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File & Directory Web Address Primer

File & Directory Naming Conventions:

A directory is another name for a folder. So, when folks say that a file is in a certain directory they mean it is in a certain folder. When you create a new folder be careful that you don't accidentally include any blank spaces in the folder name. Also, since some web servers are case-sensitive, stick with using all lower-case letters.

All web pages, images, movies, word docs., etc., must end in a suffix*.

All web page file NAMES must end with the suffix .htm or .html

Keep the file names short; preferably, to the 8.3 convention.

Example: myhome.htm or myhome.html

Web images usually end in GIF, JPG, or PNG suffixes. When you save an image for the web you must use the appropriate suffix depending upon if your file format is a gif, jpg, or png file.
Movies end in the suffix .mov or .rm and audio files come in a variety of formats including .au, ra, etc.
All word processed documents should end in the suffix .doc.
NO blank spaces are permissible in the file or folder names
NO foreign accents or diacritical marks are permissible in the file or folder names
Your home page should be named index.htm or index.html to take advantage of server configuration and to reduce URL length

*See listing of typical file extensions for the web.

WEB Addresses:

Breaking down the web address into components:

http://www.sbcc.net/folder/folder/filename

Example: http://online.sbcc.net/eng111/index.htm

Question: Where is the index.htm file located in this particular instance?

Answer: index.htm is a file in a folder named eng111 which is located at the domain online.sbcc.net

NO blank spaces are permissible in web addresses

NO foreign accents are permissible in web addresses

SOME web addresses are case sensitive so use all lower case letters if possible.

Example: In other words, http://www.sbcc.net/eng111/me.htm is not necessarily the same as http://www.sbcc.net/eng111/Me.htm because the word Me is capitalized.

For most web servers, i.e., computers, by convention, http://www.sbcc.net/ is short for http://www.sbcc.net/index.htm or index.html

Hard drive addresses:

Question: How can I tell where a file is located on my hard drive?

Answer: Change the hard drive viewing of your files to "view by list." The files and folders residing at the same indentation level are located in the same folder. One visual clue is to check for the arrows. If an arrow is pointed to the right, none of the files, if any, in that folder are visible. If an arrow is pointed down, then all the files and folders in that respective folder that are visible are shown.

Example: the folder titled 4csd and the folders D.Work are both located in the Mgmt files' folder. The autoposter info folder and the climate file are both located in the D. Work folder.

1. In what folder is the file titled "Important Numbers" located?

Answer

2. What are the names of the files located in the folder titled "Bus. letters"?

Answer

3. How many visible folders are located in the folder titled "Mgmt files"?

Answer

4. In what file is the folder named Bus. letters?

Answer

Last updated: 9/2000
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David L. Wong