Author Topic: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?  (Read 10993 times)

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  • The Fisherman
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Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« on: December 28, 2007, 02:20:21 PM »
All we know that CSB FTP images as "numbers" to our server. Wanted to remove old images (Christmas, discontinued things, etc,) how would be the best way to do it to make room and save space? How can we "see" the images to choose images to delete?  ??? I use Cute FTP.

2° problem... :-[
I recently inserted a sound track on my home page (sea waves, mp3) using "Insert>Audio File" and it worked fine until the next change made on the site (not on the home page) when it stopped because the audio file disappeared from the server...  :-\ 

Thanks to all for any help that you can give me.


Happy New Year!! :clapping:
Anyone who has never owned a dog can't know what loving and being loved mean- ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER 

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  • Sami
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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2007, 05:57:16 PM »
CLEANING SERVER.  Ok...Warning...Warning... Be VERY careful here!  You could actually BREAK your website.  Many people have by simply getting rid of things they thought were old or not needed any more. 
CSB removes the files it loads to the web when you remove the page from your tlx design file and republish. Anything with old dates may be good files your website still uses, just that you have not updated in a long time, OR they could be files that could be removed.  Chances are, if they are still on your website, put there by CSB you need to LEAVE THEM ALONE. 

Three step process to do this safely.
1) You should first look at your tlx design file(s).  Make a backup copy of your file. Set it aside (it is a JUST IN CASE).  Prune the file, clean it out, deleting pages and content you no longer need.  Then this is very important...Do a FILE SAVE AS and GIVE IT A NEW NAME to compact and get rid of unecessary code and objects (images, sounds, pages, etc). Now publish the new file. CSB will remove crud from your website too.  Ok... Now you have the most current version of your website posted and CSB knows that.
2) make a backup of your website as it is if you can.  Some hosts offer a backup option that makes a compressed copy of all the files, or you can just spend some time and download a full copy of all files/folders to your own computer (using FTP program).  This step is optional but recommended.  If you delete something you didn't mean to, you will have a way to put it back later.
3) Using FTP, download a copy of your TlxTransfer.txt file.   Or you can go to your website with the browser, add /TlxTransfer.txt to the url and see the file.  PRINT IT and use it as a checklist!  It is created by CSB and updated/changed each time you publish.  This has a full list of every file that CSB considers active in the most current tlx design file.  Any file that is your main directory of your website, but is not listed on the TlxTransfer.txt MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT be considered for removal.  Now I say MIGHT because some files are used by your host, some are put there by you using FTP or have other purposes. But it is a great starting point for cleaning/pruning.  Each subdirectory will have its own TlxTransfer.txt file...

Open your FTP program (I have CuteFTP7pro) and connect to your host.  If your FTP software allows, you can click a THUMBNAIL option to view the files before you remove them. In my version, the thumbnail option is a tiny image just above my server side window, all the way to the right on same line as address bar, and under VIEW on the menu bar.

SOUND and OTHER FILES:
CSB will remove some files from your web host when it updates.  Sometimes when you want, and other times when you do not want it to happen.  If you use the preview function, you have probably defined the local HTML folder in the publishing options.  That's fine.  But when you actually publish, you need to UNCHECK that local HTML folder option.  Leaving it checked while publishing causes CSB to REMOVE sounds, flash, movies, and other files during the publishing process.  The good news is that when you uncheck and republish, they will be put back.  Check it again when you want to preview.
-Samantha
TNG: "Sometimes, you can make no mistakes, do everything right, and still lose" - Capt Picard to Data
(:turtle: In memory of Turtle: May 22, 1944 - Nov 24, 2007  GURU, mentor, and really nice guy! :turtleleft: )

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2007, 04:22:35 PM »
Thank you Samantha, sorry for the delay answering... I had to fight two days with a Virus.... at the end, Kaspersky was the winner :clapping:

Well, you gave me a lot of information. I have already printed it and now I will take all the precautions suggested before doing anything, but basically I just wanted to remove mostly old images (jpeg, gif), you know, anniversary, past christmas, obsolete items no longer in catalog, etc This way, the only thing that can happen, in case of error, is not seeing an image, right?

I want to take this opportunity to whish you all a wonderful new year 2008.

Bye
Tony
 :)
Anyone who has never owned a dog can't know what loving and being loved mean- ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER 

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2007, 04:49:12 PM »
Let us know how it goes....
And to you and everyone, MAY YOU HAVE A GREAT 2008!
-Samantha
TNG: "Sometimes, you can make no mistakes, do everything right, and still lose" - Capt Picard to Data
(:turtle: In memory of Turtle: May 22, 1944 - Nov 24, 2007  GURU, mentor, and really nice guy! :turtleleft: )

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2008, 01:09:47 AM »
Wowie I just realized that if I make a file with just an index page.. and then publish it -- that will pretty much clean out previous cute related files. Hmm that will be a lot easier than trying to find parts to about two hundred pages on my server now.. when ever I do get ready to republish the site as is being built on spinner now. Alrighty then.. why didn't this occur to me before .. ?? lol A busy mind! A busy mind!
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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2008, 07:52:22 AM »
Wait a minute... Think this through a minute Wanda....

If you have an EXISTING CSB design file and you remove pages in it, then publish, THAT CSB file will remove pages and content from the server because it has a memory of those old pages.  But if you create a NEW tlx design file with only one page it WILL NOT remove old pages.  It doesn't know anything about them! Can't see them.

AND..if you want to have CSB built pages and pages by another program in the same directory on the server, just make sure you don't have two index.htm/index.html pages. Either in CSB or in the other program, make sure you change your HOME PAGE address to something else like home.htm, start.htm, etc.
-Samantha
TNG: "Sometimes, you can make no mistakes, do everything right, and still lose" - Capt Picard to Data
(:turtle: In memory of Turtle: May 22, 1944 - Nov 24, 2007  GURU, mentor, and really nice guy! :turtleleft: )

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2008, 04:03:47 PM »
What I was thinking was.. save file as new name.. (Just so I will have the entire site still available for republishing if things go majorly wrong and for the archives) remove all but index page.. republish.. Then everything will be removed except the index page.. THEN immediately republish new site that will contain new index page.. I have decided to and am rebuilding the whole thing on different software so.. That would work ok right??
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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2008, 05:56:10 PM »
I'm reading... I'm reading... but my eyes look like a pair of "+" signs... :ss-shocked:
Just one question: when you publish a major change in your site, CSB REMOVES the old pages&images not longer in use ? If yes, I don't need to remove anything...  do I?

 :unsure:
T
Anyone who has never owned a dog can't know what loving and being loved mean- ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER 

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2008, 09:52:38 PM »
Try it. Put your mind at ease.

Connect to your website with FTP.  Look for a specific page and maybe a photograph too that you know you want to delete. See them and check that they are also listed on the TlxTransfer.txt file from CSB. Then disconnect from the website, close FTP.

Now go into CSB design file and remove that SAME PAGE  and SAME photograph and publish.  You should see the the page being removed by CSB during the publish process.

Last step... Open your FTP again and check the website folder.  That page should be missing now. And the photograph too. 


CSB can not remove things that it does not know about.  If you used your FTP to upload something, then you will have to take it down the same way.
-Samantha
TNG: "Sometimes, you can make no mistakes, do everything right, and still lose" - Capt Picard to Data
(:turtle: In memory of Turtle: May 22, 1944 - Nov 24, 2007  GURU, mentor, and really nice guy! :turtleleft: )

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #9 on: January 07, 2008, 06:02:14 AM »
There is nothing to remove!...I think. Let see if I can explain myself, excuse my English. :-[

I did the following:
Prior to remove the 07’ Christmas images from the home page, I took note of the name/number that was assigned to them by CSB at the time of publishing. For example, the Christmas tree was 685c82c0.gif so, just for checking, I wrote into my browser: http://www.mysite.com/685c82c0.gif and pressed Go and there it was , the tree in a new page. Then I removed the whole Christmas things and published. After that, I did the same check with my browser, using the same CBS number, and the tree was not there anymore…  Now, is it still there with a different number or was deleted? ???

Sorry if I do not check with the list, but there are too many files (almost 600) and I do not have patience to do it… :(

T
 :)
Anyone who has never owned a dog can't know what loving and being loved mean- ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER 

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #10 on: January 07, 2008, 07:01:06 AM »
CSB WILL remove pages and images from your website.
If you used the image once on one page and remove it, then your image will not be on the server any more.
If you have used the image on many pages and only remove one page, you will still have the image stored on the host server.

Most people are SHOCKED when they see the contents of their host server.
They think there should be 20, 40, 100 files.  They find far more than they expect.

When FRAMES are used, they try to "clean" up and remove the extra parts of the page because it looks like an error was made. CSB puts them right back because you NEED index.htm, index.html, index_t.htm, index_m.htm, index_l.htm, etc to make that page work.
-Samantha
TNG: "Sometimes, you can make no mistakes, do everything right, and still lose" - Capt Picard to Data
(:turtle: In memory of Turtle: May 22, 1944 - Nov 24, 2007  GURU, mentor, and really nice guy! :turtleleft: )

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #11 on: January 07, 2008, 11:37:21 AM »
Thank you Sam for your patience answering and I want to apologizes for my scarce knowledge in the matter, after all, my contact with the program occurs every now and then and there are too many things to learn.  :-[

Best regards from Italy

Tony
 :)
Anyone who has never owned a dog can't know what loving and being loved mean- ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER 

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Re: Cleaning up files on server... how to do it?
« Reply #12 on: January 07, 2008, 03:02:30 PM »
Not a problem Tony. Your english is fine.  I will try to use shorter answers with smaller sentences. They will be easier to read and translate.  I am glad you asked the questions! They are very good questions!
I will make this a Frequently Asked Question in the CSB area to help other people.

Years ago I had Trellix. The program could publish, but my host would not let me connect directly with it.  I had to use an FTP program to manually upload all my web pages and image files. Took lots of extra time and effort for me. How easy to update. I REALLY appreciated CSB when I upgraded! 

Like I said, most people are shocked when they see HOW MANY files they have in their website.
Everyone looks at the file list and thinks many items can be removed.
But when you compare the contents to your active website you find that you are still using most of it!



-Samantha
TNG: "Sometimes, you can make no mistakes, do everything right, and still lose" - Capt Picard to Data
(:turtle: In memory of Turtle: May 22, 1944 - Nov 24, 2007  GURU, mentor, and really nice guy! :turtleleft: )