Office of the CIO › Computing Services › Services › Communication and Collaboration › Websites › Andrew Web Publishing System (AWPS) › How To Use the AWPS › Transfer Files and Publish

Transfer Files and Publish

After you request your AWPS collection and you have received the collection name and URL, you can transfer your files (e.g., HTML, CSS, images, etc.) to the server for publishing. Remember, the AWPS service does not include development tools. You should use a web authoring tool such as Dreamweaver, available in the Computer Labs, to create your files.

1. Transfer Files

If you are off campus, connect to a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Open a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) application to transfer your files to your AWPS collection on the publishing server. Computing Services supports SSH Tectia (Windows) and Fetch (Mac).
Enter the following for your connection:
- Host name: publishing.andrew.cmu.edu
- UserID and password: your Andrew userID and password
- Initial Folder: the name of your collection
  Note: If you do not know the name of your collection, login to AWPS.
Drag and drop your files to the collection on the publishing.andrew.cmu.edu server in the SFTP window.

2. Preview on Staging

View your collection on staging to check it for accuracy before publishing to the production server.

Log in to AWPS.
Click View on staging server for the collection you want to look at, or visit http://publishing.andrew.cmu.edu/collections/<your collection name>/.
Verify your changes, test your links, review graphics, spacing, and so on. If you want to make changes, edit your HTML files, then transfer them to your collection again using SFTP.
Note: You cannot test links to pages outside your collection from the staging server. Test those links after you publish your collection.
After you make all changes and view them on the staging server, publish your collection to the production server.

3. Check Links

Before publishing a collection, check the integrity of each link, including links to other pages, images, form actions, and redirects. Manually checking a single page for broken links can be easy, but a group of pages can make the process daunting without the help of a tool. These applications can help you check your site's links.

4. Publish Collection

To publish your collection, do the following.

Log in to AWPS, then select the collection you want to publish.
Click Administer this collection.
Select the appropriate action. The publishing options you see depend on your level of access to a collection.

Publishing Option	Publishing Rights	Description
AutoPublish Off (turn on)	Administrator	When you turn on AutoPublish, the AWPS publishes your files immediately to the production server after you transfer them using SFTP. The default setting is Off.
Publish Now	Administrator Writer	The AWPS begins publishing immediately to the production server. Depending on the size of the collection, the process can take up to 10 minutes.
Publish Tonight	Administrator Writer	The AWPS publishes to the production server at approximately 4 am the following morning.
Publish Later	Administrator Writer	The AWPS publishes to the production server at a specific hour and time you enter. When you select this option, the current date is added automatically. For example, if you enter now + 12 hours or now + 2 days, the AWPS will publish the collection at the exact hour and minute you clicked Publish later plus the time you entered.
View your content on the staging server before publishing	Administrator Reviewer Writer	Lets you review your files on the staging server before you publish to the production server.

IMPORTANT: After you select your publishing option, you cannot cancel or modify it.