support

Island Images has built this area to help their customers and surfers maintain their web sites. In order to access some of our support material, you may need your web site id and password.

Note: most of our suggestions involve using a Microsoft OS - the most widely-used OS on the planet. If you would like suggestions in another OS or with other tools, drop us a note.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions.

Questions

1. How do I copy files to/from my web site?
2. How do I ftp files to/from my web site?
3. How do I use my browser as an ftp tool to copy and delete files?
4. What tool should I use to maintain my web pages?
5. What suggestions do you have for me to follow to maintain my web site?
6. How do I maintain web pages with Netscape Composer
7. How do I configure my email client to get my mail?

1. How do I copy files to/from my web site?
   
   Answer: use Microsoft Internet Explorer as your ftp (file transfer protocol) tool. The Internet Explorer FTP feature works much like Microsoft's File Explorer in that it allows you to navigate into folders(directories), and copy and paste files/folders. From your Microsoft Windows desktop, start Internet Explorer. In the Address text box, enter: ftp://<userid>@<yourwebsite> where the <userid> before the @ is your ftp userid, and <yourwebsite> is the domain name of your site (e.g. www.island-images.com). For example: ftp://myuserid@www.island-images.com. The browser will prompt you for the ftp userid, so provide the <userid> password at the password prompt. Microsoft Internet Explorer will then allow you to navigate the site to copy/paste/rename/delete files and directories. See next Answers for details on copy/paste/rename/delete of files. Note: Netscape also provides this capability using the same procedure detailed above.
   Also Note: You must get an ftp userid from your web site administrator.
   
   
2. How do I ftp files to/from my web site?
   
   Answer: Same as above answer :)
   
   
3. How do I use my browser as an ftp tool to copy and delete files?
   
   Answer: You can use FTP (file transfer protocol) to upload and download files to/from the web server. In this example, you will use Microsoft Internet Explorer to navigate the Web Server via ftp and you will use Microsoft File Explorer to navigate your local machine (you could also use Netscape Navigator instead of IE). To do that:
   
   • Start an FTP session. Open Internet Explorer and use the address ftp://<userid>@<yourwebsite>. The browser will prompt you for the ftp userid, so provide the <userid> password at the password prompt. The Internet Explorer FTP feature works much like Microsoft's File Explorer in that it allows you to navigate into folders(directories), and copy and paste files/folders. The browser will prompt you for the ftp userid, so provide the <userid> password at the password prompt.
   • Select web directory/file. In IE, navigate to the Web Server directory and file desired.
   • Open File Explorer. Right-click on the Start button and select Explore.
   • Select local directory/file. In File Explorer, navigate to the directory with your local files.
   • (a) to Copy from Local Machine to Web Server. Switch to File Explorer; navigate to 'From:' directory; select file to copy; select Ctrl-C (copy) or Edit>Copy. Switch to IE window; navigate to desired 'To:' directory; select Ctrl-V or Edit-Paste.
   • (b) to Copy from Web Server to Local Machine. Switch to Internet Explorer. Navigate to 'From:' directory; select file to copy; select Ctrl-C (copy) or Edit>Copy. Switch to File Explorer window; navigate to desired 'To:' directory; select Ctrl-V or Edit-Paste.
   • (c) to Delete files on Web Server. Switch to Internet Explorer. Navigate to 'From:' directory; select file to Delete, hit the Delete key. Confirm with Yes.
     
     
4. What tool should I use to maintain my web pages?
   
   Answer: The answer depends on your skill level, background, desire, and heart. But, we'll make a few suggestions:
   
   • Use Netscape Composer (get it free from the Netscape download site) to edit the pages. See the procedure below to do that (it includes detail in case you're unfamiliar with the methods). I suggest Netscape Composer because it is free, easy to use, and it doesn't add tool-specific code to the pages (like Microsoft FrontPage or Microsoft Word does). With the
   • try Eclipse. It is free and available at eclipse.org. Eclipse is an incredibly powerful tool intended for Java/JSP developers. However, you can use it for easy web page maintenance.
     
     
5. What suggestions do you have for me to follow to maintain my web site?
   
   Answer:
   
   • follow good Configuration Management principles:
     a. maintain a working copy of the website in a shared area off of the production server
     b. edit/test from the working copy
     c. promote changed files from the working copy to the production server
     d. test the promoted files
     e. always ensure you're using the most recent version from the production server
   • use a 'non-intrusive' tool to edit html like "Netscape Composer" which doesn't add tool-specific HTML code. Try to avoid Microsoft Word or Microsoft Frontpage since they do just that.
   • maintain consistency. Understand your site and use the same techniques throughout.
   • use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Define styles and use them throughout your site. Avoid applying font size or font face to text; instead use the CSS style.
   • test with Netscape as well as Internet Explorer.
     
     
6. How do I maintain web pages with Netscape Composer?
   
   Answer:
   
   • create a work directory on your local machine in which you'll put all web pages.
   • copy all web pages from the web server to a work directory on your local machine. See 'ftp' answers above for information on copying web pages.
   • make a copy of the work file on your local machine (e.g. index.htm ==> index.backup.htm).
   • open the work file index.htm with Netscape Composer. Open Netscape Composer. From Netscape Composer, select File>Open File... and navigate to the work file you created in the previous step.
   • edit the work file. From Netscape Composer, choose the 'Normal' tab (lower right). Edit the file as needed.
   • save the work file. From Netscape Composer, select File>Save.
   • continue to edit/save/test any pages of your site.
   • test your local version of the web site. Open the file index.htm in your web browser and navigate to any pages that you've changed. Confirm the correctness.
   • copy the file from the local work directory to the web server. See ftp instructions above.
   • test the web pages. Open your web browser and visit the home page of the site you just uploaded. Confirm the correctness. If you've been to the page recently, you may need to do a refresh to ensure that you aren't using a cached version of the page.
     
7. How do I configure my email client to get my mail?
   
   Answer:
   
   E-MAIL (Electronic Mail) is used for communicating by "mail" with other people on the Internet. There are many e-mail programs currently being used on the Internet, please note that our Customer Service Representatives are versed in using Netscape Mail, Internet Mail, and Eudora Pro/Light and may not have information on how to configure/use other E-mail programs.
   
   When setting up your e-mail program(s), the following settings will most likely be used when configuring the program.
   
   Incoming (POP3) Server: yourdomain.com
   (NOTE: DO NOT put 'www' or 'pop', etc. in front of the domain!)
   
   Outgoing (SMTP) Server: yourdomain.com
   (NOTE: DO NOT put 'www' or 'smtp', etc. in front of the domain!)
   
   
   **Some Internet Access Providers require you to use their SMTP server.
   
   POP3 account/user name: your username
   (This would be whatever email account is set up by the administrator)
   
   You will most likely be prompted for a password when you first try to log-in to your mail server. This password that it prompts for will be the one that is set up by the administrator.
   
   Netscape Mail
   Open Netscape Browser
   Go to Options menu bar and choose Mail and News Preferences
   Choose the Servers tab:
   a. Outgoing SMTP should be the mail server address of your dial-up company
   b. Incoming POP server should be yourdomain.com (substitute your domain name)
   c. POP3 username is the account you set up in your IMail Administration Page
   Click the Identity tab:
   a. Enter your name
   b. Enter your full e-mail address
   c. Enter your reply e-mail address
   Click Apply
   
   
   Internet Mail Setup
   Open Internet Mail
   Go to Mail menu and choose Options
   Click the Servers tab and enter your personal information
   Outgoing SMTP server should be the mail server of your dial-up account
   Incoming POP server should be the yourdomain.com (substitute your domain name)
   In the Log On Settings, enter the mail account username and the password you set for that account
   Click Apply
   
   
   Outlook Express
   Open Outlook Express
   Go to Tools menu and choose Accounts
   Select the Mail tab and the Add button
   Setup Wizard will appear. Follow the Wizard until Finish is selected
   Repeat above steps to create multiple e-mail accounts in Outlook Express
   
   
   Eudora Mail Setup
   Go to tools, options
   Click getting started:
   a. Set the pop account to user@mail.domain.com
   b. Set real name to the name you want to display when sending e-mail
   c. Set the return address as the e-mail address you want people to reply to (usually username@yourdomain.com)
   Click hosts, set the SMTP server to the one that your ISP provides
   Everything else should be set up correctly.
   
   
   Netscape Communicator Mail
   Open Netscape Communicator
   Go to Edit menu and choose Preferences
   Click on Mail and Groups and the + sign adjacent to it
   Click on Identity and enter your name and mail address
   Click on Mail Server and enter the following:
   a. Incoming POP should be yourdomain.xxx (substitute your domain name)
   b. Outgoing SMTP should be the mail server of your dial-up company
   c. Choose the POP3 radio button under Mail Server Type
   Click OK
   
   

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Tips and Tricks - Suggestions to maintain your web Site.
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