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Home Directory Login | WS_FTP | SecureFX | Fetch (Macintosh)
T o upload means to send files to a server; to download means to
get files from a server. In order to "publish" a web site, you must upload your web site files (HTML pages,
images, and so on) to the server where your site will reside. This page will tell you how to use programs that transfer files between your computer and
a server. All these programs can be downloaded from the ITC web site at
These programs are also available on a CD-ROM from the ITC Help Desk in Wilson
235 (be sure to bring a valid UVA ID card).
You must know the address of the server in order to place files there--e.g.,
blue.unix.virginia.edu (Blue/Home Directory) or faculty.virginia.edu (Faculty). You must also have a valid userid and password to place files on the server. For
information on which server to use for your web site, see ITC's Where to put your site.
Home Directory Service Login Program
The Home Directory Service Login Program is used mainly with the server called
Blue (blue.unix.virginia.edu), but can also be used to maintain pages on the Faculty server (faculty.virginia.edu). For installation and configuration information, plus additional instructions besides those given below, see
This program is used only on machines running Windows; if you have a Macintosh,
see
for information on how to connect to the Home Directory Service.
The basic thing to know about the Home Directory Service Login Program is that
what it does is to add a phantom drive to your personal computer. Every computer has an A: drive for the floppy disk and a C: drive for the hard disk; many also have
D: and E: drives for Zip disks and CD-ROMs. When you use the Home Directory Service Login Program, a new J:drive appears that represents the server. You can
then work with files on the server in exactly the same way that you would work with files on a floppy disk or on your hard disk: you can open a file using a
program such as WordPerfect, copy a file using Windows Explorer, or send files to the Recycle Bin.
You will be better able to work with the Home Directory Service Login Program if
you have good file management and directory navigation skills--see Finding Your Way Around to make sure you're comfortable in these areas.
When you log in to the Home Directory for the first time, you will notice that there
are already some files and folders on the J: drive. Any file with a dot before it is a system file and should not be deleted (e.g., .login). You are also given a directory
called public_html; this is where you will publish your personal web site. If you do not see such a directory in your Home Directory and you would like to publish a web site, contact accounts@virginia.edu.
 Also, remember that you double-click on the icon (as in the image at left) only to log in to the server. Once you have logged in, you
use My Computer or Windows Explorer or the regular navigational dialogue box (as in the image below) to get to your files on the server. Note the J: drive in the navigational box below.
Be sure to remember to disconnect from the Home Directory Service when you're
finished using it. You can do this by clicking "Disconnect" within a My Computer window or by right-clicking on the tiny house-and-car Home Directory icon that appears in your system tray at the bottom
right-hand corner of your screen, as in this image:
You can only be logged in to the Home Directory on one machine at a time.
Note that you can, if you like, use any of the other programs listed below to access
your home directory (i.e., your allotted space on the Blue server).
WS_FTP
WS_FTP is an older program used to transfer files between a personal computer and
a server. It doesn't work in the same way as the Home Directory Service Login Program--no phantom J: drive will appear on your computer. Instead, you will be
asked to enter a "host name," i.e., server address, in the "Session Properties" dialogue box. Enter blue.unix.virginia.edu if you are trying to get to your home
directory; you will be prompted for a username and password.
Then, you will see a window with two panes: one listing the contents of your "Local
System" (i.e., your personal computer) and one listing the contents of the "Remote System" (i.e., the server). You can then drag files back and forth between the two panes.
For illustrations, instructions, and to download the program, visit the following
URL:
SecureFX
SecureFX is the tight new ship of file-transfer programs; it looks pretty similar to
WS_FTP, with its double-paned layout. Some users with insecure passwords (e.g., passwords that are all lower-case) may not be able to use this program to transfer
files. Again, you'd enter blue.unix.virginia.edu as your "hostname" if you're trying to access your home directory. For illustrations, instructions, and to download the
program, visit the following URL:
Fetch
Fetch is the Macintosh equivalent to WS_FTP and SecureFX. Computers in the
Digital Media Lab have Fetch installed on them, so if you plan to do work with images, sound, or video there, you would be advised to become familiar with
Fetch. For illustrations, instructions, and to download the program, visit the following URL:
For information on using a Macintosh with the Home Directory Service, see
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