The redirector is a database which is linked to the web server. When someone asks for a URL which does not exist on the www (ICMS) server, the server first checks the redirector for a match. If no match is found, the server will search abacus for a corresponding page.
| what the browser asks for | What happens | what the browser gets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.bates.edu/bates-now.xml | There's a direct match | http://www.bates.edu/bates-now.xml | The system worked. |
| www.bates.edu/admin/emergency.html | There's no match at www There's no redirector entry There is a match on abacus |
http://abacus.bates.edu/admin/emergency.html |
The system worked. |
| www.bates.edu/now/daily/index.html | There's no match at www the server consults the redirector and finds a match |
http://www.bates.edu/bates-daily.xml | The system worked. |
| www.bates.edu/dancefest |
There's no match at www |
http://www.bates.edu/dance-festival.xml |
The system worked. The redirector allows for easy, unlimited aliases of a URL. Thus several URL's can point to the same page. |
| www.bates.edu/bates-noo.xml | There's no match at www the server consults the redirector and finds no match There's no match on abacus |
404 error | The system worked. |
| abacus.bates.edu/now/daily/index.html | The server was not asked for www Thus the redirector is not consulted There is a match on abacus |
http://abacus.bates.edu/now/daily/index.html | Whoops! By asking for an abacus page, the browser gets around the redirector and ends up on an outdated abacus page. The only way to get your browser to the correct page is to replace the outdated abacus page with a META REFRESH page. |
Note that an inventory of all pages was done in June 2001 and all pages were given a "place-holder" entry in the database. So when you migrate a page to ICMS that has a direct antecedant on abacus, you're not so much adding a new entry as you are updating a dummy entry. To minimize confusion, please follow this set of methodical steps:
| Field: | Action: | Examples and notes: |
| Go to the redirector
search page http://a4811.bates.edu/support/redirectadmin/redirectadmin.asp |
||
| Add new redirection | Don't click it; for the most part, you're updating old records, not adding new ones. | |
| Search by | Choose Old URL | |
| Search for | Type all or part of the old (abacus) URL. Leave off the domain part. |
To find: http://abacus.bates.edu/admin/offices/spsp/df/index.html type in: admin/offices/spsp/df/index.html or broaden your search by typing: admin/offices/spsp/ |
| Find | Click Find. | It may take a few minutes to return your search results. |
| Scroll down the list to find the page which you have migrated. | All abacus pages were entered in the database on or around
June 2001. More recent pages would not be in the database at all. Auto-entries include HTML and graphics files. You need only be concerned with HTML files. |
|
| Click on the x-number of your page. | If the x-number is x100000 or greater, it is an auto-entered
page. If the x-number is less than x100000, it probably has already been entered manually. |
|
| X-Number.xml | Get the correct X-number from X-power. You'll find it at the top of the page in the publisher. | Over-write the auto-entry. Use the format: x1234.xml |
| Publish As | Input the correct PublishAs name from your page. You'll find it by right-clicking on the page in the tree and selecting "Properties". Click the middle tab in the Properties box. The PublishAs name is toward the bottom of the box. | Over-write the auto-entry. Use the format: publish-as.xml |
| Owner | Type in your username and the words "by update" | Use the format: kzirkel by update |
| ICMS Migrated | Choose YES | This is important. If you don't choose yes, your entry will not be valid. |
Your final step, in many cases, is to replace the old abacus page with a META REFRESH page.
webguide by Ken Zirkel