posted on August 26, 2001 10:03:19 AM new
I've looked everywhere on the web and have not been able to find an answer to my question.
Here's the story: I set up a new web site, with my own domain. Created a few directories. Example: www.mydomain.com/ebay
Okay, so I then create an index file, index.htm, so that when people click on the above URL, it will open up that index file. This is something I "figured out"... nobody told me that you had to make an index file.
Anyway, everything works fine, but the other day I look at my web stats to see that a whole lot of people were trying to access the INDEX.HTML file. See that "L" on the end?
So, I put two and two together and assume that some browsers default to look for INDEX.HTML rather than INDEX.HTM.
My question is.... am I correct? Do some browsers default a URL like www.mydomain.com/ebay to open up INDEX.HTM while other browsers default to INDEX.HTML?
And why?
I just don't want anyone to NOT reach my pages.
Does it matter if other pages on my web site have a .HTM extension and not a .HTML extension?
posted on August 26, 2001 01:53:56 PM new
html is traditional and that is what a lot of servers default to. Best to check with whomever you're hosting with, to see what they have it set to. Typically, even if someone creates an shtml index page, they need to make a alternative html page for those that use the html extension.
[ edited by rosiebud on Aug 26, 2001 01:54 PM ]
posted on August 26, 2001 02:04:34 PM new
lifesablur: most web servers are set to look for the name of certain files as the start-up. INDEX.HTM or INDEX.HTML are most common, but many seervers give other options and it does not always have to be named INDEX.whatever. However, as a holdover from the days before graphics, as in World Wide Web, an index was usually created as a courtesy for the person checking out the contents for text files.
Now, if you go with some of these online services, they do restrict what the start-up file can be named. For instance, when I used to be with AOL, it converted my INDEX.HTM file to INDEX.HTML without asking me to do so. It may be different there now -- maybe not.
The other alternative is that you named the file INDEX.HTML and sent it up there. Maybe whatever uploading program that you used may have made the alteration for you. Check and see.
As far as the web browser goes, it has nothing to do with it.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:19:39 PM new
When you renamed it the history went with the file under the new name. I bet if you creat a third copy under a third name it will show the same access.
The main reason I did this and did NOT do something like:
www.mydomain.com/ebay/entry.html
is because someone could type in:
www.mydomain.com/ebay/index.html
and see a list of all my files in that directory. So, I created the index.html file for two reasons: To prevent someone seeing all of my files AND to shorten the URL that I give out.
I now have all my index files with a .html extension and this seems to be working just fine. No need for the index.htm files now.
