First you must create your page(s) with appropriate software and view in a browser so you know it will display to your satisfaction on the Web. There are many variations of software available for html publishing and html coding and design is beyond the scope of this page. Some like Netscape Gold and Microsoft Frontpage allow you to publish pages to the Web from within the application and no knowledge of code is required. I don't use or provide support for these applications, so you're on your own. I recommend a good HTML editor like HomeSite. Knowing the rather simple html tags can come in rather handy in case you have problems with the website once it's on the WWW. Either way, you need to know your home directory location and possibly some other information contained below, so read on BEFORE you design your webpages!

If you're going to use this page as instructions for publishing, I would print it now and read it all the way through to digest what you need to know.

After your pages and graphics are ready to publish, you will need to use an FTP application to transfer your work to your Onramp .html directory. WS_FTP comes with the Internet Startup Kit installed on Windows 3.1+ systems. It's very user friendly and I recommend it for both 3.1+ and '95-98 versions of Windows. A 32 bit version of WS_FTP is available for Windows '95-98 from my WEBsite file area (click here to go there) ... just find WS_FTP, left click it and save it to your desktop. You will need WINZIP to unpack the compressed file so make sure you have WINZIP installed first. (It's in the file area also and is self-extracting - just click it after download). When you're ready, click on WS_FTP32.ZIP icon on your desktop to unzip. After WS_FTP is unpacked, run the install program to set WS_FTP up on your computer. Finally, tidy your desktop of the zip file any any other icons (files) created by the unzip/install process by right clicking on the file and select delete. It might be handy to keep a shortcut to WS_FTP application on your desktop.

1. Start up the WS_FTP application. Take your time and make sure you type all information asked for correctly, this saves a pounding headache! IF you are administrating a virtual domain, "www.yourname.com" contact the onramp webmaster for other instructions.

2. Click NEW, a box will pop up. Session Profile can be anything to describe the session being configured. Enter "My Web Site" or whatever you wish here.

   Host Name is: 208.190.196.2
   Host Type is: UNIX (standard)
   USER ID is: YOUR MCIO Login Name (lowercase)
   Password is: YOUR MCIO Login Password (lowercase)

   You need not put anything in the account box.

3. Make SURE you click save password box or you will have to re-enter your password everytime you use the application!

   INITIAL DIRECTORIES - Note first that the backslash * \ * of DOS and Windows is a frontslash * / * on the OnRamp Server!

4. Remote Host is: /home/users/your_login_name/ ...let's say your login name is foobar. You would enter: /home/users/foobar/ ...in the box.

5. Local PC is directory where YOU have your html files on YOUR PC. Example: c:\mywebpage\

6. Once you have all information filled in correctly MAKE SURE YOU CLICK THE SAVE BOX! Most setup will be lost after one connection attempt if you don't.

1. When you are ready to transfer your files to Web Server, click OK button. If you are online you should soon see your local files on left and the empty home directory should appear on right. If not online WS_FTP should tell Windows '95 to dial the OnRamp but Trumpet Winsock users will have to be online first.

   If you don't login to FTP server correctly, there will be some error message in status line at bottom left of WS_FTP. First, make sure all info you entered is correct. If after a few attempts to connect with no luck email the Mighty Webmaster who will go in and take a look and report back to you next time he's online. He will need your login name AND password. If you'd rather not email that, just phone the OnRamp office explaining your problem and they will contact me with what's needed.

2. You will need to MANUALLY CHANGE DIRECTORIES into your .html subdirectory once on the OnRamp Web Host. You'll see some folders in your home directory on right of WS_FTP screen - .html, .term, bin, etc. Double click on the .html directory... an empty directory will appear, you are now in your .html directory. (note the dot ... dot html, .html)

3. Highlight any and all files on your pc you wish to publish on the Web. You can click and drag over all files you wish to send to Web Server. After you have files selected, click the right arrow in the middle of WS_FTP screen. FTP will begin transfering all files to your .html directory. When all is finished you will see the transfered files in the box on the right also. Your files are now on the World Wide Web!

4. Make sure you name the primary Homepage file... the one you want to come up when your URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or internet web page address, is entered in a browser : index.html (all lowercase) The primary Homepage file MUST be named index.html and nothing else. That's the filename browsers look for and again ...it MUST be named "index.html".

   You can rename files on the remote (OnRamp) system with WS_FTP just click rename. Note here you can perform many kinds of file maintenance in and under your home directory with WS_FTP. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING AS YOU CAN REALLY MESS THINGS UP FOR YOURSELF! If you should make a mistake, or get losted, after your files are on the server, email webmaster to take a look. Mighty one will either fix your problem or tell you what to do. You can make folders (subdirectories) under your home directory (folder) but NEVER rename a folder (subdirectory) that's already there unless you created it.

5. To view your page(s) on the web you would enter http://www.micoks.net/~loginname/ That is your URL. Loginname being YOUR OnRamp login name. Mine is http://www.micoks.net/~jboz/ that squiggly line is the tilde character... shifted key to absolute left of keyboard... before the 1 number key. Let's say you have three html files all linked on your page; index.html, pageone.html and pagetwo.html. If you wanted to call up pagetwo.html directly from a browser, enter: http://www.micoks.net/~yourloginname/pagetwo.html

When creating pages it's wise to suffix all html files with the .html extension. Just make sure in any return to home links or whatever you have in the pages the files have a .html extension. If you're still using Windows 3.1+ you can name the links to your files .html in the pages code. 3.1+ Browsers won't see the last character and will pull up the files just as if you named them html to view and test locally BUT remember they can't exist on the hard drive in WIN 3.1 as .html. They will just be .htm ... DOS limitation you know!!! So make the files .html in the Web Page code and remember to rename all .htm files .html once on the Web server. Why am I stressing all this? Because it's the biggest mistake budding Web Publishers make. They name all files .htm then figure out that the index file MUST be index.html on the Web to work and forget to adjust the link tags in pages and they don't work! (duh.) Links won't work if the case of the filenames are incorrect, see below. Windows '95 users don't have this problem just name all html files with the complete extension, make sure all files are named in lowercase once on Web Server.

TIP - WS_FTP has an option that allows you to convert extensions automatically, you may want to use it if you're still on Windows 3.1+ or for some reason using .htm extensions.

A VERY IMPORTANT ITEM! OnRamp server is case sensitive! Jboz and jboz are NOT the same file on the Web Server. Best to make all file names lower case when creating pages and on Web. WS_FTP has an option to convert to all lowercase as you transfer, use it!

For the purist... if you name a file MyFile.HTM and you REFERENCE it as such in your link tag ... it will come up ...but why make things complicated???

Good luck and happy Web Publishing!

Hayden BoZ Boswell
MCIO Webmaster