Support

• Can I improve DNS (Domain Name System) reliability?
• Setting up internet Explorer
• Homechoice Installation CD instructions
• Universal Serial Bus (USB) FAQ
• FTP and webspace FAQ
  • What is FTP?
  • Getting Started
  • Installing an FTP client
  • Configuring AceFTP
  • Using AceFTP
  • Uploading Files
  • I have my own FTP client, what settings do I need?
  • When I visit my website, all I get is a list of files?
  • What is PASV or passive mode? Can I connect through a firewall?
  • I have updated my website, but the old site is still displayed
  • How do I register my website with a search engine?
  • How do domain names work?
  • Can I use Front Page Extensions on my Homechoice webspace?
• Configuring your internet connection

File Transfer Protocol is a very common method of moving files between two locations on the internet eg your local computer and a remote server. You can use an FTP client such as AceFTP to log on to a remote FTP or web server for the purposes of retrieving or sending files. FTP was invented and in wide use long before the advent of the internet.

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Operating systems: Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP

This guide will walk through the installation and configuration an FTP client for use with the Homechoice service. The software being used is AceFTP3 freeware v3.50.0. This software is not supported by Homechoice, and is just an example of how to configure a client for use with the Homechoice service. For further information and support on this freeware software please visit the vendor's website www.visicommedia.com. A valid email address is required to register the freeware with Visicom media.

To activate the free 100Mb of Homechoice web space you first must visit www.homechoice.co.uk and log in to the 'Manage your mail and web space' system. Here you can choose a user name and password for your web space. Once your account has been set up, open a web browser and type in your new URL eg www.test.Homechoice.co.uk, the window should display as below. This will activate the web space.

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Locate and Download the aceftp3free.exe file, this should be available from www.download.com. Once downloaded, double-click the file to begin installation.

Click Next.

Read the License Agreement and click next to agree.

Choose a folder in which to install the software. Click next.

Windows will begin copying files to install the software.

Click Next.

Click Finish.

AceFTP should automatically launch, but if this fails to happen, locate the shortcut on your desktop and double-click.

Click button 'Get your FREE registration code'.

Your default web browser should automatically take you to the vendor's website. There you will need to complete a brief registration process. Once the process is completed you will be given a registration code, enter it into the box above, you should now be able to click OK and continue.

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Locate and click the File menu in the top left of the window, a drop-down menu should appear. Highlight and click Connect.

A new window should open find the New Site Profile button to launch the Site Profile Wizard.

Enter name for the site. This can be whatever you want, eg Homechoice FTP. The wizard now requires connection details. Enter the Server as ftp.Homechoice.co.uk. The User ID required is the one you created when you initially set up the web space, for example if your web space is called www.TEST.Homechoice.co.uk you would just require 'test' as your user ID. Also required is a password, again this is the password created when the web space was set up and may be different from both the original account password and the email account password. You can reset the password by logging into the existing customer website. Click Next.

Local Folder is the folder on your computer that contains the files you wish to upload. You can change this at any time. The host folder should be left blank. Click Finish.

The wizard is complete. Homechoice FTP should now appear in the Sites list. Click on Homechoice FTP to highlight.

Right click and choose Properties from the drop-down list.

In Homechoice FTP properties, look for the Server Features option under the Profile menu as detailed below. If you use a firewall, locate the option for PASV mode and tick the check box. Click here for more information on firewalls and passive mode. For the purpose of this guide all other settings can remain as default. Click Apply. Click OK.

Locate and click Connect. The client should log on to the FTP server and this window should close automatically.

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You should now be back at the main FTP connection window. Below the file menu and buttons the window is split into three sections or 'applets' as shown below. The bottom left applet lists any files and folders located in the folder you specified on your local computer during the wizard set-up.

The top applet shows a log of all activity between AceFTP client and the Homechoice FTP server. If the log-on fails for whatever reason it will tell you why in this window in red text. Successful interactions with server are also logged in black, blue or green text depending on the nature of the activity.

The bottom two applets show the local folder on the left-hand side and the remote folder on the right-hand side. The two blue arrow buttons between applets are used to transfer the files from one location to another.

The local folder is the folder specified during the New Site Profile Wizard. Any files or subfolders should be listed in the applet and can be sorted by name, size, type and modified date. You can browse to different folders and look for different files to upload using the buttons next to the folder path in the top left of the applet.

The applet on the right represents the Homechoice FTP server, this is the location that you will transfer your files to. Any files you have already uploaded will be listed here. You can delete files that have already been uploaded by using the buttons on the right-hand side of the applet.

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To transfer a file, first locate it in the 'Local Folder' applet. Highlight the file and look for the two blue arrows between the folder applets. Click the top arrow pointing to the remote folder to transfer files to the FTP server. To download files from the FTP server, click the bottom arrow, this will transfer the file to the local folder specified.

The image below shows a file called 'index.html' that has just been uploaded. To create a working web page on the web space provided you must create and upload a file called 'index.html'. You can create html files using a variety of software such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver or even write the HTML code in Microsoft Notepad. A basic web search using any major search engine such as www.google.com will reveal that there are many web sites that will help you learn how to best use HTML.

Note: This is third-party software and is not supported by Homechoice. The purpose of this guide is to give you information and settings required to use a common FTP client. There are many other features and functions of this software, for further information on how to use it, please visit the vendor's website www.visicommedia.com.

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You will need your Username and Password which can be obtained from the 'Manage your email and web space' link on the Homechoice customer website. The FTP client will also need the address of the web Server this is ftp.Homechoice.co.uk.

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Whenever someone visits your website the server has to decide which file to display first. If there is a file called 'index.html' then it will display this file first. If it cannot find a file by this name then it displays a list of files. To solve your problem you will have to rename your first page 'index.html' and re-upload your website.

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You do not need passive or PASV mode to connect to the Homechoice FTP server by default, however if you have installed a software firewall such as Zone Alarm or you are using a router then data transfer connections between the FTP server and your computer may be blocked. The PASV setting will notify the FTP server that all data transfer connections are to be allowed from your computer to the FTP server. If you are having problems connecting to the FTP server with your client then try enabling or disabling PASV mode.

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Your web browser may be displaying your website from memory instead of the internet. To ensure that your web browser connects to the internet and displays the latest version click on the Refresh button on the main menu within your web browser (it may also be called Reload). If this does not cure the problem check that you have updated any pages that link to your new pages and upload these as well. Also make sure that the file names of the new pages are exactly the same as the old pages that they are replacing - web servers are nearly always case-sensitive.

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You will need to register with each of the search engines individually. Visit the search engine's website and at the bottom of their first page you should see an option to 'Suggest a Site' or 'Register a Site' or 'Add your website' etc. Select this option and fill in the relevant form. Different search engines vary in the number of days that it takes before your website will be listed by them.

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If you wish to obtain your own domain name then you will need to purchase it from a domain name company. Homechoice do not currently offer domain names other than the www.username.Homechoice.co.uk address you get free with your account.

If you purchase a domain name and some web space from the same company, then you will need to upload your web files directly to your domain name company's server.

They will provide you with the details that you need in order for a connection to that site to be made. If you have purchased a domain name only then you will need to set up a 'Domain Name Forwarding' service.

This service will redirect any hits on your domain address on to another website address of your choice, such as your Homechoice web space. You will need to contact the company that sold you your domain name and they will be able to configure this service for you.

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No, the software used on the Homechoice Web Server will not support Front Page Extension.

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