Pagemaker

HOMEPAGE - CREATOR INFORMATION SHEET

You may want to print this page by choosing the file option above, and then the print option. Then type in the name of your printer if it is not set to the default printer.

Instructions

Below are some general instructions for creating your own homepage on the LOGIN.ITD.UMICH.EDU computer system. By default, everyone has the ability to set up their own homepage if you have a uniquename and password. Your individual URL address will be:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~uniquename/

SO you can give people this address (or type it directly into your "OPEN" choice on netscape) and it will take you there. BUT FIRST! we need to create the spot for it. When you log onto the LOGIN.ITD system. You will need to execute the following UNIX operating system commands at the prompt (which is denoted with the "%" below):

(1)% ls

(2)Now look to see if there is a directory listed called Public. If yes, skip steps 3 and 4 and go straight to step (5).

(3) % mkdir Public

(4) % chmod 644 Public

(5) % cd Public

(6) % mkdir html

(7) % chmod 644 html

You now have a place for your homepage. You have to create one now. You have three main options (not mutually exclusive) for creating your homepage.

Creating the HTML document

(1) If you have no idea how to create an HTML (hypertext mark-up language) file, then use the EDITOR given in Netscape (Versions 3.0 and higher) on your macs. It will create it for you as you use it's general, user- friendly editor. Be sure to call it: "index.html". I have not used this editor before, but it seems easy to use.

(2) If you know a little about HTML documents, you may want to find a homepage that you like which you have seen on the web and just modify it. You can view other document source HTML codes by choosing "view" and then "document source". You can see easily how figures are included, hotlinks are made, and interactive modes are added. This is how I created my page and then built from there. HTML language has a very short learning curve. Be sure to title the file index.html.

(3) Start from scratch in your favorite editor. Create a file called index.html and go for it. For more information on HTML, here is a good language writing homepage: http://bio444.beaumont.plattsburgh.edu/HTMLanguageWriting.html

Putting your Document in Place

Which ever method you choose to create your homepage, my suggestion is, to create it on your individual machine and then put the file over to your account. This is the best way to create one from the start. If you need to update it after that, you probably can do it directly on the LOGIN.ITD, although the editors are UNIX OS based, and if you have never used them before, they are not user friendly.

There are basically two options for transferring files between computers. You can use "fetch" (for macs) or "ws_ftp" (for PC) or general FTP commands. The commands are menu choice driven, and are easy to use. BE SURE TO CHOOSE THE BINARY OPTION WHEN SENDING FIGURES (.jpg etc files) over! And, also be sure that once you move it over there you place all of it is in the directory Public/html. If you you do not know how to use either of those file transfer protocols, you should have an FTP option on your computer (macs under connections). Once you have connected, you can type these commands at the ftp prompt (ftp>)

(1) ftp> cd Public

(2) ftp> cd html

(3) ftp> put index.html

(4)It will do it and come back to the prompt when done. then type ftp> quit.

However you choose to move your file over there, the last thing you will need to do is make your file accessible by going to the login.itd account again in the Public/html directory. To do this login to ITD and:

(1) % cd Public/html

(2) % chmod 644 index.html (do this along with any other files such as figures etc in this directory )

Try it out by using Netscape : "open" and type the address shown at the top of this document.

Finally, let me add my two bits of philosophy on this. With all the great science taking place here, the current homepages in Microbiology are clearly not showing us off. These "secondary" homepages can be linked directly from your micro homepage (just add the hotlink-see Dar-Weia), and can contain all sorts of wonderful details: including your favorite electron micrographs, links to important pages and even your biographical sketches. These are all extremely helpful for both graduate and faculty recruitment, as well as general department PR.

GOOD LUCK! Any questions can be addressed to Dr. David A. Friedman.