Creating New Files

The information that goes in the File Name field is the name of your file as it will appear in the Unix inforM directory and be a part of the URL for the page. This file name must be one word in length and may use letters and numbers, but may use periods, hyphens, pluses, or underscores as the additional characters. We recommend that you use a file extension to denote what type of file it is, such as .html for an HTML file or .txt for a text file. We also recommend that all file names be in lowercase letters. A few examples of acceptable file names are
• photo_1.jpg
• my-page.html
• filename.html
• document.txt
NO SPACES. If you create files with spaces in the file name, it will not display on the web. You will also have problems FTPing the file to inforM.

Valid characters for file names include letters numbers and the following characters:

+   -   _  .

We recommend that you avoid using the period and plus in your file names.

You can select a preset configured style by selecting one of the options. The STYLE button is intended to help you create your own style. If you use a preset style, you MUST fill in the following fields:

Please note: some of this information may be hard coded in the style itself. For example, the contact name may be in the style. If this is the case, the content in that field will be ignored.

1. Document Title: Use project, office, department. The UM box is preselected and will place a comma, University of Maryland after your document title. If you would like further information on how to properly title your page, please see the OITStyle Guide. It is important to properly title the document because the search engine displays that when search results are provided.

2. Page Title: Use specific title of page, depending on which style you choose, it will be placed accordingly in the appropriate spot on the page.

3. Author/Developer: A "not required" field, but would be used if you would like to specify the content owner (and use the field to the right as a "mailto", or if you would like to have a webpage associated with an individual as well as an email address.

4. URL/Email: You can enter either a url/webpage such as "www.inform.umd.edu" or an email "person@domain.umd.edu". The WebSpinner will enter the appropriate tags.

5. Email: You can enter either a url/webpage such as "www.inform.umd.edu" or an email "person@domain.umd.edu". The WebSpinner will enter the appropriate tags.

This screen shot will show you graphically where the information appears on the web page.

Special Note: If you have set WebSpinner to update your index.html files for you (see the page on the PREFS Button for details on how to do this) then you will see additional options. (If not you can ignore the following paragraph).

These additions prompt you as to whether or not you want WebSpinner's automatic update to your index.html file. If you say yes, then you need to enter a Menu Title to be used as the hypertext link on the index.html file and if you desire, a Description to appear next to this link. Note: Even if you have your preferences set for Web Spinner to prompt you, these additional options will only appear when you are working in a directory with an index.html file.

The next item listed is one of the most powerful on WebSpinner. It is known as the The File Browse Feature. This is an alternative to creating or updating a file directly.

You can use the Browse button to locate a file on your hard drive or floppy drive. After selecting the file, hit the Create File button to move the replacement file to the system.

Note: Using the Browse button will override any document text (e.g. anything added to the text edit box will be erased).

Another Note: You are not limited to only uploading text and HTML files in this fashion. You can also upload graphics files, sounds files, etc. (but not entire directories).

Important Note: At the moment, the current versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (3.01 or lower) do not support the HTML attribute(from HTML version 3.2) which allows the File Browse feature to work properly. If you are planning to use this feature, you must use Netscape or other compatible browser.

Finally, the last part of the page is the editing box where you can edit the contents of your file directly. The height and width of this box may be set using the PREFS button. Use the mouse to place the cursor in the editing box. It works like a standard word processor (though without all the fancy extras). You can edit both text and HTML files in this manner. You can (and most likely will want to) paste the text of your document into the this box rather than type it in. Follow the directions below to paste in your text.

To Add Document Text

1. Open your favorite text editor
2. Create or load the text of the document you want to add to inforM into this text editor
3. Select the entire text of the file
4. Select copy (May be a menu item ala Edit/Copy)
5. Select your web window and select the Document box
6. Select paste (May be a menu item ala Edit/Paste)

Now make sure all the fields are entered correctly and completely.

Use the Preview Button to view your page before you save it using the Create File button to place the new file online.

Note: WebSpinner will only open ONE preview window. If you have one open already, WebSpinner refreshes it when you select Preview but you will need to ALT/TAB to the open window or whatever you normally do to go to a different open window.

If you are happy with the way your page looks, select the "create" button. Your page is up on the web!