A Web server can be configured in a wide variety of ways. This section provides
information on some common issues you may encounter in setting up a remote site,
and how to resolve them.
- Dreamweaver's version of FTP may not work properly with certain proxy
servers, multilevel firewalls, and other forms of indirect server access.
If you encounter problems with FTP access, ask your local system administrator
for help.
- Dreamweaver's version of FTP is different from some common FTP applications.
In particular, you must connect to the remote system's root folder and you
cannot navigate through the remote file system. (In some other applications,
you can connect to any remote directory, then navigate through the remote
file system to find the directory you want.)
- If you are having problems connecting and you've specified the host directory
using a single slash (/), you may need to specify a relative path from the
directory you are connecting to and the remote root folder. For example,
if the remote root folder is a higher-level directory, you may need to specify
../../ for the host directory.
- Sometimes with slow connections the default FTP time-out value of 60 seconds
results in too many time-outs. Increase this value (in Site preferences)
if you experience frequent time-outs. But don't increase it too much, or
you'll have to wait a long time when a connection really can't be made.
Generally, time-out values of 30 to 120 seconds are the most useful.
- File and folder names that contain spaces and special characters often
cause problems when transferred to a remote site. Use underscores in place
of spaces, and avoid special characters in file and folder names wherever
possible. In particular, colons, slashes, periods, and apostrophes in file
or folder names can cause problems. Special characters in file or folder
names may also sometimes prevent Dreamweaver from creating a site map.
- On the Macintosh, file names cannot be more than 31 characters long. If
you encounter problems with long file names, rename them with shorter names.
- Note that many servers use symbolic links (UNIX), shortcuts (Windows),
or aliases (Macintosh) to connect a folder on one part of the server's disk
with another folder elsewhere. For example, the public_html subdirectory
of your home directory on the server may really be a link to another part
of the server entirely. In most cases, such aliases have no effect on your
ability to connect to the appropriate folder or directory, but if you can
connect to one part of the server but not another, there may be an alias
discrepancy.
- When you encounter a problem with an FTP transfer, examine the FTP log
by choosing Window > Site FTP Log in the Site window (Windows) or Site
> FTP Log (Macintosh). If you encounter an error message such as "cannot
put file," your remote site may be out of space. Look at the FTP log
for more detailed information.