Web Services

FTP Web Account Instructions for Full-time Academic Instructors

If you're not currently a TMCC faculty Web page publisher, please first read TMCC Web Publishing Procedures. If you already have a TMCC Web account set up, read the following information on FTP (File Transfer Protocol) that will allow you to upload your instructional Web page(s) to the classes Web server.

If you are a part-time instructor and your Web site is hosted over at SCS, please read the FTP instructions for part-time employees.


Steps to access your TMCC hosted Web space via FTP

  1. If you don't already have an FTP client on your computer, download and install WS_FTP software. Installation is simple: just follow the wizard making sure to select that you are a college faculty/staff member using the program for academic work.
  2. Launch the software (Start/Programs/WS_FTP).
  3. If the Session Properties window is not already open, click the Connect button.
  4. In the Session Properties window, click New to create a new profile.
  5. Under the General tab, fill out your profile.
    • Profile Name: TMCC
    • Host Name/Address: TMCC Webmaster will e-mail this to you when your account is set up
    • Host Type: Leave as Automatic detect
    • User ID: TMCC Webmaster will e-mail this to you when your account is set up
    • Password: Your Password (click the Save Psw box. Do not click the Anonymous box)
    • Leave the Account and Comment fields blank
  6. Click Apply and OK (this will save it so next time your profile name will appear in the drop down window). You should now be connected!
  7. The right side of the screen is the server (Remote Site). The left side of the screen is your hard drive (Local System). To upload or download files, select the files and click the arrow buttons on the middle of the screen.

    Please refer to the help menu on this program if you are unfamiliar with FTP.
  8. When you are finished uploading/downloading files, click on the Close button and close WS_FTP.

Posting Web Pages using FTP

  1. If you want to make changes to existing pages that are already in a directory, open Internet Explorer or Firefox and locate the page you need to change. Make certain that you are using the correct URI to view the pages on the "test" server or the "classes" server.

    Classes Server:
    http://classes.tmcc.edu/yourname/

    Remember the name of the page(s).

    The words following the slashes are directory names. The last name in the string is usually a file name with the ending "htm", "html" or "asp."

    e.g. URI http://classes.tmcc.edu/yourname/contact.html
  2. Open your FTP program. Connect to the host. Log in. Locate the directory where your files reside on the Web server. Highlight the file(s) you wish to change.
  3. Transfer the files from the server (Remote Site) to your hard drive (Local System). The best way to do this is to create a folder somewhere on your hard drive and name it "Web site" or something similar, and transfer your files to it. You may want to transfer the entire contents of the Remote Site into this folder at this time so you have a complete copy of your site on your own local computer.

    NOTE: Using FTP is different than Server Mapping in that you will do all of your Web work locally on your own PC. When finished, you will then transfer the new files back to the server.
  4. Make changes to your Web pages using any HTML editor such as Dreamweaver or even Notepad. Use "relative" linking when connecting to pages within your own site. Only use "absolute" linking when linking to Web sites on an outside server. Save your changes.
  5. Go back to your FTP program and BE SURE YOU'RE IN THE SAME WEB SERVER DIRECTORY from which you took the document. Then upload your corrected and/or new files onto the Web server.
  6. Through Internet Explorer or Firefox, type in the entire URI of your Web site and test your Web pages.

    Classes Server:
    http://classes.tmcc.edu/yourname/

    Check to see if it looks OK. Check any links on this page to be sure they work properly.

Removing/Deleting Web Pages using FTP

  1. If you are using WS_FTP as your FTP program, removing Web pages from the Web server is very easy. Click on the file(s) you wish to remove on the "Remote Site" side of the FTP screen, and click the "Delete" button.

For additional help using FTP, please read the FTP New Users Guide.

If you have any questions or require additional assistance, please contact Web Services.