Have web site created in Dreamweaver in windows by person who has gone away. Have created a new web site in Rapidweaver which I want publish to same url. Have downloaded existing web site onto windows based computer. Do I have to delete all the files before I can publish new one via Rapidweaver and apple mac.
Sure. As long as you have the backup of your old site (just in case you decide to revert to the old one), you should delete all files created with another app. Make sure though you don’t delete other peripheral files, like SSL/TLS certificate (if you have one), for example.
Thanks for your reply - how do I know which files I should keep do they have a different extension. Sorry if this seems simple. Can I save the old web site to a different folder to keep it separate or is it just bette to delete files - thanks
I presume you know how to use an FTP app (like Transmit, Yummy, Filezilla, etc.) to upload/download/delete files within your public_html folder on a server?
Once you get inside that folder, you will find files and folders there. You can delete everything that is inside. If you see a folder named .well-known, leave it alone, because that is needed for your security certificate.
You could do that, but I think it is a better idea to just keep a backup on your computer and delete the old site from server (for better clarity in the future).
1 Like
Rovertek is spot on. I also suggest learning what every file is for is BEFORE you delete it. Obviously html and php files are web pages, jpg, etc are images files. But you need to know what EVERY file is doing. DO NOT delete any htaccess files, php config files, etc. Also, some services like Google Analytics require a file with a specific name to authentic the site.
If you are doing websites you need to know these files and this will be a good learning experience for you. So use ftp to access the site and then jump in. If you come upon a file which you don’t know what it is just ask here.
Once you start building in Rapidweaver continue to use ftp to “monitor” your site. You will upload a “test” page once in a while, or rename pages. RW does not delete these “old” files. You must do it manually (you don’t want them indexed by search engines!) So it’s good to learn early. In fact, I recommend the beginner output files to a local folder and then upload with FTP. This is a great way to see what RW does with folder structure, what files are uploading with different changes, etc.
That’s my experience… yours may vary…
2 Likes
I am in the process of doing the same thing. I’m not ready to publish yet. Can I get into the file structure via RW or will I need an FTP as well in order to do maintenance? I’ll be loading lots of image files initially, and more as the monthly challenges progress, so will want to delete old photos and replace them with new ones. Current site is: http://kitsapphotographyguild.com
Thanks in advance!
Hey Jo,
You are replying to a three-year-old post.
But to answer the question, RapidWeaver doesn’t delete anything on the server. It will write files and overwrite files with the same name, but it by design doesn’t delete anything. Many 3rd party addons might create files (eg. flat-file CMS’s, repositories, etc, etc ) that RW wouldn’t know about.
So depending on the hosting company that you use, they may have a file manager that you can use. I’d suggest you get yourself a standalone FTP app. They are handy for the total management of what is happening on the server. I use Transmit on a Mac, but FileZilla (free version) works well. I use Filezilla all the time on Linux machines. It works well but the UI can be scary for Mac users.
Thank-you! I’m trying to redo the website for our photo club so I can get rid of my old Windows machine. I’m retired and don’t want to pay Adobe’s prices for something I use once a month as a volunteer… as it seems is true for so many others here. I did a backup of the current site, but wasn’t sure if I’d be able to access the files via RW like I used to using Dreamweaver. Now I know, I’ll need FTP software as well. I was hoping RW was self-contained. Oh well. I think once I figure it out, I’m going to like it.