ANSWER: why only the home page in a web-site is visible

[ann yard]

In many different forms, people grapple with problems of
missing web-pages and images in their publisher web-sites.
I have seen endless poor suckers pointed at the following
FAQ answer.

Q. I uploaded my web site and... my links don't work AND/OR I have no graphics AND/OR only my home page is there.
A. Did you fail to upload the sub-folder? Version 2002 introduced an optional sub-folder that gets used by default.
As of version 2002 the sub-folder contains all files EXCEPT for the home page (page 1 of the publication). You'll get
these issues if the sub-folder is not published (or is published in the wrong location). I recommend that Publisher be
used for uploading instead of a 3rd party upload client, because doing so will ensure that the site files are correctly
published. Optionally you can opt to not use the sub-folder feature, toggle the option off in Tools, Options, and
then save and publish again.

Typically arrogant answer from McSoft cronies and groopies.

Here is the truth (for many people, at least), which I figured out by
watching what publisher actually did when i published a multi-page
web-site with publisher 2002 per the instructions --- for a friend.

#1: McPublisher FTP uploaded file "index.html" (the name I entered)
to the correct place on the ISP. So the home page became visible in
a web browser pointed to the appropriate web address.

#2: McPublisher then created a directory called "index_files"
in the same directory. Clearly, McPublisher planned to put
the 265 additional images and html web-pages of this web-site
into this "index_files" subdirectory. In other words, the files
would have been something like the following:
www.maui.net/~username/index.html - the home page
www.maui.net/~username/index_files/ - the subdirectory
www.maui.net/~username/index_files/image0001.jpg - image file in subdirectory
www.maui.net/~username/index_files/image0002.jpg - image file in subdirectory
...
www.maui.net/~username/index_files/page0001.html - web-page file in subdirectory
www.maui.net/~username/index_files/page0002.html - web-page file in subdirectory
www.maui.net/~username/index_files/page0003.html - web-page file in subdirectory
... etc ...

#3: HOWEVER, McPublisher ROYALLY screwed up!
McPublisher put the following files into the same directory
as the home page:

index_files\image0001.jpg - this is a filename, not a path/directory plus filename
index_files\image0002.jpg - this is a filename, not a path/directory plus filename
index_files\image0003.jpg - this is a filename, not a path/directory plus filename
....
index_files\page0001.html - this is a filename, not a path/directory plus filename
index_files\page0002.html - this is a filename, not a path/directory plus filename
index_files\page0003.html - this is a filename, not a path/directory plus filename
... etc ...

To understand this, you need to realize that the backslash character, the \ character
between "index_files" and "image...." is simply a CHARACTER in a long filename,
NOT a path-separator (like it would be in DOS).

So, why do all images and pages get lost - except the home page? Because the
hyperlinks in the home page point to files like "image0001.jpg" in the "index_files"
directory - with syntax like "www.maui.net/~username/index_files/image0001.jpg".
But file image0001.jpg does not exist!!! Moron McPublisher named that file to
"index_file\image0001.jpg" - and put it in the home directory, not in "index_files".
So, McPublisher named all the image and web-page files WRONG, and further,
McPublisher put all images and web-page files into the wrong directory!

This - and billions of wasted man-hours - come directly from extreme arrogance
and purposeful maliciousness at McSoft - when they purposely screw-up
the most important fundamental aspects of computing (usually to gain some
marketing advantage in some perverse way). The examples are many, but the
\ = backslash as path-separator instead of the standard / = forward-slash is the
cause of this disaster - by McSoft. Virtually every serious programmer alive
has wasted many hours due to this malicious practice. Endless disasters and
millions of wasted hours are the direct consequence of supporting space characters
in file and folder names. Ditto for the 0x0D, 0x0A sequence instead of 0x0A only,
and software automatically/surprisingly adding and removing 0x0D characters in
binary files! Ditto for letting anyone, anywhere on earth run unlimited malicious
binary code on your computer - when you innocently opened an email or browsed
to a web-page containing an ActiveX control. And ditto for many other perversion.
The only difference in this situation is - they trashed themselves. Of course, of the
many answers from their "experts" (and in their FAQ) - the responses imply the
poor people who run the software are screwed up. Ditto for their arrogance.
I figured this out by running FTP in a "DOS-like" console window and watching
what files appeared in what directories while McPublisher "published web page".
Very illuminating! And how novel - look for your self - observe what their code
is actually doing (to the extent possible). For all of you with this problem, run
FTP in a DOS-like console window and do "dir" periodically to see what files
are appearing where. Hint: You'll probably need to get into the "public_html"
directory once you log in to your site, so the process will go like this:

ftp www.maui.net - (substitute your ISP/domain - often ftp.xxxx.xxxx)
enter your username when prompted
enter your password when prompted
dir - see what is in your home directory
cd public_html - puts you into the directory that holds your home page (usually)
dir - see what files are in your web-site home directory
--- start publishing web pages with McPublisher ---
dir - see what files are appearing in your web-site home directory

McSoft-ware royally sucks! They have single-handedly destroyed
the computer / software industry. Hope this information helps you,
and good luck. Glad I don't work with this trash! Even helping a friend
once is enough to make me sick! :-o Ann

 

[David Bartosik [MSFT MVP]]

So, why do all images and pages get lost - except the home page?

Because the
hyperlinks in the home page point to files like "image0001.jpg" in
the "index_files"
directory - with syntax like
"www.maui.net/~username/index_files/image0001.jpg".
But file image0001.jpg does not exist!!! Moron McPublisher named
that file to
"index_file\image0001.jpg" - and put it in the home directory, not
in "index_files".
So, McPublisher named all the image and web-page files WRONG, and
further,
McPublisher put all images and web-page files into the wrong
directory!

Most likely the web Publisher file in question here had a Master Page
applied. I have only seen (in testing and customer files) improper URL
strings generated when a Master Page is used. Web publications don't support
the print publication Master Page. Stop use of a Master Page in the
publication and URL strings will correct.

This - and billions of wasted man-hours - come directly from extreme
arrogance
and purposeful maliciousness at McSoft - when they purposely
screw-up
the most important fundamental aspects of computing (usually to gain
some
marketing advantage in some perverse way). The examples are many,
but the
\ = backslash as path-separator instead of the standard / =
forward-slash is the
cause of this disaster - by McSoft. Virtually every serious
programmer alive
has wasted many hours due to this malicious practice. Endless
disasters and
millions of wasted hours are the direct consequence of supporting
space characters
in file and folder names. Ditto for the 0x0D, 0x0A sequence instead
of 0x0A only,
and software automatically/surprisingly adding and removing 0x0D
characters in
binary files! Ditto for letting anyone, anywhere on earth run
unlimited malicious
binary code on your computer - when you innocently opened an email
or browsed
to a web-page containing an ActiveX control. And ditto for many
other perversion.
The only difference in this situation is - they trashed themselves.
Of course, of the
many answers from their "experts" (and in their FAQ) - the responses
imply the
poor people who run the software are screwed up. Ditto for their
arrogance.
I figured this out by running FTP in a "DOS-like" console window and
watching
what files appeared in what directories while McPublisher "published
web page".
Very illuminating! And how novel - look for your self - observe
what their code
is actually doing (to the extent possible). For all of you with
this problem, run
FTP in a DOS-like console window and do "dir" periodically to see
what files
are appearing where.

Whoa. Someone ate way to many chili dogs.


Hint: You'll probably need to get into the "public_html"

directory once you log in to your site, so the process will go like
this:

Before touting advice you need to know how solid and applicable it is. Here
your directions are meaningless to most customers because the majority of
hosts load to the domain root or to a www folder. In about 5 years of
helping web site designers I've only encountered 1 host that was using a
public_html folder.

Glad I don't work with this trash! Even helping a friend
once is enough to make me sick! :-o Ann

Nobody said it was for everybody. Hope you're feeling better soon.

David Bartosik - [MSFT MVP]
www.publishermvps.com
www.davidbartosik.com

 

[ann yard]

Most likely the web Publisher file in question here had a Master Page
applied. I have only seen (in testing and customer files) improper URL
strings generated when a Master Page is used. Web publications don't support
the print publication Master Page. Stop use of a Master Page in the
publication and URL strings will correct.

Everything was done per McPublisher instructions. From reading dozens
of newsgroup messages before I posted, it is clear that you have not seen
this problem often because you and other McGroopies immediately tell
the poor posters that THEY did something wrong - then direct them to
the FAQ usually. I can tell from the messages I read that a great many
people have this same problem - and never get the appropriate answer
because of the McGroopie attitude. True, many people are not highly
experienced software experts, and they do make mistakes. But instant
"authoritative" answers that are wrong usually defeat them completely,
because they believe and follow [careless] "expert" advice.

Whoa. Someone ate way to many chili dogs.

Note: This kind of response almost always follows correct critcisms,
because it completely avoids all valid points. Just like politicians.
It is you blowing gas outta your orifices.

Hint: You'll probably need to get into the "public_html"

Before touting advice you need to know how solid and applicable it is.
Here your directions are meaningless to most customers because the
majority of hosts load to the domain root or to a www folder. In about
5 years of helping web site designers I've only encountered 1 host that
was using a public_html folder.

This is flatly wrong. Though the folder "public_html" is not always
involved in the path, most people and small businesses that host a
small-business or personal web-site do so on an existing ISP - on which
they appear in a manner similar to what I noted. And to be sure, few
if any people publish a large company web-site with McPublisher!!!
And those are the people with their own domain ON their own server
[on their own T1/T3/etc]. Given the advice I have seen on this forum,
it is you and other McGroopies who should be more careful with advice.

Nobody said it was for everybody. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Microsoft does. FACT: McPublisher is marketed to the masses,
most of whom do not know better, not software experts. Further,
if I engaged in personal slams for fun and to evade to-the-point
factual issues (like so many McGroopies do), I would hope your
psychaitrist cures your entrenched denial/evasion syndromes.
Anyone who reads these messages can see that it is I who provided
to-the-point information intended to help people - information that
addresses dozens of people who had the same problem and did NOT
get helpful responses.