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Computing and Networking FAQ


3. WORLD WIDE WEB


[3.1] Where can I get the latest versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer?

Australian mirror sites for Netscape :- Internet Explorer :- Australian TUCOWS mirrors (many browsers and other Winsock apps) :-

[3.2] How can I access the Web when I don't use SLIP/PPP or Windows?

Telnet to student or dingo, then run the "lynx" web browser.

[3.3] How should I configure Netscape/IE for the UQ environment?

For all versions of Netscape, this is done via selecting (one of the) Preferences from the Options menu. The exact mechanism is different, however, depending on the Netscape version. In the following I will use the shorthand "y.x/MenuItem/SubMenuItem" to mean "For Netscape version y.x, from the Options menu, choose MenuItem, and then look for a submenu titled SubMenuItem".
     1.x/Preferences/Styles [2.x/General Preferences/Appearance]
          Home Page Location : http://www.uq.edu.au/

     1.x/Preferences/Mail and News [2.x/Mail & News/Servers]

          Mail (SMTP) Server : smtp.uq.edu.au
          POP Mail Server    : dingo.uq.edu.au   (staff & externals)
                               student.uq.edu.au (students)
          Your Name          : you should know this
          Your Email         : your full email address
                               eg. s1234567@student.uq.edu.au
                               or  j.bloggs@mailbox.uq.edu.au
          Reply to Address   : as in "Your Email" [optional]
          Your Organization  : The University of Queensland

          News (NNTP) Server : news.uq.edu.au
          News RC Directory  : Netscape setup should have 
                               filled this in for you. 
                               eg. If the Netscape 
                               subdirectory is c:\netscape, 
                               it will be c:\netscape\news

     1.x/Preferences/Applications and Directories [2.x/General Preferences/Apps]

          Telnet Application : if you use WINQVT/QVTNET, 
                               set this to the full path 
                               specification of TNSTART.EXE
                               eg. if the QVTNET subdirectory is
                               D:\INTERNET\QVTNET, it would be
                               D:\INTERNET\QVTNET\TNSTART.EXE
                               Alternatives are TRMPTEL.EXE, or
                               C:\WINDOWS\TELNET.EXE if Microsoft 
                               TCP/IP for WfWg is installed.

     1.x/Preferences/Proxies [2.x/Network Preferences/Proxies/Manual Proxy Config]
                                                        Port
          FTP Proxy      :    ftp-proxy.uq.edu.au        80
          Gopher Proxy   :    gopher-proxy.uq.edu.au     80
          HTTP Proxy     :    http-proxy.uq.edu.au       80
   	    Security Proxy :    http-proxy.uq.edu.au       80
          
          No Proxy For   :    uq.edu.au  uq.oz.au

          [Other entries in this section should be left blank]
For Internet Explorer most settings are similar. Proxy settings can be found under "Options.." in the View menu. Choose the "Connection" tab, check "Connect through a proxy server" and click the "Settings..". The only variation from the Netscape syntax occurs in the "Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with:" text box. Addresses must be separated by a semi-colon, and may use the wildcard symbol, as in *.uq.edu.au ; *.uq.oz.au .

[3.4] Why do I get an "application not found" error message when I try to connect to a certain host within Netscape?

Usually Netscape is not configured correctly for a Telnet application. Check your Netscape Preferences (see 3.3 above).

Alternatively, the URL document may be of a particular mime type for which Netscape has been assigned a non-existent helper application. Check the file extension of the document, and then make sure there is a valid application assigned to deal with files of this type (Helper Applications section of Netscape Preferences - in version 2.x, this is under General Preferences in the Helpers section).

[3.5] Why do I get an "Application Error" when I try to run Netscape?

If you're a Mac user, relax, you're having a nightmare. For Windows users, in view of the large number of Netscape installations, this is not a very frequent question, but it is not uncommon on older systems, and is worth answering in some detail since most of the troubleshooting techniques can also be applied to other more problematic Windows applications (eg. Word, WordPerfect). [Some parts of this answer will eventually move to a general Windows section of the FAQ]

There are many possible causes. Before you attempt to solve the problem, check the name of the module that generated the error message. Is it netscape.exe, & does the message indicate that netscape caused an error in another module (eg. krnl386.exe, gdi.exe). Make a note of the details in case you need assistance later on. The following checklist is not definitive, but contains some known causes and solutions, as well as a number of other possible explanations.

[3.6] I can access UQ web servers ok, but I can't contact any off-campus hosts. What's wrong?

If you're using lynx, there is a campus router, nameserver, or proxy server problem, or else the AARNET link is broken. By default, lynx is set up on dingo and student to use the Prentice http proxy server. From the dingo% or student% prompt, issue the "noproxy" command and try again. If this doesn't fix it, there's nothing you can do except report the problem and wait.

If you're using Netscape or Mosaic, it is more likely that the DNS/nameserver entry in your TCP/IP setup is incomplete or incorrect (should include 130.102.128.43 and 130.102.2.15). If you only have one nameserver specified, it is possible that it is down or malfunctioning. Make sure both nameserver entries are there, and check to see if swapping the order of the entries (or changing the default in MacTCP) fixes the problem. Telnet to a campus host and run lynx to see if it's a wider network issue (see above).

[3.7] I sometimes get "Page contains no data" messages, or the status line just displays "Contacting host..." and nothing else happens. What's wrong?

The first message usually indicates a cacheing problem, either at your end (ie. your disk/memory caches) or with a proxy server. If you have been writing and testing your own html documents, it's probably the former. Remember that, in general, documents you browse will be stored in your local caches, and if you're making changes to these documents you will need to use the "Reload" function to refresh the contents of the caches. This also applies to other documents on the web. If this doesn't fix it, try clearing your disk and memory caches, and check your http proxy setting (see 3.3 above). If the problem goes away when you remove the HTTP Proxy setting, but returns when you put it back, it's a proxy server cacheing issue. If you were using the above-mentioned UQ proxy servers, report the problem, including the URL of the site you were trying to access, to webmaster@cc.uq.edu.au.

If the problem persists after clearing your disk and memory caches, and with no proxy servers configured, the page really does contain no data, and the problem is with the web server you were trying to access.

The "Contacting host..." message, usually followed by a "time out" or "no response" error message, could also be a local or proxy server cacheing problem, but check to see that it is not a widespread problem [eg. telnet to student/dingo and run lynx] to eliminate the possibility of TCP/IP configuration or campus network problems.

[3.8] Lately, when I've tried to save any file that is greater that xxx Kb to disk within Netscape, the file has been truncated in size. Why?

This can happen without warning if you run out of disk space, or if you lose your connection to the remote host (eg. it times out) during the transfer. Note that if you are saving to a compressed drive, the reported amount of free disk space is misleading, since it refers to the amount of uncompressed data you should be able to save on the assumption that it a can be compressed to a specific ratio of its original size. In reality, a 2 Mb zip/arc/zoo/sea file could chew up 4 Mb of the space you thought you had, since it is already compressed.

If space is not the problem, try to establish whether it is related to specific remote sites. Try downloading a large file from a known "fast" server - eg. the dingo ftp archive, or some other local site.

Lastly, it could be a proxy server problem. Depending on the form of the URL [ftp://.. or http://..], if you have ftp-proxy.uq.edu.au or http-proxy.uq.edu.au in your Netscape FTP or HTTP Proxy Server settings respectively, remove it, and try downloading the problem file again. If this works, but replacing the Netscape Proxy setting causes the problem to resurface, report the details to webmaster@cc.uq.edu.au so that we can try to diagnose and fix the problem.

[3.9] How do I go about publishing my own web pages?

Refer to the URLs :-

[3.10] How do I go about publishing web pages for my department?

Refer to the URL - http://www.uq.edu.au/net-support/howtodept.html

[3.11] I've created a personal/departmental web page as per instructions. Why do I get an error message 403 whenever I try to browse it?

Usually means that permissions are not set correctly on your home directory, your web subdirectory, or your home page. Note that error 403 can also occur if you ask Netscape to open the default page in a subdirectory (ie. specifying only the path, but not the name of the html file) and there is no index.html file there.

Permissions can be set from your dingo/student home directory by running the shell script "publish". If your web directory is called something other than "public_html", you will need to pass it's name as a parameter on the command line. For example, your web files may be in a subdirectory [of your home directory] called "dept-web". At the dingo% prompt, type the command

           publish dept-web
to set permissions so that everyone can browse your pages.

For unix folk, x permissions must be set for others on your home directory and all subdirectories containing web files [chmod o+x]. All web documents must have read permissions set for others [chmod o+r].

[3.12] Can I put a counter on my UQ web page?

Use of the counter program on dingo is currently under review. See the UQ Web Service Announcements Page, accessible from the UQ Home Page, for news and developments.
[ URL : http://www.uq.edu.au/news/current.html ]

[3.13] Having to rename all my .htm files to .html is a pain. Can I leave my pages with .htm extensions?

Yes, but for personal pages, your home page must be called "index.html", which is the default page loaded by dingo and student if the filename of the html document is omitted in the URL. This also applies to any home page if you want it to load without having to specify the filename in the URL.

[3.14] Can I use imagemaps in my web pages?

Yes. Refer to the Announcments page for more information. Bear in mind, however, that many people access UQ pages over relatively slow dialup connections, and that some people use text-only browsers [or have their graphical browser configured to not load images to speed up access]. In any case, it's usually not a good idea to use an imagemap as the only means of accessing information.

[3.15] Can I run a cgi-bin script from my UQ web page?

For security and maintenance reasons, running cgi-bin scripts on dingo and student is strictly controlled. "Generic" scripts are available for imagemaps and mail forms, and The Prentice Centre Web Development Unit will contract to develop and maintain scripts for departments and other paying customers. Refer to http://www.uq.edu.au/wdu/ for more information.

[3.16] Several people need to maintain web pages for our department/organization. Can we obtain a special "group network access account" that we can all use for this purpose?

No. For security reasons, the rule is "one person per account". However, it is possible to create a unix group, and set group permissions on the principal account (ie. the home subdirectory & the web subdirectory belonging to the principal web "administrator") so that everyone in the group has read and write access to the web files. Since this requires work by the Prentice network administrator(s) responsible for dingo or student, a small fee or levy must be charged for setting up the group and explaining the steps involved.

[3.17] What software is available/recommended for developing web pages and where can I get it?

For Windows, Hotdog is probably the best HTML editor, although HTML Writer is also very good. The Microsoft Internet Assistant (add-on for Word for Windows 6.x) has the advantage that you can develop using a familiar word processor interface.

If you need to publish the same information via a number of different mechanisms (eg. print, Web, gopher, ftp), you can maintain the "master copies" as Word or Wordperfect documents, and convert them to HTML format for publishing on the web. Files can be saved in Microsoft's Rich Text format (rtf) or WordPerfect format, and html versions generated via conversion programs (eg. rtf2html, wp2html).

There are simply too many editors and tools to discuss in much detail here. For more information, check out some of the following URLs.

[3.18] What do I need in order to set up my own web server?

You need a dedicated server with an ethernet connection - while it is posssible to run a server over a permanent SLIP/PPP connection, this is not recommended due to the slow data transfer rates. The type of server you need depends on how much access you think the server will attract - ie. number of simultaneous connections, volume of data delivered to clients. For most departments a 486-DX4100 or medium-end Pentium is more than adequate. Some computer vendors (eg. Apple) sell web server packages which include all of the necessary hardware and software. Freeware Web server software is available for unix (NCSA httpd) and Windows NT (EMWAC https) servers. The Netscape web server is free for educational use by educational institutions (unix and Windows NT). There are many shareware Web servers for Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and NT. For more information, check out the following.

[3.19] I've prepared all my web pages on my PC/Mac. How do I upload them to my web subdirectory on dingo/student?

Given that you're obviously able to access the Web, the assumption here is that your are running TCP/IP on your PC/Mac, either via ethernet or through a dial-up SLIP/PPP connection. You can upload files from Netscape via a URL of the form ftp://YourUsername@hostname. For example, opening the URL
	ftp://s999999@student.uq.edu.au
should bring up a dialog-box prompting you for the password for (the fictitious user) s999999 on student.uq.edu.au. If the login is successful, the browser will display a listing of the user's home directory on the host server. You can then "drag and drop" to upload files from your PC, or click to download a per usual.

Alternatively, you can use any other ftp client for your computer (see question [4.4] in this FAQ). Within the ftp program, open a session to the host dingo.uq.edu.au [staff & external clients] or student.uq.edu.au [students]. Specify your usual student/dingo username and password. This will log you in to your home directory. Via the point and click interface, change to your "public_html" subdirectory (or wherever you store your web files) on student or dingo. Similarly, change to the local subdirectory on your computer that contains the files to upload. Select the files to upload, then click the "put" or transfer button. Before sending gif, jpg or other "binary" files, make sure the ftp client is configured to send in "binary" mode. Always send htm/html files in "ascii" mode, otherwise your end of line markers will not be translated to unix format correctly. [This will not affect web browsers, but if you ever need to edit the files on the unix host, you will have to deal with mysterious end of line characters.]

[3.20] How should I configure my browser to use the UQ proxy servers?

Please refer to the updated FAQ's relevant question at: http://prentice.uq.edu.au/faq/view-faq-question.asp?selectFaqID=1&categoryID=3&questionID=40


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Document last revised : 25 July 1997 [MM]