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ftp and incremental upload in golive cs

One of the many features in GoLive that make management of your site so much easier is the ability to connect to your web server and transfer files without having to use another program like Fetch or WS-FTP. In addition, you also have some additional features that can automate the process and help you keep track of the changes in the site.

This tutorial will give you the basics of using the FTP and Incremental Upload features. If you are still using GoLive version 6, here are the instructions you need.

entering the site settings

Note: If you imported this site using FTP in GoLive, this part is not necessary since your site file already has the FTP settings. Skip to the part about connection to the server and uploading files.

1. Open the site window in GoLive. From the Site menu select Settings... Click on Publish Server in the left column and then on the New button.

2. In the Select Publish Server window you'll see all the servers you've established in all GoLive sites. Click the New button. In the bottom section of the Severs window, enter:

  • the Nickname you want to use for this server
  • the Server address (your service provider will give you this information)
  • your account ID - Username (skip the Directory block for now)
  • you won't be able to enter the Password for your account unless you first click the Save box (don't do this unless this computer is secure)

Don't click OK yet.

3. Click the folder icon at the right side of the Directory block. GoLive will connect to the server and show you the top level folder in the next window (if you didn't enter your password, GoLive will ask for it first). Navigate to the folder where your site will live and open it. When the path at the top of the window shows the correct folder name at the end, click OK.

4. The path to your folder on the web server should now be shown in the Directory line of the Site Settings window. Again verify that the path is correct (the last item should be the name of your folder on the server) and click OK.

connecting to the server and uploading files

1. When you want to connect to the server, click the FTP Server connect/disconnect button in the Tool Bar (the one on the left) or go to the Site menu, pull down to Publish Server and select Connect from the sub menu.

2. After a few seconds, the top level of your folder on the web server should appear in the right pane of the site window.

Upload files by dragging them them from the left pane into the right pane. Make sure that the destination folder is showing in the right pane or you might put the file in the wrong place.

Download files by dragging them from the right pane into the left pane. Again make sure you put the file in the correct location.

incremental upload

While dragging files to upload them works fine, Incremental Upload automates the process of synchronizing your site. In this process GoLive will determine which files have been recently changed and then only uploading those files to the server. To use Incremental Upload,

1. Connect to the web server by clicking the FTP Server connect/ disconnect button in the Tool Bar.

2. After your folder on the server is showing in the right pane, click the Incremental Upload button in the Tool Bar (the one immediately to the right of the connect button).

4. After a few seconds to several minutes (depending on the size of your site, the speed of your connection, etc.) the next window will show the list of changed files.

5. Uncheck the box next to any file you do not want to be uploaded (remove the green arrow). If you uncheck the box next to a folder, no file in that folder will be uploaded. To see the files that have been selected in a particular folder, click the arrow (in Windows it’s a plus) next to the folder.

6. When you have reviewed the files and are ready to upload, click OK and GoLive will take care of the transfer. The time for the transfer will depend on the size of the files and the speed of your connection.

Note:
Incremental Upload works best if you have a completely empty folder on the web server the first time you use it. This allows GoLive to accurately determine the file modification dates since the first time, all files are new. For an existing site, this means that you must delete everything currently in your folder on the server.

You can delete everything in your folder on the web server by connecting to the server, clicking on any file, Select All files and click the Trash Can icon in the Tool Bar. GoLive asks you to verify that you want to delete the files. Click OK to complete the process.

BEFORE YOU DO THIS, make sure the version of the site on your hard drive is the same or later than the one on the server. You may want to first download the files on the server to a folder on your hard drive to make an archive of the existing site.