How to Upload to CoreFTP Lite

To be able to upload files from your computer to the Web server, you will need a software program capable of "file transfer protocol" (FTP). There are many such programs, known as "FTP clients." All of the computers in the Cabrillo computer lab (the CTC), as well as the computers in the Digital Media classrooms, have FTP clients installed; the Macs use an FTP client called Fetch, and the Windows machines use an FTP client called CoreFTP Lite (or Core FTP LE, as the lite edition is called).

These instructions assume you are using a Windows computer that is running CoreFTP Lite. If you are using a Macintosh, follow the Fetch instructions instead. If you are at home, make sure you have an active Internet connection.

To download CoreFTP Lite (a free Windows FTP program), go to: http://www.coreftp.com. Click the Download link, and then click on a link to download the latest version of the Core FTP LE (free version) client.

1) Launch CoreFTP Lite. Your screen will look something like this:

Note that these screenshots may look a little different than what you actually see.

2) In the "Site Name" field, enter "Webhawks" (if it is not already there).

3) In the "Host / IP / URL" field, enter "webhawks.org" (if it is not already there).

4) In the "Username" field, enter your Webhawks user name.

5) In the "Password" field, enter your Webhawks password. Your Webhawks password is initially set to be your student ID number.

6) Make sure the "Connection" dropdown menu indicates SSH/SFTP. The Webhawks Web server uses a secure protocol, and will not successfully connect unless the "SSH/SFTP" selection is chosen. If the Connection selection says "FTP" you will not be able to log in to the server.

Note: Older versions of CoreFTP Lite use a checkbox, instead of a drop-down menu, to indicate that the server uses a secure FTP (SSH/SFTP) connection and not plain old FTP. In these older versions, make sure the "SSH" checkbox is checked.

Do not change the other settings; leave them the way you found them, using their defaults.

Your screen will look something like this (your username will be different):

7) Click "Connect" to connect.

Note that the very first time you connect to a secure server, the FTP client will warn you that there is no way to guarantee that the server is the computer you think it is. (Thereafter when you connect you will not get this warning; the client software will now have a server "fingerprint" to verify.)

If you make a successful connection, your screen will look something like this:

8) You should see a window showing the contents of your local disk on the left, and the contents of your home directory of the Webhawks server on the right. Don't worry about what the left side shows. The right side is what's important here; it should show you your "public_html" folder.

9) Double-click on your "public_html" folder to see its contents (if you have never uploaded any files into it, it will be empty.)

Your screen will look something like this:

10) Now that you have the proper remote directory (your "public_html" folder on the server) selected to receive files, you are ready to upload files.

You can upload files from your disk to the Web server in one of two ways. First, you can navigate through your hard disk's file system using the left side of the window, select the file you wish to upload, and then click the right arrow button. Inexperienced computer users usually find this method a bit confusing, so I recommend the "drag and drop" method: Simply drag the icon of the file you wish to upload into the right side of the window.

11) The first file you should upload is your home page (called "index.html"). Drag this file into the right side of the window (which shows the contents of your "public_html" directory).

12) After a few moments you'll see your file appear on the right.

Your screen will look something like this:

13) You have succesfully uploaded your file! You can now continue to upload more files if you wish.

14) When you are ready to view your page in your Web browser, launch your browser (Firefox, for example) and go to the following URL.