Transcript 201012-Clyde-Roby - The ROOTS Users Group of Arlington, VA.

WebSite Creation with
Second Site
ROOTS Users Group
11 December 2010
Clyde Roby
Web Site Generation and Hosting
Dick Cleaveland’s web pages
– http://cleaveland.info/miscellaneous/index.htm
Links to first page of his original presentation
– http://cleaveland.info/miscellaneous/br20021012/b0.htm
– This is NOT a PowerPoint presentation
Dick’s original presentation was made to the RUG on
12 October 2002, but he updated it in May 2005
This presentation started with Dick’s updated presentation
and now includes information from John Cardinal’s NGS
presentation of May 2003 (of an earlier version)
WebSite Creation with Second Site
• First, create HTML files
– Alternatives to SecondSite
• GEDCOM-to-HTML generation programs
• TMGv7
• Then, create your website
– Acquire a server
– Maybe get your own URL!
– Upload your website files
• Or, create a CD or DVD
Generate HTML Files
• Objectives
– Keep your file download times short (thus small file
sizes)
– Have navigation links clearly identified, both forward
and backward
• Software to use to generate HTML files
– GEDCOM-to-HTML Generators
– TMGv6 – no longer relevant (removed from
discussion)
– TMGv7
– Second Site for TMG
Generate HTML Files
• GEDCOM-to-HTML Generators – most not free
• Must export TMG Project to GEDCOM
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Extra step in the process
No support for TMG’s narrative sentences
Little or no support for TMG’s citations and sources
Little or no support for TMG’s exhibits, including
images
– No support for TMG’s formatting codes
– Some data loss because GEDCOM is the
intermediate format
GEDCOM-to-HTML Generators
•
GED2WWW (free) – straight listings, no sources or graphics
– http://www.lesandchris.com/ged2www/
•
GEDHTree (free, full version $20) – excellent graphics, beautiful screens,
no sources
– http://www.gedhtree.com/
•
GED2HTML – (free trial, full $20) five generation pedigree included, also
includes sources
– Samples at http://www.starkeffect.com/users/stark/family_history
– http://www.starkeffect.com/ged2html/
•
GED2WEB – (free) straight listings, no source information
– Samples at http://www.wtoram.co.uk/famtree/surnames.htm
– http://www.wtoram.co.uk/ged2web/ged2web.htm
•
KStableau (free) – nice tree, no sources
– Samples at http://home.versatel.nl/KStableau/examples/examples.htm
– http://home.versatel.nl/KStableau/
•
DFTCOM2 (free) – uses Java program for interaction in PC, very fast, no
sources
– http://dftcom2.co.uk/
GEDCOM-to-HTML Generators
• Further reading
– http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/
eastman/5875.asp
– http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/
eastman/6350.asp
– http://www.geocities.com/turkel.geo/GED2W
WW/g2hcompare.htm
Generate HTML Files
• TMGv7 – no additional cost
• Second Site – about $30
– excellent pages
– good support
– unlimited images
– enhancement continues
Second Site versus TMGv7
• Are HTML Reports a good choice? It
depends upon the following limitations
– Reports use standard genealogical formats
– Page sizes are not configurable
– Exhibits are embedded or not supported
– No built-in support for custom pages
– No built-in support for links between charts
and narratives
Second Site versus TMGv7
• Reports use standard genealogical formats
• TMGv7 HTML Reports: Formats are familiar to
most users and are understood and accepted by
the genealogical community
• Second Site: Formats were designed with the
web in mind
– Reports designed to be browsed in random fashion
– Supports static page links
– Graphic formats are configurable
Second Site versus TMGv7
• Page sizes are not configurable
• TMGv7 HTML Reports
– Pagination is based upon the printed format of
the report
• Second Site
– Pagination is based upon web factors such as
download time and the random access nature
of web browsing
Second Site versus TMGv7
• Exhibits are embedded in web pages or not
supported
• TMGv7 HTML Reports
– Some report formats support exhibits embedded in
web pages
• Second Site
– Includes multiple exhibit handling options; exhibits
may be embedded in web pages or linked from web
pages based on user preferences and whether or not
the subject is a principal or witness
– Recognizes web-friendly exhibit file formats
Second Site versus TMGv7
• No built-in support for custom pages
• TMGv7 HTML Reports
– No explicit support for manually created web
pages
• Second Site
– Manually created web pages can be
integrated into the site quite easily
Second Site versus TMGv7
• No built-in support for links between charts
and narratives
• TMGv7 HTML Reports
– Charts are separate reports
• Second Site
– Charts and narratives include two-way links
Site Generation with TMGv7
Site Generation with TMGv7
Site Generation with Second Site
Acquiring a Hosting Service
• RootsWeb (free)
– http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ (do not use frames)
• Purchased hosts
– www.webhostingratings.com
• Your current ISP
– Most ISPs (ComCast, Earthlink, etc.) provide some
space for hosting a web site
Note that all free hosting services have ads that
may annoy those who browse your site; on
RootsWeb these appear for each frame (so don’t
use frames on RootsWeb)
Web Site Hosting
• Upload all files of your web site from your
PC to the host
• Must use a file transfer program – one that
has FTP capabilities
– WS_FTP Pro or WS_FTP Home at
http://www.ipswitch.com/downloads/index.asp
– WS_FTP Pro – $54.95 (no support) or $89.95
– WS_FTP Home - $39.95 (no support) or
$69.95
Web Site Hosting
• Must use a file transfer program – one that has
FTP capabilities
– Core FTP LE (Lite version) is free at
http://www.coreftp.com
– Core FTP PRO is $39.95 for one user license, email
support only at
http://www.coreftp.com
• Ratings of FTP programs at
http://cws.internet.com/ftp.html
Get Your Own URL:
Register Your Domain
• Select a registrar. Only some will let you have your
domain name point to the typical free web site. Dick
Eastman suggests two:
– GoDaddy – http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?e=com
– MyDomain – http://www.mydomain.com/
• Choose your domain name, but check availability first.
There are many options: .com, .org, .net, but .name and
.info are appropriate for genealogy pages
• Pay for your domain name, typically $15 per year
• Associate your domain name with your web site
Search the web for “domain registration” for registrars; note
that some web hosting services will also register domain
names.
Register Your Domain Name
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•
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http://www.123registration.com/index.cfm
http://reg.alldomains.com/name/
http://www.domainpeople.com/
http://www.dotregistrar.com/
http://www.namescout.com/
• The registrar that RUG had used was
www.dotdnr.com ($15 per year, no .name) but
we now use www.icdsoft.com. Dick Cleaveland
uses www.whatevercomputes.com for his .name
domain. All the above will register .name
domains.
Recommendations
• RootsWeb for hosting (free) – pop-up ads;
domain name is complex
• Your current ISP if it provides space (should be
free) – usually no ads; domain name is complex
• Your own domain name registered at GoDaddy
($9/year) but hosted free at RootsWeb – pop-up
ads
• Your own domain name registered at ICDSoft
($9/year) and hosted at ICDSoft ($58/year) – no
ads; much storage (275/1024 MBytes [more]),
unlimited email addresses (22[more]); no .name
registration
Additional Information
• Read Dick Eastman’s columns
– Create Your Own Web Domain
http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/col
umns/eastman/6382.asp
– Create Your Own Web Domain – Part II
http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/col
umns/eastman/6425.asp
Second Site and TMG
• What exactly does Second Site do?
– It creates a website from a TMG Project
– More accurately, Second Site creates a set of HTML
documents (files) from a TMG Project
• Doesn’t Second Site create a website?
– No, it creates the documents (files) for a website
– It does *NOT* upload the documents (files) to a web
server, i.e., to an Internet Service Provider
These next few slides are based upon John
Cardinal’s NGS Conference presentation in May
2003
Second Site and TMG
• Then why do we want to use Second Site?
– So that we can create a public website on the Internet
– So that we can create a CD or DVD that we can share with our
family and perhaps with other friends and relatives
• Easily read on any computer with a browser
• Web pages are easy to use for both genealogists and nongenealogists
• Today, producing a CD or DVD is easy and the software comes on
most new computers; also CDs and DVDs are inexpensive
– So that we can create a website for our own personal use
• This is a great way to do another comprehensive review of our TMG
Project
Second Site and TMG
• Makes narrative style pages using TMG’s sentence
definitions
• Creates pedigree and descendant charts
• Supports image and text exhibits for people, events, and
sources
• Supports citations and sources
• Supports witnesses and roles and provides options to
include/exclude names
• Creates all the files needed to create a CD or DVD
• Supports international sites
• Respects TMG exclusion marker
Second Site and TMG
• More “Technical” features of Second Site
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Integrates custom pages that you create
Includes page size controls
Uses template files grouped into Themes to allow customization
Uses CSS style sheets and JavaScript to create professional
looking pages
– Imports VCF Charts
• Second Site makes pages, indexes, narratives, citations,
source pages, charts, embeds images and other
exhibits, and integrates VCF charts and custom pages
Second Site and TMG
• How does Second Site Work?
• You create a Site Definition File (SDF)
• You set properties that are organized into
sections and saved in the SDF file
– Only a few are necessary to create your first website
– But there are literally hundreds of properties
• You execute the “Make Site” command and
Second Site creates the HTML pages
Second Site and TMG
• What will we see when we’re done?
– A fully functional website without typing any
HTML code
– A website that is a complete and accurate
representation of the contents of the TMG
Project
– This includes images, charts, etc.
Second Site and TMG
• But before we actually create a website, let’s
examine some other people’s work
• Examples on John Cardinal’s website at
http://www.johncardinal.com/ss/examples.htm
• Keith Winters has a more comprehensive
“Gallery of Websites Created with Second Site”
at http://winters-online.net/ss2websites
• 3 examples on Dick Cleaveland’s website at
http://www.rgcle.com/SS2/index.htm
Second Site and TMG
• Examples on John Cardinal’s website at
http://www.johncardinal.com/ss/examples.htm
– Rambling Roots by Diana Powell
– The Sackett Family Association by Chris Sackett
– Denton-Herndon Family Narrative by Raymond T. D.
Herndon
Second Site and TMG
• Keith Winters has a more comprehensive
“Gallery of Websites Created with Second Site”
at http://winters-online.net/ss2websites
– McKay-Conover Family
– Ancesters of William Kinsey Hutchinson III
– The Kleist Page
Second Site and TMG
• Miscellaneous websites
– Joanne’s Genealogy
– The Van Voorhees Association – “The Largest Dutch
Family in America”
– BUITER one-name website
Second Site and TMG
• 3 examples on Dick Cleaveland’s website
at http://www.rgcle.com/SS2/index.htm in
particular the web page containing
information about LeRoy Adams
Cleaveland at
http://www.rgcle.com/SS2/p1.htm#i20
TMG Magic for Second Site
• #1 – In the bio memo
– For a first person report by LeRoy of the Cyclops
search and the storm see the appendix “The Search
for the Cyclops”. [HID:][SS:]On-line viewers select <A
HREF=“../stories/The Search for the
Cyclops.PDF”><IMG SRC=“docicon.gif” BORDER=0
ALT=“The Search for the Cyclops”></A>.[:SS][:HID]
– This appears at the end of the 5th paragraph about
LeRoy
TMG Magic for Second Site
• #2 – In the memo of the same bio tag
– … Reserve ships, the Yantic[HID:][SS:]<A
HREF=“http://www.lib.mtu.edu/mtuarchives/ya
ntic/yantichistory.aspx”>(info)</A>.[:SS][:HID],
so he went up to Lake Superior to do the
installation.
– This appears in the early part of the 2nd
paragraph about LeRoy
TMG Magic for Second Site
• #3 – a special tag “Anec-web” for paragraph labeled
“Video clips:” – de-selected for TMG reports
– [:CR:][:CR:]Video clips: Note: <A
HREF="http://www.real.com/">Real Player</A> is required on
your system to play these clips.[:CR:]Select <A
HREF="../stories/leroy.rm"><IMG SRC="rp.gif" BORDER=0
ALT="Hunting story"></A> for a 35 second video of LeRoy
telling a hunting story. this is a 600 KB file[:CR:]Select <A
HREF="../stories/cyclops.rm"><IMG SRC="rp.gif" BORDER=0
ALT="Search for the Cyclops"></A> for a 3.5 minute video of
LeRoy telling of the Cyclops search and the storm. this is a 3.8
MB file
– These 3 paragraphs (note separate paragraphs indicated by
[:CR:]) appear towards the end of the information about LeRoy
Second Site and TMG
• Demonstration
• Use TMG Utility to convert Internal
Exhibits to External Exhibits
• Create a website using Second Site
• Create YOUR website using Second Site