Dollarware, Inc.
    P. O. Box 686, Monticello, GA 31064
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Page Three - How to send files to others.

You can download these 5 documents giving you help and instructions for using CSS to create a web site. Just click the link below.
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Make Files Available For Download From Your Website.
One little task which puzzled me for quite a while and one that I had a lot of trouble finding the answer to was: How to Put a File on Your Website and set it up so that a visitor could easily download it. I asked friends, I searched Google and found no clear answer. The problem was, I think, that it was too easy. Those who knew how assumed everyone else knew, too.

OK, all you have to do is first, create a .zip file containing the file or files that you want to make available.

Get an evaluation version of WinZip which will zip or compress the files and will them unzip or de compress the files at http://winzip.com

The other step is simply create a hyperlink to the file name on a webpage (or even in an email). When someone clicks on the link, the download will begin immediately. That's it, just create the hyperlink to a .zip file, make a hyperlink to it, no other setup. It's built into the browser and/or operating system.
It relates to the file extension and the default action when running a file with that certain extension.

What about .pdf files?
.pdf files are Portable Document Files. It is a proprietary format used by Adobe. It is used to create some e-books. The main advantage of the .pdf format is that it can be viewed on a variety of platforms and operating systems and it will appear the way that the author created it. It is not readily changed, so the author has some protection that others will not change what she has created.

Adobe makes the reader Free to the user. It’s the author who must pay for the program to create the file (Adobe’s Acrobat). Free Download of Acrobat Reader http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html 

Adobe actually has a free way for you to create a .pdf file online at
https://createpdf.adobe.com 

Now, if you have the Adobe reader on your computer, and if you click an the hyperlink to a .pdf file, Adobe will start on your computer and will load the file. At this point you are viewing the file, but it will not be saved automatically to your computer. That is, if you close the reader, there will NOT be a copy of the .pdf file on your computer. But, if before you close Adobe reader, click the floppy icon and it will allow you to save the file to your computer.

If you want to download a .pdf file from a website to your computer, you Right-Click the hyperlink and from the pop-up menu that appears, choose Save Target AS and then choose the location on your machine to save it.

What accounts for the difference between the handling of .pdf files and .zip files is the DEFAULT action when a file name is double-clicked or “run”. The default for zip files is to start a download and the default for pdf files is to open it with the program that it is to be used with. A similar action occurs on your computer when you click on a Word file (.doc extension), it starts Word and opens that file in Word, or for .xls file, it will open Excel and load that file in Excel.


What about .exe files?
This one is a little confusing. Files with an exe extension are usually executable files. They might run any kind of program including Viruses and other BAD things. Some programs on your computer, such as Word, Internet Explorer and Outlook may have some built-in safeguards to prevent UNEXPECTED running of files. This can sometimes cause problems when downloading self-executable zip files which have the exe extension to differentiate themselves from regular zip files. The self executable zip has enough code in the file to unzip it without the need of a free standing unzipping file.

Still another exe file is certain ebooks that are in a format which uses the exe extension. Windows XP operating system has the built-in ability to unzip files. Winzip is freely available for evaluation and therefore, I think Regular Zip files are to be preferred over self executables for the use of putting the files on a website and making them available for download by your visitors.

Another Caution about Downloading Files
I know that screensavers are a popular download. They usually have an extension of .scr. This is actually an executable file and can contain a virus or other bad program. You should therefore, be aware of the source of a screensaver and feel that it is trustworthy.

If you want to use e-mail as the delivery agent for the files discussed here, my advice is to include a link to the file including the full URL. If you send it as an attachment, e-mail filters may stop it from reaching the recipient. The user may receive a Warning about the attachment and feel uncomfortable about opening it. Another is the size of the attachment. Some filters will stop e-mail if the attachment it over a certain size.

More info on using your website to deliver files to visitors can be found at
http://dollarware.us/html-starter-pages