Expression Web Forum

I thought this was a simple question, but now I'm not sure.  I created a web site (it's not a ".com" but a .us.  I thought by simply naming my default page as index.html, default.htm, etc, it would load simply by entering my site.

 I wrote a trouble ticket to my provider and asked that question -- why doesn't it work.  I got a response showing how to do indexing and redirection.  I tried both without any luck.  I have Frontpage Server extensions..

 Anyway, I have to always add index.html to my web address to see the page (index.html is in the root directory of my website.

 Am I missing something really silly?  I can't think of anything else to try.

Thanks.

 

Hi jaf,

Welcome to the forums!

What a default document is called/named is something that is controlled on the server. There are somehosts that offer control panels where you can add or delete default documents and their file names. If your host offers that then you could change or add names as you wish..if not then you will need to contact them to add ones for you (assuming they allow that)

So let's say your site is called yoursite.com and your home page is called index.html but the default document name on the server is called default.htm If someone tried to access your site by going to http://yoursite.com they wouldn't see the home page because it was named index.html and it was looking for default.htm So then they would need to go to http://yoursite.com/index.html in order to view the page. However if there was also a default document name of index.html setup on the server..then simply typing in http://yoursite.com would then show your site.

 Thanks Joe.

This is the reply I got from my web host:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

b. Directory index

This allows you to set your own index pages instead of the one we have set as default. In other words, you can tell your visitors' browsers which page to load when they type your base domain name (http://domainname.com/).

Default index pages
index.html
index.php
default.html

Example: If a visitor goes to your site http://www.example.com, the first page to open will be http://www.example.com/index.html. However, if you set welcome.html as the directory index, the page to open will be http://www.example.com/welcome.html.

You can specify multiple index pages in case different folders have index pages of different names. Make sure to enter the full list of indexes you would like to have in your configuration.

------------------------------------------------------------- 

 ... which is why I don't understand why an index.html or default.html doesn't work.

 I did try setting up a new folder (. .us/startup/index.html ) using the indexing option described above, and that didn't work either.

 
Very confused.
 

Hi jaf,

If you are on a Unix/Linux type of server it might be a "case problem" as those servers are case sensitive for file names and folders. (Index.html and index.html would be considered 2 different files) So if your default document was setup as index.html and your actual file was named Index.html then it wouldn't show. You would need to setup both index.html a well as Index.html in a situation like that. Also Expression and FrontPage generally name files with an extension of .htm..so if your default document was index.html and your file name was index.htm that wouldn't work either..you would need to show both names as default documents.

 Joe,

Thanks again.  I tried several lower/upper case variations with no luck, and besides, it's a Windows based plan.

I sent you a private message with more details.

Jerry 

Hi Jerry,

I replied to your private message..please take a look..your host may need to do something else.

 Joe, I finally got it to work.  After several messages to my host (I admit I was getting a bit "testy" because they kept referring to the same page in the manual.  Then, in the last response they said "it should work now".  So I tried to find what they had done.  Their manual states they have three default pages -- index.html, default.htm, and index.php.  Well I tried all three by entering one at a time in the index directory as their manual stated.  None would work.  There was a message that said "if more than one index directory is used, you need to separate each entry with a space."  What I discovered, if you have only one entry, it needs to entered as "default.htm " without the quotes.

So the secret is putting a space after even one entry.  I found that by highlighting the entry they put in and then I could see the space.

 
Thanks again for your help.  I never thought something so simple could be so hard!
 

Hi Jerry,

Really glad to hear it has been resolved...I just tested again and it is now working fine!

I hear you about the frustration though! I deal with many hosts and when I get an answer like it works now..or everything is now fine..it really infuriates me. A little explanation as to what the cause of the problem was goes a lot further than just saying "It's fixed"

Glad it is working now though!

 It is very common in windows to have the start page only have 3 letters in the extension.  So if your ISP is running a Unix box there is a difference between: "index.html" and "index.htm" Same deal with default.html and default.htm   *.html is NOT equal to *.htm in the Unix world.

Probably you need your default set to the 3 letter file extension because your developing in a windows based environment that doesn't do 4 letter extensions. 

No, if you read the whole thread, I tried all the variations, such as index.html, index.htm, defaul.htm, default.html, Index.htm, Index.html, etc. Joe mentioned that too.

What it turned out to be was the hosting software has an "indexing" function where you specify your default page name.  The manual states "you must seperate more than one entry with a space (delimiter)."  However, in reality, I found a single entry, such as index.html, must be index.html plus a space.

 I don't know why the manual says that there are three default pages you can use (without using the indexing feature) which are index.html, default.htm, and index.php.  But none of those worked without the indexing feature turned on, and none worked without adding a space after the name.