applies to versions 2003, 2002, 2000 (Note: 2002 users must explicitly type in the file name - index.htm) (Note: 2000 users disregard some options and settings)
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 loaded on your account it is recommended that you use HTTP uploads exclusively because using FTP at any time may corrupt the FPSE files.
You must understand that 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 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.
The top two options I suggest having checked, but 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 on the server a special XML file 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 this option would be unnecessary. 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 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 will list 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 and when it accepts your login the Publish To The Web dialog box then updates showing 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 providers directions and you see that folder in the file list then 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 so now all you have to do 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, image sizes and number of, and 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 they are indeed installed you'll be reading a FrontPage Configuration web page, if you don't get the page then talk to your host. If you do get the page and you are having HTTP issues that may indicate FPSE corruption, so talk to your host.