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Getting Started With Your Own Home Page
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What is a home page?
A home page is
just a text file with some formatting information (called HTML for
HyperText Markup Language) added. Your home page allows you to
electronically publish information for others to read. Using HTML, you
can include text, graphics, sound and even animation and video. A simple
text editor can be used to edit HTML files, but there are also programs
specifically created to help you make HTML documents. (See: Where are
some helpful places on the Web for information on HTML?)
HTML files should
have a .html filename extension (i.e., they should all be
named something.html) to be properly interpreted by the WWW
server. (See: Do I have to rename all of my files to end with a .html
extension?)
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Where are some helpful places
on the Web for information on HTML?
BASIC HTML TAGS
- SYMBOLS
Many of the symbols
you use are located on your keyboard, but most symbols, like "©"
the copyright symbol, or "™"
symbol, cannot be typed directly but must have codes for them to
be reproduced. To see the table of special character symbols
see: Special Characters
TABLES
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How do I get an
account on the web server?
The general-purpose web server
at CSUB is CSUB.edu. You may already have an account on this system
because of a class you've taken or a previous request. If you do not
have an account, you will need to fill out the
account request
form.
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Are any
CSUB logos available for me to use on my pages?
CSUB IMAGES
The
CSUB Image Bank contains many different images around campus for use
on your web page.
CSUB LOGOS
There are CSUB-trademarked logos available from the
Web
Services Logo Page, subject to the restrictions and requirements
contained in the
CSU
Internet Policy.
CSUB-Specific Procedures and Information
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How does a department get a home page or update an existing page?
Contact
Web Services
with the name of the department, and the URL if the page already exists
and the user id's of anyone who will need to be able to change the pages
(please limit to three or four). Further instructions will be given
after this information has been processed. This request should come from
someone who represents the department or college (e.g., dean, department
chair).
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How does a student, faculty member, or staff member get a home page?
Individuals should
create a file in their account called
index.html.
The directory may also contain image files, sound files, or additional
HTML documents.
Your home page can
be immediately accessed as
http://www.CSUB.edu/~username/ , where
username
is your login id. Once you have created your home page, you should send
mail to the if you want it to be linked into the CSUB home page.
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How does a club or organization get a home page or updating their
existing page?
Contact
Web Services
with the name of the organization (the URL if the page already exists)
and the user id's of anyone who will need to be able to change the pages
(please limit to three or four). Further instructions will be given
after this information has been processed. Note that the club or
organization must be officially recognized in order to be listed on the
Clubs and Organizations page. This request should come from someone who
represents the organization (e.g., faculty sponsor, president).
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Are there any additional policies and procedures that I need to know
about?
You should be
aware of all of the
Web Services
Standards as well as
Information Resource Technology Support Guidelines.
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Who do I contact for
more information?
First, make sure
that your question or problem is not answered by this FAQ or on the Web
Services pages. If your concern is with a CSUB system, contact
helpdesk@CSUB.edu. For general
information, use the newsgroups that are listed on the Computing
Services home page.
Admissions-related
questions may be sent to
admissions@CSUB.edu.
Setting Up Your Pages
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What are the basic UNIX commands I will need to set up my home page?
To create the
files directory, use the mkdir command. For
example, type the following:
mkdir
~/files
Typing cd
(which stands for "change directory") by itself will take you to your
home directory. But if you need to get to a specific directory, type
CD <directory>, and replace directory with the
directory name you want to change into. For example, to change into your
homepage directory, type:
CD
CD homepage
You can use the mv
command to move, or rename, a file:
mv homepage.htm
index.html
The only other
thing that you will have to do is to make sure that your files and
directories have the correct permissions on them. (See How do I set
the permissions on my pages?).
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How do I get my
HTML files on the WWW server?
The most common
(and easiest) method will use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program to
transfer the files. Windows users at CSUB can use "WS FTP." Macintosh
users can use "Fetch."
You can obtain copies of either WS_FTP or Fetch in the General Purpose
Computer Lab
Many HTML
editors (like Macromedia's Dreamweaver, for example) have an FTP
function built right into the application -- so you don't have to
invoke a separate piece of software to transfer your files.
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How can more
than one person edit a home page?
If you need to
have more than one person edit a file or directory,
do not share accounts. All of the users
can have write access to the file or directory authorized by the network
administrator. If more than one person needs to be able to edit a web
page, mail the directory name and the names of the persons who need
access to the network administrator.
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Do I have to rename all of my files to end with a .html extension?
Having files end
in .html
is a widely-accepted convention. The server used at CSUB does not care
whether your files end in
.html,
.htm,
or .htx, but it has to be one of these. Your index file can similarly be
named index.html,
index.htm, or index.htx.
(.htx extensions are used for files that have server-side includes, i.e.
the CSUB quicklink box at the top of new webpages.)
Correcting Problems
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Why do I get a "
404 Not Found...The
requested URL /??? was not found on this server" error?
There are a number
of possible reasons for this message. Double-check the filename after
the "URL" in the error message. If this appears correct, you may need to
adjust your file permissions to make your home page available to others
(See:
How do
I set the permissions on my pages?).
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When I click on my home page
link, why does it list my files instead of displaying my home page?
This problem is
most likely caused by the lack of an index.htx,
index.html, or index.htm file in your homepage
directory. Your main HTML file might be named homepage.html,
or something similar. One of the three files listed above
must be present in order for your home page
link to work correctly. If one of these files is present, it is possible
that your permissions are not set correctly, which makes the file
invisible to the web server.
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I've updated my page, so why is my
browser still displaying the old version?
Note: These instructions apply only to
Netscape, because this problem seems to be common with that package. If
you have this problem with another browser, you may be able to use the
following information in a modified form.
The usual method
of updating the display is to hit the "Reload" button. However, some
versions of Netscape seem to have a problem determining when a page has
changed. This problem is related to Netscape's "cache" feature.
First try this. In
Netscape, go to "Options->Network Preferences" and make sure that the
"Verify Documents" option is set to "Every Time." Now click on "Reload."
Once you are finished editing your pages, you may wish to set this back
to "Once per Session" for slightly increased performance.
If that doesn't
work, there is one more thing you can try. Go to "Options->Network
Preferences" and click on "Clear Memory Cache Now," then on "OK." Next,
click on "Clear Disk Cache Now," and then "OK." The exact wording of
these buttons may differ slightly from version to version. When you
click on "OK" in the "Network Preferences" box, you will return to
Netscape, and it should reload the current page you are on.
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