For example there are over 200 listings for Mac HTML Editors, including the one included with later OS-X versions, iWeb. So it is best for you to search on the web for them.