Setting up for CO327

There are three things you need to set up for working on CO327:

• Install a shortcut to the program "Amaya" on your desktop
• Install a shortcut to the program "Notepad++" on your desktop
• Set up the filespace on the server raptor to act as a web server for you.

Shortcut to Amaya

On this module we will be using a web authoring tool called "Amaya". This is open source software designed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It is already installed on the public PCs and you can download it free of charge for use non your own machines if you wish.

To create a shortcut, click on the Start button on the task bar at the bottom of the screen. Then click on

All Programs -> Departmental Software -> Computer Science -> Amaya

And then with the right mouse button, click on Amaya

and click on Send to -> Desktop (create shortcut)

Check that the shortcut has been placed on the desktop.

Shortcut to Notepad++

Notepad++ is also found under the Departmental Software for Computer Science. Create a shortcut to it on the desktop in the way that you did for Amaya.

Setting up file space on raptor

To be able to publish web pages across the campus network, you must use the space allocated to you on the Computer Science machine raptor, and put the pages into a particular folder.

Mapping a networked drive

The first thing to do is to make raptor available as a networked drive, and to ensure that it is mounted every time you log in.

Click on Start and then Computer. Check if you already have raptor mounted as a drive, as shown below. The exact drive letter does not matter. If you do not have the drive mapped, follow these instructions. (If is is already mapped, move on to the section Filename extensions.)

If you do not have raptor mapped as a drive, then click on Map network drive (on the menu bar at the top of the window) and follow the instructions below.

Let the system choose the drive letter in the Drive input box. Into the Folder input box, you type \\raptor\files Put a tick into the Reconnect at logon box so that the drive is mapped each time you log into the system. Then click Finish. Warning: If the system asks you for a password then it means that you do not have permission to use the machine raptor. Tell your class supervisor and we will sort it out for you.

Filename extensions

Before we continue there is a very useful setting worth making. By default, filename extensions are not displayed, so a Word document called, for example myReport.doc would appear as only myReport . It would not have the extension .doc. This can be very confusing when you are working with files of different types. These instructions will make the system display the filename extensions.

Displaying the extensions Click on Start then Computer. Now click on Organize -> Folder and search options... and you will see a panel with three tabs at the top. Click on the tab marked View and look at the Advanced settings section. Find the check box labelled Hide extensions for known file types. If there is a tick in the box click it to remove the tick and then click Apply -> OK.

Your Home folder on raptor

Once raptor is mapped as a drive (as shown in the diagram at the top of this page) you can double click on it and you will find that you have access to these folders:

Your Home folder is where you can store your own files.

Organising your folders

You may use your home folder on raptor for two purposes:

• To publish web pages.
• To store your work for this module (and for other modules too if you wish).

All files and folders have permissions associated with them that control who can and cannot view or change them. The instructions below will show you how to create and organise your folders so that you can work effectively and safely on this module.

• So that other people can see your web pages, you must set the permissions on your home folder to allow other people to see your files.
• So that people can only see the web pages, and not all of your other work, you need to keep all the web pages in a publicly viewable folder and all other work in a private folder, with permissions set to prevent other people from seeing inside it. This is important to prevent others copying or interfering with your files.

Set permissions on your home folder

Right click on your home folder and select Properties.

In the popup window, click on the Security tab and then on Everyone Select Edit In the Permissions for Everyone window, set ticks in the three boxes as shown in the screen shot. Then click Apply and OK.

Create folders and set their permissions

Open your home folder (by double clicking on its icon). Create a folder called Private. Create another folder called public_html Warning: make sure that you type the name of this second folder exactly as shown - in lower case and with an underscore separating the two words.

To set the permissions on the Private folder, right click on its icon and then select Properties. In the popup window, click on the Security tab and then on Everyone. Click on Edit Make sure that there are no ticks in the boxes - as shown in the diagram. This will ensure that other people cannot read the files that you store under the Private folder. Then click Apply and OK. Then OK again to cancel the Private Properties window. If you already have any work in your home folder you should now move it all into your Private folder.

To set the permissions on the public_html folder, right click on its icon and in the popup window, click on the Security tab. Click on Everyone. In the Permissions for Everyone window, set ticks in the boxes as shown in the diagram. Then click Apply and OK.

Testing your website

What you will now do is put a test file into your public_html folder and then see if another student in the class can view it in a browser.

• Find (or open again ) the Computer window as shown at the top of the page.
• Double click on the drive mapped to raptor.
• Open the Courses folder and then the CO327 folder.
• Copy the file testPage.html into your public_html folder.
• Open the program Amaya from the icon on the desktop.
• Find the testPage.html file in your public_html folder drag and drop it into Amaya.
• Edit the file to contain your name and then save it.
• Close Amaya.

Ask your neighbour in the class to start up a browser and then in the address box, carefully type

http://raptor.kent.ac.uk/~login/testPage.html

Replace login with your own login. So for user xyz the address would be

http://raptor.kent.ac.uk/~xyz/testPage.html

Your neighbour should be able to see your page containing your name. You must ask someone else to view your page - you cannot test it by looking at it yourself.

Show your class supervisor. If you can show your supervisor in week 14 or 15, then this will count towards your portfolio of class exercises, as part of assessment 1.

Then return to the page for Terminal Session 2 exercises to continue the classwork.

Janet Linington (Designed January 2005, revised 2008)