FAQ: Web Hosting

1. Why does the file "robots.txt" appear in my error log?
2. How do I prevent people from browsing the contents of my directories?
3. I don't like the standard "404 Not Found" error message which displays when someone accesses a file that does not exist. How do I specify a page to load when a file is not found?
4. What "index" files are supported?
5. I just uploaded my site and some of my images or background don't show up. What's wrong?
6. I just uploaded my index.html file, and I can see it with FTP/FrontPage, but the webserver gives a "404 Not Found" error when I try to load it. What's wrong?
7. Where do I upload my files using FTP?
8. Do you support RealAudio?
9. Do you support Server Side Includes (SSI)? Can SSI files execute "cgi-bin" programs? Can I use SSI tags in my .html files?
10. I can't delete my directories using FTP.
11. My files are "broken" when I view them through my browser.
12. How do I create multiple FTP accounts?
13. How do I setup password-only access restriction?
14. How do I manage access restriction for large numbers of customers?
15. How do I make my HTML files "aware" of the username when referenced from within a restricted area?
16. Why does the file "favicon.ico" appear in my error log?

Why does the file "robots.txt" appear in my error log?

The file "robots.txt" is requested by search engines when indexing your site.
It can be used to define search parameters, or to specify certain files to index.

You are not required to provide a "robots.txt" file, however you will see periodic errors in your error log if you do not supply one.

If you are interested in the function and format of the "robots.txt" file, and other methods of controlling or disabling search engines (including META tags), please visit the Web Robots Pages.

Typically, creating a blank "robots.txt" file in your document root directory will prevent "robots.txt" from appearing in your error log, and will also serve to prevent indexing by most search engines.

How do I prevent people from browsing the contents of my directories?

Make sure you have an index.html or index.htm file in the directory. For example, if you don't want people to be able to obtain a directory listing of your /images directory, simply place a blank index.html file in your /images directory.

I don't like the standard "404 Not Found" error message which displays when someone accesses a file that does not exist. How do I specify a page to load when a file is not found?

Create a 404.html file in your document root. Detailed documentation is available.

What "index" files are supported?

The following files will load automatically, when a directory URL is requested. They are listed in order of priority:

index.html
index.shtml
index.htm
default.html
default.htm
home.html
home.htm
INDEX.HTM
index.mv
index.php3

I just uploaded my site and some of my images or background don't show up. What's wrong?

As with most webservers, Xenoplanet's webservers do not support spaces in filenames. Since most pre-packaged backgrounds have titles like "Light Blue Mist.jpg", the webserver is not able to see the background. Rename your image files without spaces, i.e. "LightBlueMist.jpg". You may also be running into a case-sensitivity problem, as webservers are CaSe SeNsItIvE.

I just uploaded my index.html file, and I can see it with FTP/FrontPage, but the webserver gives a "404 Not Found" error when I try to load it. What's wrong?

Check your filenames for capitalization and/or unusual characters. As with most webservers, Xenoplanet's webservers are CaSe SeNsItIvE, which means that INDEX.HTML is not the same as index.html. In addition, for best results, we suggest that you limit your filenames to the following characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, ".", "-", "_", as browser support varies widely with unusual characters.

Where do I upload my files using FTP?

Web documents should be placed in your /htdocs directory, which is the default directory within FTP. The following is a brief description of your filesystem. Note: not all of these directories are visible on all accounts:

/access - for internal use only
/bin - for internal use only
/cart - for internal use only

/cgi-bin
For those with CGI access, this directory will contain your actual CGI scripts.

/cgi-out - for internal use only

/freeCGI
This is the directory for freeCGI configuration files. When following documentation using our form processors, random banners, etc., you may be instructed to place files in this directory.

/htdocs
This is your actual document directory, where you will upload your content. You can create subdirectories within this directory to better organize your files.

/mvdata
This directory is intended for use with HTMLScript/Miva data files.

/logs
This directory contains your raw log files. You may wish to download these files on a regular basis if you are interested in archiving your access logs.

/sendmail - for internal use only
/usr - for internal use only

/webdropbox
Files which are uploaded using the WebDropBox appear in this directory.

Do you support RealAudio?

Xenoplanet supports RealAudio, RealVideo, Microsoft NetShow, Vivo, and other streaming technologies through a technique known as "pseudo-streaming." This technology is compatible with RealPlayer 3.0 and higher, and all known NetShow and Vivo clients. As we use HTTP streaming to server realaudio files, there are no limits in place on the number of concurrent streams. For information, please read our Streming Media How-To.

Do you support Server Side Includes (SSI)? Can SSI files execute "cgi-bin" programs? Can I use SSI tags in my .html files?

Xenoplanet supports SSI; detailed documentation is available. SSI can include cgi-bin programs for those users of the developer packages. At this time, Xenoplanet does not officially support parsing of SSI in .html files. Files that include SSI instructions should end in .shtml.

The following unsupported method may work: Add the following line into your root directory .htaccess file:

AddType text/x-server-parsed-html .shtml .html .htm

While this may work, it is inefficient and Xenoplanet does not provide technical support for any problems, complications, or incompatibilities which may arise from this configuration change.

I can't delete my directories using FTP.

There are several reasons which may apply:

1. You may have Microsoft FrontPage extensions installed on your account. Connect to your site with the FrontPage Explorer to delete directories, or contact Xenoplanet support to have your FrontPage extensions removed if you wish to delete directories from within FTP.

2. You may have access restriction enabled on the directory. Remove access restriction from the directory and delete the directory using FTP.

3. Make sure to remove all files and subdirectories which occur within a given directory before deleting that directory.

4. Your directory name may consist of unusual characters (spaces, punctuation, non-standard characters). Contact Xenoplanet support to have the directory removed.

My files are "broken" when I view them through my browser.

You may be uploading your files incorrectly. If you are using FTP, make sure you upload binary files (images, sound files, real audio files, video files, executables, etc.) in binary mode. Make sure you upload text files (html, htm, shtml, htmlscript, real audio meta files, other meta files, etc.) in ascii mode.

How do I create multiple FTP accounts?

To create multiple FTP accounts, use the online tool, available from your account control panel. Each FTP account can be restricted to a particular directory, or your whole site. Each FTP account can also be flagged read-write or read-only.

How do I setup password-only access restriction?

Xenoplanet does not support password-only access restriction. Web authentication requires the use of both a username and a password to logon.

Try making the username and password identical, or using a username that is easy to remember (i.e. "guest").

How do I manage access restriction for large numbers of customers?

In most instances where access restriction is desired for large numbers of clients, a separate username and password are not required for each client.

For example, a monthly subscription-only publication could assign a unique username and password to each of its readers, but this would be prohibitively inefficient. Instead, the publication could issue a single username and password (i.e. "guest", "mypass"), emailing this username and password to each of their readers.

The password could then be changed and re-emailed periodically (i.e. monthly), as necessary.

How do I make my HTML files "aware" of the username when referenced from within a restricted area?

To make your HTML files "username-aware", create an SHTML file (i.e. "test.shtml") and place it within your restricted area. Embed the following code into your SHTML document:

<!--#set var="username" value="${REMOTE_USER}" -->
<!--#echo var="username" -->

You can embed the above code into pre-existing HTML code (remember that the file extension MUST be .shtml), i.e.:

<HTML>
<HEAD><TITLE>My Title</TITLE></HEAD>
<!--#set var="username" value="${REMOTE_USER}" -->
<BODY BGCOLOR=#ffffff>
(etc)
Your username is: <B><!--#echo var="username" --></B><BR>
(etc)
</BODY>
</HTML>

SHTML files are known to have incompatibility issues with Microsoft FrontPage, and we do not recommend the use of both SHTML and FrontPage together. It is not possible to obtain the password used to login. This is a webserver limitation.

Why does the file "favicon.ico" appear in my error log?

The file "favicon.ico" is automatically requested by Internet Explorer 5 when a user bookmarks your site. It is used to provide a custom icon for the user's "favorites" list.

You are not required to provide a "favicon.ico" file, however you will see periodic errors in your error log if you do not supply one.

If you are interested in the function and format of the "favicon.ico" file, please visit Page Resource.

Typically, creating a blank "favicon.ico" file in your document root directory will prevent "favicon.ico" from appearing in your error log.