Exporting files manually, which files are affected by certain changes

I would like to know when I export a website locally instead of publishing using xara, what files affect certain changes so I only need to upload those those to my website. Example is using Egg Bramhill's slider pages for wides screen slideshow. The actual slideshow is created as a supersite. The supersite is exported to a directory manually and uploaded manually to a directory on my website. My main website uses a placeholder to access the supersite in a folder on the website. Example https://www.jerrys-furniture.com/dining_room.htm. I've attached a screenshot of the supporting files that upload, in the main subdirecctory is the .htm file. I forget things and make mistakes, re-export the files locally and then have to upload them to the directory on the website. I shouldn't have to upload them all, just the affected files. I've attached a jpg of the sample files. If I change a graphic it is easy to see which to upload. The text, mouseover effects, Links and link settings on the text such as open in new window or parent, and any animation to the text or graphics are what I'm asking about. Thank you.

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The supersite is exported to a directory manually and uploaded manually to a directory on my website.

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In the example you posted: https://www.jerrys-furniture.com/dining_room.htm you have in effect a website within a website, both originate from a Xara document. Your 'supersite' can of course being viewed too: https://www.jerrys-furniture.com/aut...xr_page_page-3.

There should be no need to manually update the supersite; you can simply publish to the folder you have designated using Xara to publish that site. If you are making just a few changes, ensure you have a backup document saved before you start, and use Fast Publish (within the Web Properties dialogue box). If those changes are ONLY to the supersite, there is no requirement to change anything in the main site. Equally, if you are ONLY changing the main site, there is no need to change anything in the supersite.

I use supersites as sliders all the time, and provided you use a unique file name for the slider (i.e. in your case auto-slider.htm and NOT index.htm) and that file name is different from any in your main website directory, you can simply publish your supersite to the main website directory.

If you want to upload from a local source (your PC), I would always export the full website to the local directory and ensure ALL files are uploaded/FTP'd together, but this really should not be necessary for an embedded supersite.

Not sure if this answers your question, but hopefully it clarifies that you can manage the publication of both sites using Xara's standard publish function.

Gary

If you Export website locally then Publish the changes, you should be using something like Filezilla where you can tell it to only upload the changed files.

No need to know or think it through.

You do not appreciate the interaction Xara has with simple things like changing a NavBar or adding a new image.
If you really want to get to grips with it, download Search Everything and create a Filter (C:\Users\[login]\AppData\Local\Temp\ !~* !*ARM* !*.tmp !tmp* dm:today).

Acorn

Thank you Infostar. I understand that I only need to publish the main site if I alter it or a placeholder in it. I can just upload/publish the supersite if altered and I mostly use fast publish on my main website. Since you do this a lot I still have some questions. I've attached my current directory structure. Under each slider directory is an auto-slider.htm and and auto-slider-variant.htm with the corresponding directories with supporting files for the supersites. I was a little leary at the time to publish to these subdirectores in case I accidentally forgot to change the settings to the correct subdirectory - (it's good to know one's limitations), plus I didn't know how to rename the file, since when I publish the main site I don't believe I am given that option, so I've been manually been exporting and uploading. Each supersite has identical page names (index,page1,page2,page3, page 4) which I now realize is not an issue since a Supersite consists of one HTML file for the whole site. If I want to eliminate my subdirectories and name each supersite htm when published-where do I do that? (or even if I keep the subdirectories). In my case I would end up publishing ten supersites to the main directory each with a different name. (or I can publish to the subdirectories.) also I am using absolute paths/links in the placeholder code. Not a big deal, but when I preview one of the pages with the placeholder to a supersite from xara I can only see the first page of the supersite in the placeholder, with any static elements. The actual slideshow doesn't preview or any animation. Is there a way to make that work? Thanks.

Thanks Acorn. I have used filezilla and that is a good option for me to consider instead of the web hosts file manager.

Your site works well already in its desktop and mobile variants, but I will try to answer your questions:

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I understand that I only need to publish the main site if I alter it or a placeholder in it. I can just upload/publish the supersite if alter my main website.

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TRUE

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Under each slider directory is an auto-slider.htm and auto-slider-variant.htm with the corresponding directories with supporting files for the supersites.

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TRUE AND IT WORKS

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I was a little leary at the time to publish to these subdirectories in case I accidentally forgot to change the settings to the correct subdirectory.

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TRY: Web Properties, Publish, Save Profile "meaningful name", check Save Publish settings.

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If I want to eliminate my subdirectories and name each supersite "htm" when published-where do I do that? (or even if I keep the subdirectories). In my case I would end up publishing ten supersites to the main directory each with a different name. (or I can publish to the subdirectories.) I am using absolute paths/links in the placeholder code.

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STAY WITH SUB-DIRECTORIES: Easier to keep track of everything when you have multiple embedded sites, but let me try to explain:

1. You have 10 separate supersites, but there are 5 separate 'variant' sites almost identical to their standard counterparts, but for their navigation controls. Each main supersite already has Scale-to-fit-Width applied; this could be used in both your main desktop and mobile variant, just copy, paste and scale the placeholder. That's 5 less sites to manage!

2. Should you want a different variant for each supersite, you can add that into your supersite by adding a variant to it; you might want to do this if your supersite has a wide landscape perspective and looks squashed in a portrait mobile format. Should you want to add a variant, like any other Xara website, you can design the transition from one variant to the other. You need to ensure the corresponding variant placeholder in your main site is proportionally the same as each variant in the supersite.

SUPERSITE FILE NAMING: provided you are using the supersite as an embedded website, you can change the first page filename from "index" to "anothername". In your case it might be "home", "living", "bedroom", "dining", "mattress" as the first page filenames for each of your 5 supersites.

What you will see published for each supersite is "anothername_htm_files", "anothername.htm" and "anothername.xhl". You can publish each to a sub-directory or assuming the names are unique, you can publish them all to the main website directory. Personally, I would keep them in separate sub-directories as you have done.

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Not a big deal, but when I preview one of the pages with the placeholder to a supersite from Xara I can only see the first page of the supersite in the placeholder, with static elements. The actual slideshow doesn't preview or any animation. Is there a way to make that work?

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Not that I've found, but it's not an issue.

Rule 1 is not to break what works; if you are going to try these things out, take a backup of the Xara doc and check what works on a test site, not the live site.

Here's couple of sites that have what I would call a "box slider", one auto-scrolls, the other has a custom design navigation control.

https://initiostar.co.uk/projects.htm - scroll down

https://theparsonage.co.uk/


Here too is the demo site where some of the ideas get tested.

https://initiostar.co.uk/demo/zNivo/

Hope it helps,

Gary

Thank you Gary all this information it is very helpful and clarifies things for me. I would remove the other post but I don't think I can.