MS Web Publishing Wizard Setup and Help

Finally, after a long wait, you can now use the Microsoft Web Publishing Wizard (WPW) to upload your files to GeoCities! Even better, with the new upgrade to the GeoCities FTP server, you can actually publish entire directories of files straight to your homestead.

First step is to download and install the latest version of the WPW from Microsoft, which you can do here.

If you are using MSIE 4.0 or higher, you can check to make sure you have the latest version by opening the Help menu and choosing "Product Updates". This will take you to the Component Download site, where you can automatically download and install the latest version of the WPW (Check under the section titled "Authoring Components").

There are three ways you can publish files from the WPW - by starting the program from the Start Menu or shortcut, by right clicking on a file or folder in the Explorer and choosing Send to/Web Publishing Wizard, or by using the Publish feature of a program which supports the WPW.

Whichever way you choose to use it, the actual setup process only needs to be done once for each site that you want to upload to. After that, all you have to do is choose the site from a drop-down list.

For this setup, we are going to start the WPW by itself from the Start menu. Before you get started, find a file that you want to upload to your GeoCities site, so you don't have to go scrambling when we get to that point.

Upgrading Your WPW Sites for the new GeoCities FTP setup

If you have already set up your WPW for GeoCities previously, and just need to update for the direct FTP access to your homestead, please visit this special upgrade page. If you prefer, you can just follow the instructions below to create a new "Site" in WPW for the new procedures, too.

Step 1

Start the program (Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, Internet Tools, Web Publishing Wizard). You will see a screen like this:

Click the "Next" button to continue.

Step 2

Next, you need to select the file that you want to upload (that's the one I mentioned earlier). You can type in the name directly in the box provided, or you can use the Browse Files button to select a file. If you use the Browse Folders option, DO NOT CHECK THE "Include Subfolders" box UNLESS YOU HAVE GEOPLUS - you will get an error trying to upload subfolders to GeoCities.

Click the "Next" button to continue.

Step 3

This step may be different, depending on whether your version of the WPW came with pre-installed service providers, or if you have used it somewhere else prior to this. If you see a drop down list of sites on the screen, click on the button labeled "New" to get the following screen. If not, you should see this screen already:


Type in a friendly name here that this site will be known as in the future. If you only have one GeoCities site, just naming it "GeoCities" would work, or you can use something like your membername. Then click on the "Advanced" button.

Step 4

Now you need to tell WPW how to upload the files. From the drop down list, choose "FTP", as show in this picture:

Click the "Next" button to continue.

Step 5

Now you tell the WPW what the URL/address is for your home page. Since the AnswerPoint has GeoPlus, I could put in my address as "http://geocities.datacellar.net/SiliconValley/Heights/7493" or "http://geocities.datacellar.net/~answerpoint" - either format will work fine.

In the "Local Directory" box, type in the full path to the folder on your hard drive where you keep your files for your GeoCities pages. WPW will remember this for the future, so that any files you upload from that directory will automatically be configured to go to the proper location on GeoCities.

Tip - Keep a copy of all your files that you use on GeoCities in a dedicated folder/directory on your hard drive. That way, if anything should ever happen on GeoCities, you will have a backup of all your files, and you can just select the entire folder and publish it to restore your site. It also makes it easier for you to make updates, since you'll have everything on hand to make changes locally, then upload them as needed.

Step 6

Now the important part - telling WPW where to actually send the files. The "FTP server name" should be ftp.geocities.com and the "Subfolder containing your Web pages" should be YOUR HOMESTEAD ADDRESS. Your homestead address is the part after "http://geocities.datacellar.net". For example, this site is http://geocities.datacellar.net/SiliconValley/Heights/7493, so our Subfolder is "/SiliconValley/Heights/7493".

VERY IMPORTANT: You must start this Subfolder with a slash "/", and you must type it in EXACTLY as it was given to you by GeoCities when you signed up. "SiliconValley" should be typed in with the "S" and "V" capitalized, not as "siliconvalley", "Heights" with a capital "H", and so on.

Click "Next" to continue.

Step 7

There will be a pause here, while WPW verifies some information in the background, then you should see this screen:

Click the Finish button to continue.

Step 8

Now you will be asked to "enter your authentication information". Enter your GeoCities membername and password. Check "Save this password in your password list" if your computer is secure and you want it saved for future reference. If you don't check that box, you will be prompted for this information every time you upload.

Click OK to continue.

Step 9

WPW will now upload your file(s) to GeoCities, showing you an animated progress bar while it does so. When the file(s) is/are uploaded, you will see the following confirmation screen, then the WPW will exit:

Congratulations!

You are now ready to use the WPW for any future uploads, and all you have to do is choose the "Friendly" name you typed in Step 3, click Next, then click Finish (and put in your membername and password if prompted).

Hints for using the WPW

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Page last updated on Wednesday, October 14, 1998 00:47:34 -0700
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