Using Dreamweaver MX 2004 to Upload Your Site
To make your life simpler, Dreamweaver incorporates FTP capability so that you can easily upload your pages to a Web server. Integrating this feature also enables Dreamweaver to help you keep track of changes you make to files on your hard drive and ensure that they match the files on your Web server.
You enter information about the Web server where your site will be published on the Remote Info page of the Site Definition dialog box. You access this page by selecting Remote Info in the Category box on the left side of the Site Definition dialog box. The Remote Info page opens on the right side of the box.
You’ll find several options in the Remote Info section under the Access drop-down list. If you aren’t going to publish your site on a server, choose None from the drop-down list. If you’re going to send your site to a server on a network, choose FTP ; then use the Browse button to specify that server’s location on your network. The other options, Local/Network, RDS, Source Safe Database, and WebDAV, enable a version control system and help you keep track of changes when a team of developers is working on a site.
The most common way to publish a Web site after you develop it is to use FTP to send the site to a remote server, such as those offered by commercial Internet service providers. If that is how you’re going to publish your site, the steps coming up help you through the process.
If you’re using a remote server, such as an Internet service provider, ask your provider for the following information:
- FTP host name
- Path for the host directory
- FTP login
- FTP password
Choose FTP from the Access drop-down list in the Remote Info page of the Site Definition dialog box and follow these steps:
1. In the FTP Host text box, type the yourdomain.com of your Web server.
It should look something like yourdomain.com or ftp.yourdomain.com, depending on your server.
2. In the Host Directory text box, type the directory on the remote site in which documents visible to the public are stored (also known as the site root).
It should look something like httpdocs/ . Again, this depends on your server.
3. In the Login and Password text boxes, type the login name and password required to gain access to your Web server. If you check the Save box, Dreamweaver stores the information and automatically supplies it to the server when you connect to the remote site.
This is your unique login and password information that provides you access to your server.
4. Put a check mark in the Use Passive FTP or Use Firewall options only if your service provider or site administrator instructs you to do so.
If you aren’t on a network and use a commercial service provider, you don’t need to check either option.
5. If you don’t want to check any other settings, click OK to save your Web Server Info settings and then close the Site Definition dialog box.
If you want to continue reviewing the settings in other categories, choose Testing Server, Design Notes, Site Map Layout, File View Columns, or Contribute from the Category box on the left side of the screen.
