This message continues the thread on remotely-hosted
Open Directory resources.
PortalScripts offers a free Open Directory with no
banner ads.
It is superior to the Digital Windmill resource in many
ways - it does not use Javascript, so all browsers can
access it, and navigation is normal. Although it is
offsite, you can customise it to look exactly like all
the other pages on your own site.
Email-only signup and maintenance is very easy - though
you cannot use GetWeb for the customisation form.
Procedure
~~~~~~~~~
1. Use one of the web-to-email servers, eg: GetWeb,
WWW4Mail, to fetch
http://www.portalscripts.com/Remote_Services/remote_services.shtml
2. It returns a page containing a simple form. To sign
up, you provide four items of information: your name,
a username, an email address and your URL.
Your PortalScripts directory will be the same as your
username, so think carefully.
IMPORTANT: The username must be 4 to 8 characters -
'websitebyemail' was too long, so we chose 'emailweb'.
3. Submit this form.
4. It sends a password to your email address.
5. For the next stage, use one of the more advanced
web-to-email servers (GetWeb will not work).
We use [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...
XURLCODE
http://turkiyem.com/cgi-bin/odps/signin.cgi
6. Submit the sign-in form.
7. It returns a page informing you of your new URL
http://turkiyem.com/cgi-bin/odps/<username>/main.cgi
and a customisation template.
8. Use a web-to-email server to fetch the unmodified
source HTML of your new URL. You will need it to
compare it with the default template, and to design
your customised template.
It would also be helpful to fetch a typical category
page, eg:
http://turkiyem.com/cgi-bin/odps/<username>/main.cgi?/Regional/
9. Customisation is VERY easy. Design a web page that
looks like all your other pages. Make sure that all
links to pages and images are absolute, not relative.
Where you want the ODP table to appear, insert
ODP_CONTENT
That's all.
If you want to look at an example, fetch the source
of
http://turkiyem.com/cgi-bin/odps/emailweb/main.cgi
and/or
http://turkiyem.com/cgi-bin/odps/emailweb/main.cgi?/Regional/
"ODP_CONTENT" is everything that appears between the
comments <!-- BEGIN ODP customisation --> and
<!-- END ODP customisation -->
When you are ready, paste the HTML into the form and
submit it.
10. Link from your site using the top level URL or one
of the sub-categories.
NOTES
1. portalscripts.com and turkiyem.com are the same
organisation.
2. The Open Directory pages are generated dynamically by
a Perl program called ODP++. Of all the Open
Directory scripts, this is by far the best.
3. If you have access to a cgi-bin for your own Perl
programs, Portalscripts offer ODP++ free to
noncommercial users. The URL for more information is
http://www.portalscripts.com/ODP__/odp__.shtml
..............................................................
For list info & help, including subscription options, email
message "intro website-by-email" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web URL is http://www.netnormal.com/users/websitebyemail/
