Chris Rigatuso Mar. 3 1995
Overview
This is a brief tutorial to describe the process of installing your images
and HTML files to make your new Art.Net site operational. It also applies
to modifying an existing site. It contains a few ideas to make it easier
and hopefully answer some questions. If you are confused, then please send
questions of suggestions to XXX. This will allow this document to evolve
into a more complete and coherent tutorial.
When I say “your site” I mean the set of all interconnected files that one
could navigate starting with your homepage. The homepage for Art.Net is
access using the URL http://www.art.net. From this pages, one can follow
links to the various artists’ studios, the gallery, and other parts of the
Art.Net site.
We use the most recent Cern WWW server. This is upgraded periodically.
Getting Started.
What you need to get started:
Image files. GIF (graphics interchange format) is the preferred image file
format for storing images on WWW sites. Some people also use JPEG (which
uses the file extension filename.jpg). You should also compose some text
describing yourself and your art work, if you wish to have any text on your
pages.
Some people find it convenient to set up a special directory on their home
or work computer that contains the images and text files that will be
eventually uploaded to your home directory on the Art.Net site. HTML files
are ASCII text files which control the font size and spacing of text and
images (the layout) on the screen for all computers which access your site.
You can create your own files by looking at example layouts while
navigating current artists’ pages, or you can refer to a text book. [2].
There are not a lot of HTML books out yet, but I expect many in the months
ahead.
Using Links to buttons, etc.
Be sure that when you use buttons, separators,arrows, you have the correct
path from the source page (homepage.html) to the actual file location. For
example text like this needs to reference:
/home/art/WWW/images files, but it uses relative paths
<a href="../../../Welcome.html"><img src="../../../images/artnet_button.gif"
alt="[Art on the Net]"></a><a href="../../the_gallery.html"><img
src="../../../images/gallery_button.gif" alt="[Gallery]"></a><a
href="../../studios.html"><img src="../../../images/studios_button.gif"
alt="[Studios]"></a><a href="../../whats_new.html"><img
src="../../../images/whats_new_button.gif" alt="[What's New]"></a></pre><HR>
Recommended solution: use absolute pathnames “/images/artnet_button.gif”.
The base of the path is controlled by the WWW server installation.
Creating Image Files
There is a wide variety of software that can be used to import scanned
images or create digital images from scratch. For example, Adobe’s
Photoshop, Fractal Design’s Painter. If you have TIF formated images, you
need to change them to .GIF for use on the WWW. I used WINJPEG, part of the
shareware available with [3] cited below. It allows lots of image
maniplulations also. I recommend that you create a separate directory for
your converted output files: all gifs (icons, images) and HTML files, that
will be eventually transmitted to your home directory at the Art.Net site.
Your Account
You will need FTP login priviledge and a password in order to upload files
from your home computer to the Art.Net WWW server. Retrieve images from
that site to your home computer is called downloading (the opposite
direction). Interesting note, uploading 130K image takes about 15 minutes,
and downloading it will browsing only takes about 2 minutes. I am not sure
why this is so, I am using a 14,400 BPS modem, that appears to be set up
correctly. If I find out, I will post the answer -- perhaps one of you
knows?
If you use a PC:
You have an 8.3 file name length limitation. This means that file names
such as “rigatuso.html” are prohibited. You can’t upload them directly. If
your FTP interface supports renaming, you can transfer the DOS file, such as
“rigatuso.htm” and then rename it to rigatuso.html. If no support for
renaming is available, ask your system administrator or help@art.net
associate to change your entry point that leads to your home page. In my
case, since I cannot rename from FTP (I use Netcruiser) I upload files that
end in .htm. Since all my files are access from links embedded in my home
page (rigatuso.htm), all I need is a link from Visual Artists to
rigatuso.htm. Now, all reachable files from that point onward can follow my
naming convention which is DOS limited.
Manipulating Files
Recommended Books
[1] The Internet Book, Douglas Comer. an Internet Overview services and
technology
[2] Teach yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a week: Laura Lemay. Write
lots of HTML pages
[3] Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats, Murry and Vanryper. Descriptions
and public domain software on CD-ROM for image manipulation.