This page explains how to install your home page on the WWW using the WebCom File Manager. If you prefer to install your home page using an FTP client, then please see Installing Your Home Page using an FTP client.

Note: Filenames should never have ampersands (&) in them, as ampersands are special characters in URLs.

First, login to Web Communications and select "WebCom File Manager" from the list of services provided.

Then select the "www" directory (directories are highlighted and bolded) from the list of files and directories shown.

If you have not installed any files in your account, then only a single file will be shown: "welcome.html". You will need to delete this file so that it can be replaced by your new home page. Select the "del" checkbox shown before the filename, and click on the "Submit Changes" button. A screen will appear asking you to confirm the deletion. Click on the "Confirm Deletions" button to do this. The WebCom File Manager Screen will be redisplayed without the "welcome.html" file.

Next, enter "welcome.html" in the text entry box next to the "Create File" button, and then click on the "Save File" button. This will cause the File Editing Screen to be displayed.

If your Web browser supports creating a file, then you should be able to simply copy your file from the screen of the text editor or word processor you used to create it, and paste it into the text editing box. Click on the "Save" button to save your new home page. The File Editing Screen will be redisplayed, with the contents of the saved file, and a message indicating that the file has been saved. When you return to the File Manager Screen, the list of files displayed should include your new home page. (You may need to "refresh" the list of files by clicking on the "Current Directory" listing.)

The default URL for any directory in your acccount of a user account consists of two parts: the address of the server, and the userid of the account being accessed. If a directory within the account is being accessed, the name if the directory is added after the userid. A default URL looks like this: http://webcom.com/~webcom/userid/[directory]/. Your "home page" is the default URL for your account, without any directory names appended to it: http://webcom.com/~webcom/userid/.

When someone enters a URL of this form into their browser, the World Wide Web server at the site the URL refers to looks for a file named "welcome.html" in the directory specified and sends it to the browser to be displayed. If the server does not find a file named "welcome.html", the browser displays a list of the files stored in that directory instead. This is why your home page must be named "welcome.html".

The next step is to test your home page, to make sure it displays properly.