How to troubleshoot publishing problems in FrontPage

This article describes how to troubleshoot publishing problems if you cannot publish a Web to a remote location by using Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 or Microsoft FrontPage 2002.

To troubleshoot publishing problems, use the following procedures in the order in which they are presented. If a test does not help you identify your publishing problem, go to the next test.

Test 1: Ping the Server

1. Click Start, click Run, type command, and then press ENTER.
   
   If you are using Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 2000, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
2. At the command prompt, type ping server_name, and then press ENTER, where server_name is the name of the server that you want to connect to.
   
   For example, type ping microsoft.com.
   
   If you have a successful connection, you should see a reply similar to the following:

   Pinging microsoft.com [207.46.197.101] with 32 bytes of data:
   
   Reply from 207.46.197.101: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
   Reply from 207.46.197.101: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
   Reply from 207.46.197.101: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
   Reply from 207.46.197.101: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
   
   Ping statistics for 207.46.197.101:
       Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
   Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
       Minimum = 0ms, Maximum =  0ms, Average =  0ms
   							

   If your connection is successful, go to test 2.
   
   If you receive the following message, there is a domain name resolution problem. Contact your Internet service provider (ISP), Web Presence Provider (WPP), or network administrator.
   
   Unknown host microsoft.com.
   If the connection is not successful, you receive a message similar to the following:

   Pinging microsoft.com [207.46.197.101] with 32 bytes of data:
   
   Request timed out.
   Request timed out.
   Request timed out.
   Request timed out.
   
   Ping statistics for 207.46.197.101:
       Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
   Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
       Minimum = 0ms, Maximum =  0ms, Average =  0ms
   						

3. Repeat step 2, but use the IP address instead of the server name. The IP address is the series of numbers in brackets after the host name.
   
   For example, 207.46.197.101 is the IP address in the following line:
   Pinging microsoft.com [207.46.197.101] with 32 bytes of data

If the connection is not successful when you use the IP address, there is a problem establishing a connection with the server. Contact your network administrator or ISP.

If the connection is not successful when you use the host name but is successful when you use the IP address, there is a name resolution problem that must be addressed by your network administrator or ISP.

NOTE: If you are in a corporate environment or behind a firewall, you may not be able to ping your server, yet you can still connect to it with FrontPage.

Test 2: Visit the Server

1. Start your Web browser, type the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of your Web site in the address box, and then press ENTER.
   
   If you can view the Web site, go to test 3.
2. In the address box, type the IP address, and then press ENTER.
   
   If you cannot view the Web site by using the URL or the IP address, contact your network administrator, ISP, or support service for your Web browser.

Test 3: Open the Web in FrontPage

1. On the File menu in FrontPage, click Open Web.
2. In the Folder Name box, type http://server name, and then click Open (where server name is the host name of your server).
   • If you can open the site, the problem is not a network problem. Go to test 4.
   • If you are prompted for the password, but you cannot open the site, either you are using the wrong user name and password, or there is an authentication problem with the way your site is configured.
   • If you receive an error message, repeat steps 1 and 2, but use the IP address.
3. If neither the host name nor the IP address is successful, verify that any proxy settings are correct. Versions of FrontPage after FrontPage 98 share the Internet Explorer connection settings. To verify the proxy settings in FrontPage, follow these steps:
   1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
   2. On the General tab, click Proxy Settings.
      
      The Internet Properties dialog box opens.
   3. On the Connections tab, click LAN Settings.
   4. Verify the proxy server settings.
      
      Note To make sure that the proxy settings are correct, you may have to contact your network administrator or ISP.
4. If you cannot open the site, contact your network administrator or ISP. FrontPage is having a problem connecting to the site over your specific network/Internet connection.

Test 4: Check FrontPage Server Extensions

Step 1

1. In the browser address bar, type http://host_name/_vti_inf.html.
2. On the View menu, click Source to check FrontPage Server Extensions and type.
   • If Author.dll/Admin.dll is listed, this indicates an Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) NT-Based Server. There may be a problem with NT LANMan (NTLM) authentication.For additional information about NTLM authentication, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
     275546 Troubleshoot Continuous Password Prompts in FrontPage
   • If Author.exe/Admin.exe is listed, this indicates a Unix-based server.

Step 2

In the browser address bar, type http://Host_Name/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/Page_Name, and then press ENTER.

(On ISAPI servers, type http://Host_Name/_vti_bin/shtml.dll/Page_Name, and then press ENTER.)

When you do this, you pass Page_Name through the FrontPage Server Extensions and display the page. If you receive an error message when you do this, there may be a problem with the FrontPage Server Extensions.

Step 3

1. In the browser address bar, type http://Server_Name/_vti_bin/_vti_aut/author.exe, and then press ENTER.
   
   (On ISAPI servers, type http://Server_Name/_vti_bin/_vti_aut/author.dll, and then press ENTER.)
2. When you are prompted, type your user name and password.
   
   If you enter the correct information, you receive a message similar to the following:
   FrontPage error, webmasters please...
   If your credentials are incorrect or not working, you may receive any of the following messages:
   Permissions errors
   HTTP errors
   No Content errors

Test 5: Publish to a Different Location

1. If you have another remote host available, try to publish your Web to that location.
   
   Various companies offer free Web hosting for personal use that can be used for this purpose.
2. If you have Microsoft Personal Web Server installed, try to publish to http://localhost.
3. Try to publish to a local hard disk.

If you can publish to a different remote host, there may be a problem with your remote Web server. Contact the administrator of your Web hosting company.

If you cannot publish to the remote location but can publish locally, there may be a problem connecting to the Internet. Repeat test 1 to try to isolate the problem, or contact your network administrator or ISP.

If you cannot publish locally or remotely, there may be a problem with your installation of FrontPage.

Test 6: Create a Test Web

Create a new one-page Web, and then try to publish it.

IMPORTANT: Do not overwrite existing files. Rename the test Web before you try to publish it.

If you can publish the test Web, there may be a problem with the Web that you are trying to publish.

Test 7: Check Web Folders

1. Try to open your Web in FrontPage from the Run command. To do this, click Start, click Run, type frontpg.exe path_to_Web, and then click OK.
2. Try to open your Web in FrontPage from Internet Explorer, and then click Edit with Microsoft FrontPage on the File menu.

If step 1 is successful, or if step 2 is not successful, there may be a problem with your Web Folders installation. For additional information about Web Folders, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

More Troubleshooting Procedures

View the Log Files

View the log files to see if there is any information that may explain why you cannot publish your Web. To do this, follow these steps:

1. To view the FrontPage log files:
   1. On the Tools menu in FrontPage, click Options, and then click the Publish tab.
   2. Click View log files.
2. To view the Wecerr.txt file:
   1. Click Start, click Search, and then click All Files and Folders.
   2. In the All or part of the file name box, type wecerr.txt.
   3. In the Look in list, click My Computer.
   4. Click Search.
   5. View the file.

Other Issues

Replace Corrupted Passwords

To replace corrupted password files, follow these steps:

1. Search for and then delete PWL (*.pwl) files. PWL files store your encrypted Windows passwords.
2. Restart your computer.
3. When Windows prompts for a password, type your user name, but leave the password blank. Click OK.
   
   Do not click Cancel.

Create a New Connectoid

Some ISPs run a script that can interfere the "logon to network" setting. Note the properties of the existing connectoid, and then create a new one with the same properties. This replaces the connectoid in case it is corrupted.

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