Ebooks

[soul-parenting]

Hi I am very new at this, I have an ebook that I would like for people to download what file folder do I upload this into. public html? and what code would I put into my html editor so people can download it with a click.


Loretta
http://soul-parenting.com

[Vin DSL]

I have my public download files in a directory called 'download', i.e.

http://www.lenon.com/download/

I also have that directory setup as a subdomain, i.e.

http://download.lenon.com/

So, the HTML tag for foobar.zip, for instance, would read either

<a href="http://www.lenon.com/download/foobar.zip">Download Foobar</a>

...or

<a href="http://download.lenon.com/foobar.zip">Download Foobar</a>

[apgraham]

That depends :
1. are you selling this or restricting the download in any way (user must aggree to a license before downloading)?
2. Is it zipped or otherwise compressed. What's the file extention (the '.xxx' part). You may need to add it to your .htaccess file to allow it to be downloaded.
3. How is your site organized? You should probably make a directory for downloads to keep things nice and tidy and for (slightly) increased security.

-Al

[soul-parenting]

Thank-You for the reply. It is an .exe file. the book is free. I looks like I have to make folder for downloads in public_html than upload it to public_html downloads folder

the coding would look like this

<a href="http://www.soul-parenting.com/download/xxxxx.exe">


Loretta

[Vin DSL]

Personally, I wouldn't put an executable file up for HTTP download, but that's up to you. I would ZIP it. Otherwise, it looks like you got the idea...

[soul-parenting]

I don't know how to zip it. Is there some kind of software that I need? And is there anywhere I can get it free if I do?


Loretta

[Connie]

"soul-parenting"

Here is a link to a free download for a zip program. I
used it for years. It is fairly simple to use.

http://www.camdevelopment.com/

Vin,

Why are you recommending a zip download? Most of the files I
download off the Internet are .exe files. In fact I hate down-
loading zip files.

Would appreciate your reasons.

[Vin DSL]

Originally posted by clssam
Why are you recommending a zip download? Most of the files I download off the Internet are .exe files. In fact I hate down-loading zip files.

Would appreciate your reasons.

Well, for one thing, many ppl are suspicious of executable files. It's a good way to get a virus, worm, et cetera. Another reason is you can test a ZIP file for integrity, so you know it transferred correctly. ZIP allows you to compress the size of the file, athough executables are usually compiled and won't compress much, if at all.

There are other reasons, but those are probably the 'big three.'

[Connie]

Originally posted by Vin DSL
Well, for one thing, many ppl are suspicious of executable files. It's a good way to get a virus, worm, et cetera. Another reason is you can test a ZIP file for integrity, so you know it transferred correctly. ZIP allows you to compress the size of the file, athough executables are usually compiled and won't compress much, if at all.

There are other reasons, but those are probably the 'big three.'

1) I doubt the average user knows the difference between
a zip file and a .exe file.

It the zip file does not come with a self extractor I expect
the average user would not have the software to unzip the
file so the download would be useless to them.

2) I realize a zip file is smaller. Not sure what you mean
by "integrity". A site that wants to include malicious code
in their down load could do that in a zip file as well as a. exe
file. Personally, I do not download any file from a web site
that I do not trust.

The only way I know to check the integrity of any file is let
my virus software to check it.

After 3 years on the Internet at 15 hours a day 7 days a week
I would still classify myself as an average user from the
standpoint of technical knowledge.

I see some of the validity of your reasoning, but I still do
not like zip files, pdfs or ftp downloads. Each one of those
require special software that many users do not have. Even
though I have them all, they just require more steps to get
to what I'm looking for.

Actually I don't mind self extracting zip files. But most of the
zip files I down load are not sef extracting. When given the choice
between downloading a zip file and a .exe file I will always choose
the .exe file because it is easier to install.I don't find the download
time that much quicker for the zip file Vs. the .exe file.

By the way go enjoy a "Red Dog" on me and have a good weekend.

"Loretta"

Don't mind Vin and me. Vin is a good source of knowledge and a challenge
to this illiterate old "Red Neck". I suspect the e-book you want to offer
is a .exe file. The link Vin offered is correct for any download, with one
exception.

Change the file extension from .zip to .exe. Actually you can put the down
load in any folder you want, you just have to specify the path.

For instance <a href="http://www.soul-parenting.com/xxxxx.exe">download</a>
This would be in you public_html directory.

<a href="http://www.soul-parenting.com/download/xxxxx.exe">download</a>
this would be in a folder in the public_html directory. Or you could do

<a href="http://www.soul-parenting.com/download/ebook/xxxxx.exe">download,/a>

I think you have the idea. Personally I would stay with the .exe file for
the download. I have downloaded a lot of e-books, and don't remember ever
downloading one that was in a zip file.

Hope I haven't confused you.

[soul-parenting]

Thank-you,

I think I will just stay with the exe file. I know when I download I would rather see exe than zip. I always have trouble with those even though my Gozilla will open a zip you have to open a folder to get to the file and yes it is extra work or clicks. Also alot of people can't open a zip file they don't have the software to open it. I know the first time I had a zip file I didn't know what to do with it. Open with... was the message I got. that file went bye bye. I had no idea what the computer wanted me to do.

I did think about trying to find software that would zip a file because I heard it take less time to download, but if it doesn't make that much difference in time I think i will just keep it as it is.

I have so many projects going right now and so many things to learn to get what I want on my site. I will hold off on trying to play around with that for awhile.


Loretta

[mattsiegman]

AYou people need to give people a little more credit. A lot of people have Acrobat, and many also have a .zip file extractor. (Hell, Windows ME has one built in, I think)

[jason]

Originally posted by clssam
2) I realize a zip file is smaller. Not sure what you mean
by "integrity". A site that wants to include malicious code
in their down load could do that in a zip file as well as a. exe
file. Personally, I do not download any file from a web site
that I do not trust.

File integrity simply means knowing that what you were expecting is what you got. ZIP files include a checksum with is just a string of characters that is generated from the bits of the file. It is very difficult for two files to have an identical checksum, so basically, if a zip file doesn't download correctly, the checksum that is generate on your end will differ from the one in the file itself, so you know you have a bad file.

It is possible to do this with exe's in a way too. There is a thing called an MD5 hash that is often published with software, especially security-related software, such as Putty. If can get a program that can create the MD5 hash of any file on your computer. So, you can download Putty and compare the hash of the downloaded file to that which is published on the site. If they don't match up, you know not to trust the one you got. This is only starting to catch on and is mainly doen with programs that have some sort of security concern with them and isn't something average users need to be concerned with, but I thought I'd point it out.

As for ZIP vs. EXE, I have no preference personally. I agree though that some people will have trouble opening ZIP files, especially if they are using an older version of Windows or don't have the "Compressed Folders" feature installed. I wouldn't be too worried about not wanting to download exe files. If they trust your site and know where the file is coming from, it shouldn't be an issue.

--Jason

[Connie]

Originally posted by mattsiegman
AYou people need to give people a little more credit. A lot of people have Acrobat, and many also have a .zip file extractor. (Hell, Windows ME has one built in, I think)

I have used W98, ME & XP home. None of those have a
built in zip program that I'm aware of. I do give people credit,
but I still believe the average Internet user does not have the
special software for zip files, and if they do they may not know
how to use it. I still have problems with zip files if they are not
self extracting. One reason I don't use it that much because
for an average user zip files are not something you deal with
everyday.

"Matt you are not an average user

Originally posted by Jason
File integrity simply means knowing that what you were expecting is what you got. ZIP files include a checksum with is just a string of characters that is generated from the bits of the file. It is very difficult for two files to have an identical checksum, so basically, if a zip file doesn't download correctly, the checksum that is generate on your end will differ from the one in the file itself, so you know you have a bad file.

Thanks for the clarification.

Originally posted by Jason
As for ZIP vs. EXE, I have no preference personally. I agree though that some people will have trouble opening ZIP files, especially if they are using an older version of Windows or don't have the "Compressed Folders" feature installed. I wouldn't be too worried about not wanting to download exe files. If they trust your site and know where the file is coming from, it shouldn't be an issue.

Hope I'm not misquoting you. But I think the bottom line is trust
of the site you are downloading from. I don't think people downloading an E-book are going to be worried about the site
they are downloading from.

[apgraham]

I suspect that the .exe file is a sef-extracting zip. The problem is that requesting an executable file in a url results in that file being run. I doubt that a hyperlink will download it without setting up the mime type in a .htaccess file for the directory.
Try the link, if you get an error, there should be plenty of people here who can help you set up the .htaccess file. My monitoring of the boards is spurious at best.

-Al

[jason]

Originally posted by clssam
I have used W98, ME & XP home. None of those have a
built in zip program that I'm aware of.

Actually, I believe they all do. Its called (in ME at least) "Compressed Folders." I believe it is installed by default in a standard installation, but if you don't have it installed you can go into your Add/Remove Programs CP, click on the Windows Setup tab, and then on System Tools. You'll find it in there. Again, these are the instructions for ME, but I'd guess they're the same in the other versions as well. Microsoft kind of hides the fact that compressed folders are really Zips (or, I believe, Microsoft's own CAB (cabinet) files as well). Personally, I use winzip, so I have this feature turned off.

BTW: Self extracting zips are really exe files. The contain the code to extract the files and the compressed and packaged files all in a single file.

Hope I'm not misquoting you. But I think the bottom line is trust of the site you are downloading from. I don't think people downloading an E-book are going to be worried about the site they are downloading from.

Exactly, as long as your users trust you, they'll be trust your downloads. Actually, there's no difference between what you can do with a zip and an exe. The exe could be a virus and the zip could contain an exe that contained a virus. As long as you deliver exactly what you say and your site appears to be credible, you should be all set.

Originally posted by apgraham
I suspect that the .exe file is a sef-extracting zip. The problem is that requesting an executable file in a url results in that file being run. I doubt that a hyperlink will download it without setting up the mime type in a .htaccess file for the directory.
Try the link, if you get an error, there should be plenty of people here who can help you set up the .htaccess file. My monitoring of the boards is spurious at best.

-Al

When you say "being run" do you man on the client side or the server side? Exe's are Windows (or DOS) executable files. Linux (or any Unix-like system) doesn't rely on the filename to determine what to do with a file. As long as you give your exe file read access (chmod 644), Linux will treat it like any other file on your site and send it to your client. If you were to set it to be executable (chmod 755), Linux would try to run the file and would ultimately fail because it doesn't understand Windows machine code, which would result in your user getting a "500" script error.

A lot of software is distributed in exe form, either as a self-extracting zip, a packaged installer program, or, for simple programs that don't require external libraries, sometimes just the program itself.

When the prowser gets a file and doesn't know what to do with it (such as render it as HTML or as an image, for example), it asks the user. Of course, the user can tell it to always treat any file of that type the same way (save it or open it with a specific program). In the case of exe files, 99.9% of all browsers are set to prompt the user before running the file. Sometimes the users change those settings, but that can be quite dangerous, so most don't unless its an accident.

Long story short, you should have no problem with exe files on your site. They will start to download and the user's browser will ask what the user wants to do with them (save or run). Then the user can do what they please with the file when it finishes downloading.

Good luck with the site.

--Jason