DUE Sunday, Apr 01 – 2 points
(Monday NOON deadline)

This assignment has two possible gradebook declarations. The first one is the preferred one and applies to all students, while the second one only applies to students who have not already received credit for 05. BONUS: FTP Program activity. (If you did not already complete that activity, you get a second chance to complete it here instead of installing an FTP Editor. You cannot get four bonus points by doing both of these activities this week.)

• Gradebook Declaration: I completed this week’s PHP Files assignment using an FTP editor like Aptana Studio. I have emailed a screenshot to the instructor of my FTP editor with one of the files open on one side and with the list of files on my web server displayed on the other side.

• Gradebook Declaration: I did not originally complete the “05. BONUS: FTP Program” activity. I completed this week’s PHP Files assignment using an FTP program like Filezilla. I have emailed a screenshot to the instructor of my FTP program with files from my local computer displayed on one side of the screen and with the list of files on my web server displayed on the other side.

FTP Editor

• Notepad++
  This is a simple text editor with an FTP client built in so that you can edit files directly on the server.

  1. Visit the Notepad++ > Download page to download the software. Run the downloaded file to install the software.
  2. Select Plugins > NppFTP > Show NppFTP to see the connections on the right.
  3. Click on the gear for Profile Settings, click Add new, and specify the details for the FTP connection.
  4. Click on the blue icon and select the profile to connect. Once you have established the connection, connect to it by clicking the down arrow and selecting the connection from the list.
  5. After connecting, double-click on a file in the sidebar to open the remote file in Notepad++. Edit it and click Save to publish the changes back at the remote location.

• Aptana Studio
  This is the editor that I use. It’s a large download and can be a bit resource intensive, but it’s very powerful. If you plan to be working on web sites long after this class is over, I would recommend this tool.

  1. Visit the Aptana Studio > Download page, select the right options for you (Standalone and Full Installer for the first and third options), and click Download. Run the downloaded file to install the software.
  2. Install the PDT plugin for handling PHP files, which you can do by following Step #3 on the Aptana > PHP page.
  3. Follow the instructions in Aptana Studio’s  Adding an FTP site and Editing a file from a remote site tutorials. (These are for an older version of Aptana Studio, but they still seem to work just fine. The only confusing thing is that Adding a Site Connection is no longer a prerequisite, so ignore that link.)

• Coda (Mac only, $99)
  This is a very popular too for building web sites for those with a Mac.If you plan to be working on web sites long after this class is over and have money to spare, a great many Mac users would recommend this tool. Check out the Coda > Sites video for a tutorial on setting this up for this assignment, setting up a remote site.

• Dreamweaver ($199)
  I wouldn’t recommend buying Dreamweaver for this class, but feel free to use it if you already have it. Check out Adobe’s Dreamweaver > Set up a remote folder tutorial for information about using it to edit remote files; for FTP, you’ll just need to follow the instructions in the second and third sections.

FTP Program

If you did not already receive bonus points for installing an FTP Program last week when completing the Technology Activity: FTP assignment, you can receive two bonus points for doing that this week for the PHP Files assignment. All the instructions are the same, so check out 05. BONUS: FTP Program for more details.

DUE Sunday, Apr 01 – 2 points
(Monday NOON deadline)