For general information onf Webhosting, please click here.

1: What prerequisites must I meet before I setup my home page?

The following is a list of skills you need to have in order to create and maintain your own web pages. If you are planning to attend a training session you MUST have aquired these skills prior to attending the class. The NJIT Teaching and Learning Technology (TLT) group offers workshops which can help you meet the prerequisites.

• Competency in the use of Microsoft Windows XP. That is:
  • Effective use of the mouse; controlling the tracking speed;
  • Effective use of Windows Explorer, Taskbar and START button;
  • How to minimize and maximize applications on the desktop;
  • Basic editing functions, e.g. cut/copy/paste, building shortcuts to applications or files, use of right mouse button for extended functions.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word or PowerPoint for Office 2003. Must be able to successfully accomplish the following:
  • Save files in various formats;
  • Define and set styles for Word.
• Familiar with basic concepts of the World Wide Web. You should be able to:
  • Use a browser to view a particular web site;
  • Create bookmarks to a particular web site;
  • Search for a topic with a search engine.

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2: What are the hardware and software requirements?

Hardware Requirements:

• Pentium III computer capable of supporting Internet Explorer 6.0.
• Internet connection.

Software Requirements:

• A Browser - for interacting with the Web. We suggest Microsoft Internet Explorer (Free).
  Note: If you're reading this page, you probably already have a browser.
• Secure Shell Transfer Programs - for moving your pages from your PC to a web server. We suggest SSH Secure Shell, (Available to download from http://ist.njit.edu/software/)

Additional Software:

• WinZip - To uncompress files.
• Graphic programs - to create graphics for your page. You can use Paint, Paint Shop Pro.
• Equation rendering programs. You can use Microsoft Word, Paint Shop Pro.

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3: Where can I find general information on web hosting?

General information on webhosting can be found at ist.njit.edu/webhosting.

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4: What are the differences in index page extensions, and how do I make a directory auto index?

Your personal website should contain an "index file" in the public_html directory as the entry point. The webservers that serve user pages from AFS are configured to give you several choices of what the index file is named:

1. index.html The primary index file is public_html/index.html
2. index.php If the primary doesn't exist, then public_html/index.php (a PHP script) is used
3. index.htm If neither of the above exist, then public_html/index.htm (shorter file name extension) file is used
4. If none of these apply then an error message like this is displayed.

All of this happens every time someone on the Internet browses your webpage (http://web.njit.edu/~UCID given your UCID).

Any subdirectories of your default website should also have index files; for instance, public_html/somedir should have a corresponding public_html/somedir/index.html (MS Windows users please see note below).

Prior to January 2007 the systems were configured to handle unindexed directories by "autoindexing" them: Instead of showing an error, a listing of the files in the directory was displayed. Here is an example of an autoindexed directory. While autoindexing has many good uses, the practice of autoindexing by default makes it too easy for people to accidentally reveal private data and passwords, as shown in the example.

One of the good uses of autoindexing is for distribution of datafiles for research or classwork. You can request that autoindexing be turned on for any reason for a specific directory either by sending mail to webmaster@oak.njit.edu or the IST Computing Helpdesk. Please include the URL, or the complete path to the directory(ies) in question with your request.

Note for Microsoft Windows XP users

All public computer lab PCs at NJIT are configured to automatically mount your AFS filespace as your H: drive, so your website's entry point will be the file

H:\public_html\index.html

Please note that if you have both index.html and index.htm files then the index.html version wins!

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