Configuring Document Preferences

You can configure the following document preferences from the Web Manager home page by clicking Enterprise Web Server servername > Content Management > Document Preferences.

Specifying a Default Home Page

If a document name is not specified in a URL, the Web server will look for a specific filename (or home page) such as INDEX.HTML, and return it to the Web browser. The filename that the Web Server looks for is configurable using the Document Preferences page of Web Manager. If the specified filename cannot be found, the Web browser will display a listing of files and folders located at the URL.

By default, the Enterprise Web Server defines INDEX.HTML and HOME.HTML as the default home page filenames, but you can set these to whatever filename you choose.

If more than one name is specified, the server searches in the order in which the names appear in this field until one is found. For example, if your index filenames are INDEX.HTML and HOME.HTML, the server first searches for INDEX.HTML and, if it doesn't find it, the server then searches for HOME.HTML.

Directory Indexing

In your document directory, you'll probably have several subdirectories. For example, you might create a directory called PRODUCTS, another called SERVICES, etc. It's common to provide an overview (or index) of these directories.

The server indexes directories using the following process:

1. The server first searches the directory for an index file called INDEX.HTML or HOME.HTML, which is a file you create and maintain as an overview of the directory's contents. (These defaults can be configured for the whole server, so your server's files might vary. For more information, see Specifying a Default Home Page.) You can specify any file as an index file for a directory by naming it one of these default names, which means you can also use a CGI program as an index if CGI is activated.
2. If an index file isn't found, the server generates an index file that lists all the files in the document root. The generated index has one of the following formats:
   • Fancy directory indexing is fairly detailed. It includes a graphic that represents the type of file, the date the file was last modified, and the file size.
   • Simple directory indexing is less detailed, but also takes less time to generate.
   • You can also specify that no dynamic directory listing be generated if the server looks for index files and cannot find any. If the server does not find any index files, it will not create a directory listing to show the user and will return an error message.

Server Home Page

When users first access your server, they usually use a URL such as http://www.novell.com/. When the server receives a request for this document, it returns a document called a home page. Usually this file has general information about your company and links to other documents.

By default the server finds the index file specified in the Index Filenames field and uses that for the home page. However, you can also specify a file to use as the home page by selecting the Home Page icon (by the Location field) and entering the filename for the home page in the field.

About the Temporary Web Site

By default, the Enterprise Web Server includes a temporary Web site. The purpose of the site is to verify when your Web server is running. But it also includes information about, and links to, all of the Web-based NetWare 6 management tools.

You can replace the default INDEX.HTM and with your own home page and remove all of the supporting pages as well. You might want to explore the site before replacing it with your own content.

To view the temporary Web site, point your Web browser at your Web server by entering your NetWare server's domain name or IP address. For example:

http://www.digitalairlines.com

or

http://120.140.160.180

Default MIME Type

When a document is sent to a client, the server includes a section that identifies the document's type, so the client can present the document in the correct way. However, sometimes the server can't determine the proper type for the document because the document's extension is not defined for the server. In those cases, a default value is sent. For information about maintaining your server's Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) types, see Configuring MIME Types.

The default is usually Text/Plain, but you should set it to the type of file most commonly stored on your server. Some common MIME types include the following:

Parsing the Accept Language Header

When clients contact a server using HTTP, they can send header information describing the languages they accept. You can configure your server to parse this language information.

For example, if you store documents in Japanese and English, you could choose to parse the Accept Language header. When clients that have Japanese as the Accept Language header contact the server, they receive the Japanese version of the page. When clients that have English as the Accept Language header contact the server, they receive the English version.

If you do not support multiple languages, you should not parse the Accept Language header.

Setting Document Preferences

1. Click Enterprise Web Server servername > Content Management > Document Preferences.

2. In the Index Filenames field, enter a new index filename.

3. Select the kind of directory indexing you want.

4. Select whether you want users to see a specified home page or an index file when they access your server. If you select the home page option, enter the filename of the home page you want in the Index File field.

5. In the Default MIME Type field, enter the default MIME type you want the server to return if a client accesses a file with an extension that has not been set up as a MIME type on your server.

6. Select whether or not to parse the accept language header.

7. Click OK > Save and Apply.