timshank
asked on
Rotating banner using ssi
I want to set up a rotating banner on my page using ssi if possible. I know very little about perl and less about anything else. My problem is that I cant seem to use ssi using the extention .html, it works fine using .shtml. My pages are already all set up using .html and I really dont want to change them. Is there a way to work around this problem?
You may consider using Javascript instead. Go to the following URL to find out more:
http://www.webreference.com/js/column3/rotation.html
-K
http://www.webreference.com/js/column3/rotation.html
-K
ASKER
If I go with a java script wouldn't that keep those who have their java turned off from seeing it? Is that a common thing?
Most ISPs have SSIs enabled on .shtml only since there is significant server overhead to processing a .shtml page, and unless a page has SSIs it wastes time.
Most people have javascript enabled, but by no means everyone, so javascript isn't a very good solution unless you can live with no rotation (same image every time on a given page) for some people. But I would be very surprised if the time it took to add javascript to every page wasn't much greater than simply renaming them and changing the links.
You should also find out from your ISP how to have people's bookmarked references to the old page automatically send them to the new one, it's easy on some servers. If not then you would need a sepearate redirect file to each page. Taking an entire directory of html, renaming it .shtml, fixing all links, and automatically creating a "this page has moved" page actually would be a useful perl script, maybe someone has done it. (A similar script might even be able to add the banner if the pages have the same layout).
Most people have javascript enabled, but by no means everyone, so javascript isn't a very good solution unless you can live with no rotation (same image every time on a given page) for some people. But I would be very surprised if the time it took to add javascript to every page wasn't much greater than simply renaming them and changing the links.
You should also find out from your ISP how to have people's bookmarked references to the old page automatically send them to the new one, it's easy on some servers. If not then you would need a sepearate redirect file to each page. Taking an entire directory of html, renaming it .shtml, fixing all links, and automatically creating a "this page has moved" page actually would be a useful perl script, maybe someone has done it. (A similar script might even be able to add the banner if the pages have the same layout).
ASKER
The word is in from my ISP, no running SSI without the .shtml extention, where do I go from here?
Ez, you change your pages... how many do you have that need changing, out of how many total?
You might put a
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="1;URL=ssi.shtml">
tag in your .html
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="1;URL=ssi.shtml">
tag in your .html
ASKER
I have around 30, just got done changing all the links/names in a second copy of them on my hard drive. Are there any browsers that will not recognize the .shtml extention? I would like to get rid of the .html pages all together. my site has only been running for a couple weeks and has only had maybe 800 visitors so I dont mind just switching them. The main thing I am worried about is if all browsers will recognize my index.shtml as my root page (like when the type in http://www.freehound.com/ will it take them automatically to my index.shtml page)and will I ever regret making all my pages .shtml extentions? (before I upload them)
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ASKER
Thanks, good answer by the way, I did that a week or so ago and haven't had any problems with it.
ASKER
Thanks, good answer by the way, I uploaded the .shtml pages a week or so ago and haven't had any problems with it.
If you are running your own server, what server is it?
-K