How to manage this web site

(Private - for Lynne's use only)

Home -> Management
UNDER CONSTRUCTION - SOME OF THIS PAGE STILL MISSING.
MUCH OF THIS IS NOW OBSOLETE, SO DON'T TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY

Miscellaneous management details

If you want a domain name for this web site, see the domain names page.

Where the files are kept

There are, at the moment, two identical copies of all of these files:

The master copy is on your workstation computer, in the folder called "LynneWeb", which is a subfolder of "My Documents".
The working copy - that is, the copy that is actually displayed as web pages - is on your server, in C:\Program files\Abyss Web Server\htdocs.

The reasons for having two different copies are for security - in case one copy is accidentally deleted - and for ease of editing. The easiest way to update your web pages, in my opinion, is to update the copy on your workstation, and then use a file transfer program to copy the updated version to your server computer. That way, you don't have to deal with the fact that your server computer doesn't have a keyboard or monitor.

(For improved security, you might find it useful to burn a backup copy onto a CD.)

Within these directories, you have the following subdirectories:

cgi-bin: contains the program that displays your family tree.

cgi-bin/data: your GEDCOM file of family tree information.

images: graphics files that you want to display on web pages.
instructions: the instructions you are now reading.
photos: that part of your photo collection that you want to display on this web site.

The top-level directory contains some HTML files that you will need to edit. These contain the actual content of the web pages.

How to edit a web page

I'll install a program called "Composer" to do the editing. You start this from your Start button, like any other Windows program. Use the File/Open to open the HTML file you want to modify. The editing operations are similar to those in a word processor - I'll show you the details. At the end, do a Save. Then press the "refresh page" button in Firefox to see the result. If you don't like the result, you can do more changes. It's a good idea to keep a backup of the previous version, so that you can go back to it if your editing session was a disaster.

How to display photos on your web site

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - CONTENT STILL MISSING, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T YET WORKED OUT THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS.

How to update the family tree

Once you have the latest version in Family Tree Builder, use the File/Export Gedcom menu option. When asked where to save the file, specify the cgi-bin/data directory. The file name should be crocker.ged. (You could give it another name, but then you would have to change the link on the family web page.) Then use a file transfer program to copy it to your server.

These pages belong to Lynne Williamson

Last updated 19-Dec-2010