How to upload files to a Web Server in FrontPage 2002

This step-by-step guide shows how to use Microsoft FrontPage 2002 to quickly develop an effective upload page that allows multiple files of any type to be uploaded at the same time from your Web browser.

Required Hardware and Software

• One of the following operating systems:
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Internet Information Server 5.0 (IIS)
• Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions 2002 installed and configured on IIS. To obtain and download the FrontPage Server Extensions, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa140185(office.10).aspx
• FrontPage 2002 installed on the development computer. (FrontPage is available as a standalone version or in Microsoft Office XP Professional Special Edition.)
• An established network or Internet connection to the Web server.
• A Web project created on the Web server and open for editing.

Creating the Upload Page

1. Start Microsoft FrontPage. To do this, point to Programs on the Start menu, and then click Microsoft FrontPage.
2. Create or open a Web.
   
   To create a new Web, follow these steps:
   
   
   1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Page or Web.
   2. In the New Page or Web task pane, click Empty Web.
   3. In the Web Site Templates dialog box, click the Empty Web icon and click OK.
   To open an existing Web, click Open Web on the File menu. In the Open Web dialog box, select the Web you want to open, and then click Open.
3. On the View menu, click Page.
4. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Page or Web. In the New Page or Web task pane, click Blank Page to create a new HTML page.
5. On the File menu, click Save. Name the file Upload.htm and then click Save. The page appears in the Folder List pane and it is also open for editing.
6. On the View menu, click Folders. On the File menu, point to New and then click Folder. A new folder appears in your Web. The cursor is positioned for you to type the folder name. Type Uploads and press ENTER.
7. Right-click the new folder and then click Properties on the menu that appears. In the Properties dialog box, click to clear the Allow scripts or programs to be run check box. Make sure the remaining check boxes are selected (checked). Click OK.
   
   NOTE: If the check boxes are shaded, verify that you opened or created a Web. In Folder view, the first item in the Folder List pane should show a URL (http://...), not a file path (C:\...).
8. On the View menu, click Page to edit your newly created Upload.htm page. Switch to Normal view, if necessary, by clicking Normal at the bottom of the FrontPage window.

Setting up the File Upload Form

1. Click where you want to position the File Upload form. On the Insert menu, point to Form, and then click File Upload.
   
   A form appears on your page, and the cursor is positioned between the Browse and Submit buttons. Press ENTER several times to add some white space between the File Upload control and the Submit button. If you want to allow simultaneous uploads of multiple files, click the form again and then insert additional File Upload controls.
2. To change the label on the Submit button, right-click the button, and then click Form Field Properties on the menu that appears. In the Value/Label box, type Upload, and then click OK.
3. Right-click anywhere on the form and then click Form Properties on the menu that appears.
4. Select the Send To option.
5. Click Options.
6. In the Saving Results dialog box, click the File Upload tab.
7. Click Browse.
8. In the Current Web dialog box, click the Uploads folder.
9. Click OK three times to return to the form.
10. On the File menu, click Save to save your updated page.

Testing the Page

1. To test your page, click Preview in Browser on the File menu. The Upload.htm page opens in your Web browser.
2. Click Browse, select a file you want to upload from your hard disk to the Web server, and then click Open.
3. Click the Upload (or Submit) button.
   
   The file is uploaded to the Uploads folder on the Web server. You should see confirmation that the file uploaded successfully.

When you have this anonymous upload sample working, you can further enhance it by creating a custom confirmation page, or you can upload your document to a database rather than a folder. For additional information, see the articles listed in the "References" section later in this article.

You can also enable authentication, limit access to the files, log upload activity in a database, and display directories of uploaded documents and their properties to users who want to browse, edit, or download files. This upload solution also works in other Active Server Pages (ASP) programs created with tools other than FrontPage, as long as the projects are on a Windows 2000 server that has the FrontPage Server Extensions 2002 configured correctly.

Troubleshooting

• Remember that the File Upload solution is limited in the sense that you cannot extend the capabilities of the upload component. However, you can define a custom confirmation page, or create a "results" page based on ASP that inserts fields into a database or that does other custom processing. So, while the component code is fixed, you can build new custom code around the component to accomplish needed tasks.
• If you want to use a WebDav solution, the FrontPage Server Extensions 2002 should be uninstalled from IIS. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  221600 Working with Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) and Web Folders
  WebDAV is a new set of extensions to the HTTP protocol and allows Distributed Authoring and Versioning. It is enabled on Windows 2000 and IIS 5 in the form of Web folders and is accessible from Office 2000 and Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, or from custom coded solutions.
• Though normally reliable once they are installed, FrontPage Server Extensions require initial configuration. However, you can have access or usage problems with your site if the configuration is affected by changes in settings or by software that is being installed on the server. Because, the FrontPage Server Extensions are a mature technology, issues with them are usually resolved fairly quickly, and they enable a number of convenient and powerful features in several Microsoft products. For example, Visual Interdev uses the extensions to remotely create and administer Web applications on IIS.

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Third-Party Resources for Upload Components

You can find third-party Upload components at the following web sites:

Free Third-Party Components