Does WHB no longer support FTP access thru Frontpage??

[jwsigler]

I have several websites on WHB and I have always used Frontpage to maintain and to publish my websites. Lately when I try to publish any of my websites, Frontpage just hangs during the FTP transaction. The WHB helpdesk has been useless in solving or even trying to solve this problem. Instead of addressing the issue, their response is for me to use some other FTP program called SmartFTP. I would be willing to use this other program if this is a global issue and no one else hosting a site on WHB is able to use Frontpage either, but if this is just some problem with my account I figure WHB should make an effort to fix it. I doubt that this is a problem on my computer because my friend who also uses Frontpage to maintain one of my sites from his computer, through a totally different ISP, can no longer publish updates either. The common thread is that either WHB no longer supports FTP access through Frontpage, or there is something messed up on my account. Is anyone still using Frontpage to publish their websites, and if you are, do you have any suggestion on how to get the FTP transaction process working?

Thanks, John.

[Matt R.]

We support Frontpage to the best of our ability but Frontpage extensions, the server module that is required for you to connect is discontinued by Microsoft themselves - they no longer support it.

That's why we recommend FTP which is platform/vendor independant.

[Alan B]

Agreed. Get a decent FTP client. There are paid FTP clients and free FTP client available. You can even use Windows Explorer for FTP. Any of those options will be better, more reliable and more functional than FrontPage publishing.

[jwsigler]

Dear Alan and Matt,
It does seem strange that in February I had no problem publishing through Frontpage and now it does not work. I have not changed my software nor my settings; have you? As I told your helpdesk people, I also tried publishing through Internet Explorer and that did not work either. I would be a lot more impressed if WHB stopped with the "I hate Microsoft" rhetoric, and just made an effort to address the problem. The issue is NOT whether Frontpage is good for uploading webpages, the issue is why does it not work now when it worked a month ago.

According to your FAQ on FTP, if I am having problems I need to switch my FTP client to passive mode. Well I did some research and found that Frontpage 2002 only supports active-mode FTP. If your system no longer allows active-mode FTP then that would explain why my Frontpage no longer works on your system. I have tried asking your helpdesk people this question, but I have gotten no response. I also found that when I enabled Frontpage Extensions, it adds lines like:

AuthUserFile /home/mydomian/public_html/_vti_pvt/service.pwd
AuthGroupFile /home/mydomain/public_html/_vti_pvt/service.grp

to my .htaccess file, but it never actually added these files to my account. This seems to me like a bug in your CPanel routines for installing Frontpage Extensions. Here again, I asked you helpdesk about this issue and have gotten no response.

Both of these are simple questions regarding your operations and I do not understand why I can not get a straight answer. If you no longer support FTP access through Frontpage, that is fine. Just be honest and upfront with your customers and tell us so we can decide if we want to change software, or change hosting companies. If the problem is that you have a bug in your installation routines, you should be thankful that someone is bringing this matter to your attention.

So far the help and attitude I have received is not winning me over as a customer. In one of your forums you have posted a request for your customers to go onto the internet and post reviews of your hosting services. What type of review do you think I would post?

[Alan B]

I don't work for WHB, and I don't have an "I hate Microsoft" attitude. Far from it. I simply advised that a standard FTP client will be better, more reliable and more functional than FrontPage publishing. I did not suggest that publishing via Internet Explorer was an option; I listed Windows Explorer as one option if you didn't want to use separate FTP software.

You may continue to create your sites in FrontPage, but a normal FTP client will really be better for you.

[ridebmx]

A standalone FTP client will also give you more control over the files than Frontpage does as Frontpage is designed to be very very basic as to what it will let you do....

You cant change things like folder permissions with it, where in something like SmartFTP which is free, you can!

[Jef S.]

Support for FPE is provided on a "best effort" basis. We've updated Apache and FPE on the server hosting your account, and that's our best effort. If you can't connect, you're going to need to use an FTP client, not windows explorer, that supports passive FTP. This is not optional, you're going to have to bite the bullet and download an FTP client.

[jwsigler]

I will be more than willing to concede the point and switch to another FTP client; but I have tried SmartFTP, and while it uploads my files, my swf files do not work, where they did work when I published my site using Frontpage. If I concede the point and switch to another ftp client, I think WHB could at least explain why Frontpage worked in February and now it does not. Neither I, nor my friend who maintains one of my websites, have changed our software, our settings, or our ISPs; and neither one of us can upload using FP 2002. We have two computers, miles about, using the same Frontpage 2002 software, but different ISPs (mine is Time Warner, his is AOL dialup), different operating systems, and he does not use any firewall software at all. So what is in common and what is causing the problem?

While the problem became apparent with me when I tried to upload through Frontpage, the problem may not be with Frontpage itself. Since finding this problem, I have also tried through Cpanel, under FTP ACCOUNTS, to access my raw access logs. Clicking on the provided link of ftp://ftp.mydomian.com/mydomain.com under FTP ACCOUNTS on CPanel, I get asked for my password, and after entering the password the window justs hangs with the message "Beginning FTP transaction..." Are any of you other people able to download your raw access logs using the link under FTP ACCOUNTS under CPanel? I have told the helpdesk people about this issue and have suggested that maybe this is not solely a FPE issue. Personally I think that downloading my raw access logs through CPanel should work.

If you are willing to respond to this thread, please try to download your Raw Access Log first using the download links under FTP ACCOUNTS in CPanel and post if you can do this. If you can do this and I can't, then this may not be just a FPE issue, but something else that is screwed up on my account. I have tried this Access Log download using Firefox, with and without my firewall enabled, and have had no success.

I do not want to screw around with WHB's helpdesk or even this thread. I just want my account to function just like it did back in February when I did not have to worry about this crap and I could concentrate on my customers' needs.

[ridebmx]

Its piqued my curiousity that you say your swf's no longer work when you upload them through SmartFTP....

Can I ask a little more info on this?

FTP shouldnt have the power to stop a file like that from working, however it's possible that the settings on the FTP program need to be changed slightly.
Some FTP programs upload automatically in binary and some dont, depending on the files and the servers, you might need to change that, I would recommend setting it to auto and testing it, then trying to force the ASCII or Binary setting if they dont work.
I usually set it to automatic in Filezilla and havent had a problem yet.....

What happens to the swf though, does it show the file but not play?
Can you access it from a direct link to it and are you uploading all the files you need such as the flashobject.js file?

[jwsigler]

Ridebmx

You are way over my head. That is one reason that I like using Frontpage because I do not have to figure this stuff out. I am not a web designer. I design warheads and weapon systems; not webpages. I need an internet presence for my company so I need something that is a no-brainer to use. Up until now, that was Frontpage. The WHB helpdesk finally came through this morning and reset my account and gave me new instructions for FP. Following their instructions, I used http://mydomain.com as the address where I want the site published, instead of ftp://ftp.sws-llc.com which has worked in the past. FP says I should be able to use the ftp address whether FPE are installed or not. I do not know what the difference is except that using the http address I can now upload my site. Go Figure???