Frequently Asked (Web Service) Questions

In an effort to make the use of New Wave's services as easy and efficient as possible for the customer, a list of frequently asked questions (along with answers) is avaliable here. If there is a question & answer that you would like added to the list, feel free to send email to :
New Wave@GoTexan.com.


How do I transfer files to my website?

New Wave customers may upload their files by using an ftp client that allows the user to specify a login name and password. An excellent client to do this with with Microsoft Windows is WS_FTP, which is avaliable at

http://www.ipswitch.com/ws_ftp_reg.html.

Windows 95 users may also use the index ftp client, as long as they remember to switch into binary mode when uploading pictures and other non text files.

Mac users may wish to use fetch, which can be found at

http://mirror.apple.com/mirrors/mac.archive.umich.edu/util/comm/fetch3.01.cpt.hqx.

Logging in

To access your web site with an ftp client, you may either ftp directly to your site's domain name (ie. www.yourdomain.com), or you may use your IP address while you wait for your domain to be registered with the Internic. Once you have connected, log in with your account's name and password. When uploading files, keep in mind these 5 things:

1. UNIX systems are case sensitive. So a file named foobar.txt would be a separate file from one named FOOBAR.txt . If you can't seem to find a file on the server that you just uploaded, check to see that you are using the right case.

2. UNIX filenames also may contain almost any type of character, and sometimes this may confuse clients. If you have trouble retrieving a file, try using wildcards in ftp to delete it, and replace it with a file that doesn't have spaces or other special characters in its name.

3. New Wave's HTTP server recognizes file formats by extension. This means a client retrieving a file named .htm or .html will be told it is in HTML format. Make sure that you have the proper extensions when uploading your files.

4. Your root web server directory (ie. http://www.yourdomain.com/) is mapped to your home directory. You may create an unlimited amount of subdirectories (folders) within this directory to organize your site using the ftp command "mkdir". To have a page automatically load up when a browser goes to a directory, name a file index.html (make sure its lowercase) and place it in that directory. If this file is not present, the browser will show a list of all the files in that directory. This applies to the root directory as well.

5. CGI scripts must be in the cgi-bin/ subdirectory and have executable permissions set to be able to be executed. Otherwise they are treated as regular files.


I use AOL and the files I upload seem to get chopped off after a certain length.. Why does this happen?

According to one of our customers, AOL has supposedly decided to limit the size of files that can be transfered via FTP. If you are unable to resume transfers or compress files to fit within AOL's limit, we would recommend using another provider that does not limit the amount of data you can upload.


How do I retrieve email from New Wave?

To retrieve your email from New Wave, you may use an email program that supports retrieving your email via POP. Programs that are able to do this are Netscape Mail and Eudora. Set them to use the server pop.your-domain.com.

On the other hand, if you have an existing email account somewhere that you would like your New Wave mail forwarded to, you may upload a file named .forward to your home directory that contains the destination email address on the first line. Future email will be immediately forwarded to that address instead of stored at New Wave. You may specify more specific forwarding rules by using our online control panel, available at www.yourdomain.com/stats (note this will not work until the InterNIC processed your domain name request).


What do I set my SMTP server to?

For this setting use mailhost.your-name.com.


Where does email to my domain go?

Mail to any address in your domain will be automatically forwarded to your account at New Wave, unless you have configured it to do otherwise with the Mail Configuration Control Panel in your stats subdirectory.


How do I view statistics regarding access to my site?

Each account has a statistics and control panel page that may be viewed by requesting the URL http://www.yourdomain.com/stats. To access the page you must provide your account name and password. Users with new accounts will not be able to access their stats until the InterNIC processes their domain name. The raw log file that contains a record of your accesses is cleared on the first day of each month.


How long does it take for new domains and changes to existing domains to make their effect on the internet?

Once you receive notification that the InterNIC has registered your domain name, it usually takes around 72 hours for the changes to propogate across the internet. The reason that it takes this long is because the system by which domain name lookup works is hierarchael, and the caches on the servers must time out before they request new information for a domain. You can also check the status of your InterNIC registration on their Registration Tracking Page.


Who do I contact in regard to InterNIC billing?

The InterNIC may be contacted at billing@internic.net or by calling (703) 742-4777 (option 1). The InterNIC also has a page available about Invoicing and Payment Procedures.


How do I announce my site?

Most users of the World Wide Web frequently use search engines to find what they are looking for. If you would like your site to appear along with the rest, most search engines will allow you to add yourself to their database free of charge. Some popular search engines that allow this are Yahoo, Lycos, WebCrawler, AltaVista, and many more can be found in the Search Engines page of Yahoo (look for an "add URL" option). There are some services that can add your page to many search engines automatically. One of these is is Submit-it!, which allows you to try out its service for free.


What does it mean when I get a Server Error when I try to use one of my CGIs?

This does not necessarily mean that the server is misconfigured; in fact, it usually means that a CGI script a user has installed is not functioning correctly, and the server is detecting this. Common causes are: the file is not executable, there is a malformed header, or it has an incorrect path reference when using an SSI. If you're using an SSI, the path format is usually the cause. See the Apache and NCSA httpd home pages, the comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix newsgroup, and the on-line support menu for more information. Also, you may wish to use our Perl Validatation script to see if an error appears when the script is being complied. This will probably show the exact line in the script that is causing the problem. New Wave does not offer support for user written CGIs, but reading the documentation that comes with the script and browsing through the online support that New Wave has available will usually reveal what's causing the problem.


How do I transfer documents securely?

ValueWeb offers access to its SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Server. Transfers are encrypted with New Wave's key by index. However, in most browsers this will generate a warning that the key is not authorized for your domain, and some will not permit the transaction at all (Microsoft Internet Explorer). Netscape and MSIE are able to determine whether a key has been properly authorized, and New Wave is not authorized to distribute new keys, so if you would like to obtain your own key to stop the warnings, you must obtain one from VeriSign. Once you obtain your key, call us at 1-409-264-2164 or 409-344-2449 and a customer service representative will help you install your key into our secure server.


Why do the images that I upload appear as broken picture icons on my page?

If this occurs make sure that you have the proper extentions on the image that you are trying to view. For example if you are tring to view a JPG make sure you uploaded the file with a .jpg extention. Also, make sure that the file name is the same in both the HTML code and the server. If you uploaded a file named example.JPG and it is written as example.jpg in your HTML code you may run into problems tring to view it on your page.


Why can't I see my web pages that I uploaded with Microsoft Publisher?

Microsoft Publisher will try to upload your files into a public_html/ directory by index. Instead, you should instruct it to upload it into your home directory and everything should work fine.


Why does Microsoft FrontPage give me a 500 error?

Either

1) You have a UNIX account and are trying to upload via the web. Try reconfiguring to upload via FTP, or call us to transfer your account to the FrontPage server.

or

2) You are trying to back up your files from the web to your harddrive. Even though you should have a copy of your web on your harddrive already in the first place (thats where it all gets started), if you try to publish your remote web to a local drive, a Microsoft FrontPage server extension will unexpectedly terminate, generating the 500 error. This bug has been reported to Microsoft, and will be fixed as soon as possible.


Why can't I see anything on my stats page?

This is probally because you are using an old version of Netscape Navigator. Try a newer version.


I have a problem that I can't find the solution to with any of the material you have available on the support web pages; what should I do?

If you have a problem with accessing New Wave's service, you can email New Wave@GoTexan.com with a description of your problem, and we will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Please include your account & domain name, and an exact duplicate of the error message if applicable. If you would like a more immediate response, you may call us at 1-409-264-2133 between the hours of 9am & 12pm CST, weekdays.


Copyright 1996 New Wave Enterprises - New Wave@GoTexan.com
HOME