E-8
June 9th, 2000, 05:13 AM
You don't know how to make a web page, so you don't know how to upload pictures. If this is you, then here's help! You don't need a web page to be able to put your pictures on the web!
Each week we receive a number of e-mail messages from members asking about posting pictures on TrainBoard.com. Most Internet users do not have web sites and most do not know how to upload pictures to their personal web space. So, here is some help! You should be able to upload images to your personal web space in just a few minutes after following along with these instructions. http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif
First, you need an FTP Client. This is just a small computer program that allows you to interact with the server. These programs are basically very simple and you can figure out how to use them in just about 5 minutes. In fact, this whole process is so simple that you will be amazed that you didn't know how to do this before!
Let's download and install an FTP Client. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, by the way.
Go to http://southwind.tucows.com/ftp95.html if you are using Windows 95 or 98. If you are using another operating system, go to http://www.tucows.com and navigate through your operating system to "FTP Clients."
My favorite is WS-FTP LE but you can choose any of the freeware FTP Clients on that page. They are pretty much all the same. Download and install one of these programs as you would any other computer program. If you don't understand how to do this part, post a reply and someone will help you.
Next, we are going to send you to the home page of your Internet Service Provider. They probably have a tutorial on how to do all of this too! What we need to know is the host name, host type, and the directory where your files go on their server. If you can't locate this is a minute or two, just call them on the telephone and ask them these questions. Almost everyone gets at least 5 megabytes of storage space from the company that gives you your Internet access. This is enough space to hold a lot of pictures and if you need more, it usually costs very little.
Once you have that information written down, start up your FTP program. These programs usually look like Windows Explorer. On one side they show you what is on your hard drive. On the other side they show you what is on the remote server. By remote server, we mean the Internet server where your pictures are stored remotely.
When you start your FTP program up for the first time it will ask you for some information.
Profile Name: This can be anything you want to call it. Call it your first name or User ID.
Host Name/Address: This is usually something like myprovider.com (whoever you get your Internet access from). In some cases, you will need to use numbers like 123.456.789.012 and if that is the case, your service provider will give you the numbers to put in here.
Host Type: Again, they will tell you. It's usually UNIX but if it is different they will tell you or it will be on their tutorial on their web site.
User Name/Password: This would be the same thing you use to connect to the Internet.
That should be all you need so just hit "OK" or whatever your program has available to make it go!
When it connects, it will show you some directories on the right side of the screen. One of them is usually cgi-bin. This is not the one for your pictures. The one you are looking for is something like these examples: public_html, html, www, htdocs, or something similar. If you can't figure it out, consult the tutorial from your provider or call them on the phone and ask.
Once you locate the proper directory on the remote server, double click on it. It will open up and the others will disappear. (You can create more directories on their server inside this one if you choose.) Now you are ready to find a train picture on your hard drive.
On the left side of the program you can browse your own hard drive. Find a .jpg or .gif train picture on your computer. Select it and double click on it. That should begin the process of sending it to the remote server. A little box will pop up and show you the progress. It will probably only take a few seconds to send it off! (If you have a choice between automatic, binary, and ascii, choose automatic or binary for pictures.)
Now we need to check it to make sure it is there. Open your web browser. If your provider is trainboard.com (for example), you would start by typing http://www.trainboard.com - then, if your user ID is "bob," type http://www.trainboard.com/bob/ - now, your picture (let's say it was a .jpg) was called train1.jpg. So, type http://www.trainboard.com/bob/train1.jpg - Some providers use a "tilde" so you might try http://www.trainboard.com/~bob/train1.jpg and you should see your picture. Once again, your ISP can explain this very quickly.
If you created a directory called pictures inside the html directory, it would be http://www.trainboard.com/bob/pictures/train1.jpg - Remember, trainboard.com is just an example. We are talking about your ISP.
If this isn't working for you, just give your ISP a phone call. They can fill in the blanks for you. If you are an AOL user, they provide extensive support for this sort of thing. As I don't use AOL, I can't address that but there are many AOL users here than can help you. If you are having problems, feel free to post a question here and someone will help. Your ISP can easily help you with a five minute phone call too.
This information has been posted to show you how easy it is to upload your photos to your web space. If you don't have web space from your ISP, there are many places that offer free space and lots of help too. Not all of the free ones allow the pictures to be called from remote servers like TrainBoard.com though.
If you have succeeded, you will be able to post pictures on TrainBoard.com using HTML or UBB Code. We get a lot of requests for help in this area so maybe this will help a little bit!
Charlie http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif
------------------
Ship It On The FRISCO! (http://www.frisco.org)
Each week we receive a number of e-mail messages from members asking about posting pictures on TrainBoard.com. Most Internet users do not have web sites and most do not know how to upload pictures to their personal web space. So, here is some help! You should be able to upload images to your personal web space in just a few minutes after following along with these instructions. http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif
First, you need an FTP Client. This is just a small computer program that allows you to interact with the server. These programs are basically very simple and you can figure out how to use them in just about 5 minutes. In fact, this whole process is so simple that you will be amazed that you didn't know how to do this before!
Let's download and install an FTP Client. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, by the way.
Go to http://southwind.tucows.com/ftp95.html if you are using Windows 95 or 98. If you are using another operating system, go to http://www.tucows.com and navigate through your operating system to "FTP Clients."
My favorite is WS-FTP LE but you can choose any of the freeware FTP Clients on that page. They are pretty much all the same. Download and install one of these programs as you would any other computer program. If you don't understand how to do this part, post a reply and someone will help you.
Next, we are going to send you to the home page of your Internet Service Provider. They probably have a tutorial on how to do all of this too! What we need to know is the host name, host type, and the directory where your files go on their server. If you can't locate this is a minute or two, just call them on the telephone and ask them these questions. Almost everyone gets at least 5 megabytes of storage space from the company that gives you your Internet access. This is enough space to hold a lot of pictures and if you need more, it usually costs very little.
Once you have that information written down, start up your FTP program. These programs usually look like Windows Explorer. On one side they show you what is on your hard drive. On the other side they show you what is on the remote server. By remote server, we mean the Internet server where your pictures are stored remotely.
When you start your FTP program up for the first time it will ask you for some information.
Profile Name: This can be anything you want to call it. Call it your first name or User ID.
Host Name/Address: This is usually something like myprovider.com (whoever you get your Internet access from). In some cases, you will need to use numbers like 123.456.789.012 and if that is the case, your service provider will give you the numbers to put in here.
Host Type: Again, they will tell you. It's usually UNIX but if it is different they will tell you or it will be on their tutorial on their web site.
User Name/Password: This would be the same thing you use to connect to the Internet.
That should be all you need so just hit "OK" or whatever your program has available to make it go!
When it connects, it will show you some directories on the right side of the screen. One of them is usually cgi-bin. This is not the one for your pictures. The one you are looking for is something like these examples: public_html, html, www, htdocs, or something similar. If you can't figure it out, consult the tutorial from your provider or call them on the phone and ask.
Once you locate the proper directory on the remote server, double click on it. It will open up and the others will disappear. (You can create more directories on their server inside this one if you choose.) Now you are ready to find a train picture on your hard drive.
On the left side of the program you can browse your own hard drive. Find a .jpg or .gif train picture on your computer. Select it and double click on it. That should begin the process of sending it to the remote server. A little box will pop up and show you the progress. It will probably only take a few seconds to send it off! (If you have a choice between automatic, binary, and ascii, choose automatic or binary for pictures.)
Now we need to check it to make sure it is there. Open your web browser. If your provider is trainboard.com (for example), you would start by typing http://www.trainboard.com - then, if your user ID is "bob," type http://www.trainboard.com/bob/ - now, your picture (let's say it was a .jpg) was called train1.jpg. So, type http://www.trainboard.com/bob/train1.jpg - Some providers use a "tilde" so you might try http://www.trainboard.com/~bob/train1.jpg and you should see your picture. Once again, your ISP can explain this very quickly.
If you created a directory called pictures inside the html directory, it would be http://www.trainboard.com/bob/pictures/train1.jpg - Remember, trainboard.com is just an example. We are talking about your ISP.
If this isn't working for you, just give your ISP a phone call. They can fill in the blanks for you. If you are an AOL user, they provide extensive support for this sort of thing. As I don't use AOL, I can't address that but there are many AOL users here than can help you. If you are having problems, feel free to post a question here and someone will help. Your ISP can easily help you with a five minute phone call too.
This information has been posted to show you how easy it is to upload your photos to your web space. If you don't have web space from your ISP, there are many places that offer free space and lots of help too. Not all of the free ones allow the pictures to be called from remote servers like TrainBoard.com though.
If you have succeeded, you will be able to post pictures on TrainBoard.com using HTML or UBB Code. We get a lot of requests for help in this area so maybe this will help a little bit!
Charlie http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif
------------------
Ship It On The FRISCO! (http://www.frisco.org)