I have a simple website with an index file and a second file to which it links. Both files are in the main folder, and when I preview, the link works fine.

When I save the project file, a new folder is created in the Files (images) folder called Download, and a duplicate of the second HTML file appears in there.

WHY??? If I delete it, the link no longer works when I view index.html in a browser. This makes no sense. The link should go to the file in the same folder as the index file, not a duplicate file in a sub-subfolder.

Do I have to upload that extra folder and file to my server as well? I don't want two versions of the HTML file because at some point I need to go into the HTML file and make some final edits.

Second question - why does this forum allow me to write a long subject line and then truncate it when I post?

The subject line should read:
Why is a Download folder created with linked HTML files when I save the project file?

Still playing around with this and getting more frustrated with that Downloads folder for which I can see no purpose.

I have one file called index.html and it links to a file called create.html, and create.html links back to index.html. Both pages have the same layout, so they call the same images.

When I preview index.html, the link to create.html works fine. But when I click the link back to index.html, it goes NOT to the main index file, but to the copy in the Downloads folder - so of course all the images don't show up.

When I fix the links and re-save the project file, the reverse happens. Now create.html links to index.html, which looks fine, but when I click its link to create.html, that file has no images showing.

WHY this Downloads folder with duplicate files? Why is it changing my links, despite what I'm telling it to do, so they go to that useless file with broken images instead of the correct file in the main directory?

How can something so simple be going wrong?

Hi Sara,
I have to assume your talking about Visual Site Designer.
Anytime you use the link documents in the links properties, all will be linked and uploaded into the Downloads folder located in the files folder.
If you want to link to a page then in the link properties you should have the use link checked and the page selected below that.
http://www.kellyinfo.com/web/linkproperties.jpg
http://www.kellyinfo.com/web/linkprop.jpg
Images are automatically placed in the files folder- so if you added the create.html in VSD by using the add page then all that is need is to use the drop down to link to the page. If the page is/was made outside of VSD then you would use the link to document link should work. Hope I explained it to where you understand it.
http://www.kellyinfo.com/web/linking.avi

I'm reviving this thread to extend the discussion.

So - I get that the downloads file contains .docs, .exes, and so forth that are linked to one of my pages. No problem.

But why an absolute link?

this:
"href="C:\CCVSD Schwerpunkt Site\Schwerpunkt-v6_website\files\Download\agwtutor.doc"

instead of "href="files\Download\agwtutor.doc"

Images do not use absolutes but relative links. (I think I've got the right terminology - it's been a long day)

I wouldn't care except that Firefox doesn't like this at all and refuses to recognize the file. "Firefox doesn't know how to open this address because the protocol (c) isn't associated with any program." Firefox is doing what it's told - go look at the c drive - whatever that is - and get this file except there will be no such thing on the server.

I guess I could work around this by dinking with the code outside of vsd but that gets messy and would have to be redone every time I upload - even for files that don't otherwise change.

meanwhile, if I try to change the link to reflect a relative link, it of course says that the file isn't there and won't build.

Hi KC,
In preview it would only show in the temp folder VSD uses, once uploaded the correct path is shown in FF, Is you FF updated? I have made a link to a doc on my comp and uploaded and the path is files/downloads/ myfile.pdf.....

Hi Kc,

The "Downloads" folder will contain any files that are connected to the website through a link property such as Docs, PDF's, etc. and VSD uses an absolute reference until the file is uploaded to the server, this is so it can locate the file within your system until it uploads the site. The conversion occurs when the site is uploaded through VSD's internal upload function and should alter to "/downloads/filename".

From the error message reported it sounds like you are manually uploading your files, and if so, you will need to use the "Link to url" function and manually enter the url to the file on the server.

yeah what Orlando said lol

Okay. All that works for me. Here's the kicker. I have not uploaded the website because I couldn't check to make sure the links worked! I didn't want to put up something without knowing it would be fixed when it went up. I meant to add a statement about that last night because I assumed with so few complaints this had to be an "okay after upload" issue. But by then, the forum wouldn't let me edit and it was almost midnight so I cratered.

However, I have to ask, "WHY?" I see the above from Orlando - "so VSD can find the files" but that seems a bit (egads) bogus. The images use relative links throughout the code, why do other files like exes, txts, etc. need to be any different? Is there something inherently squirrely about downloadable files that requires the absolute link? If not, then why bother? It's certainly not necessary when working with files in an html editor. And clearly VSD can find the image files that it puts in under relative links.

BAH! Am I making sense? As long as it works in the end, I can live with it but it seems like it's unnecessary and just adds confusion.

It seems like relative v. absolute links should be an option. When I first put these in, I linked to a file in the files folder (That's where I put the txts and exes and .docs - not knowing better at the time) and VSD must not have changed this on the first build (weird) because everything worked just fine. It was after saving and rebuilding the next day that the references changed.

Consistency seems to be an issue here in general. What I can't tell is if this is something flaky my system is doing or if VSD is the flake source.

Thanks for the help and I'll be sure to only gripe if the files don't actually show up properly upon upload.
I have not had caffeine yet this a.m. Which might explain the lack of coherence.

Hello,

Not necessarily, try moving an image after adding it to VSD, you will see that when you open the .cnu file your project will state it cannot find the file and that you must either move it back to the original location, or re-reference it through the "browse" feature.

Visual Site Designer uses the "_websites" folder as a jump off point which in turn will reference back to the original file used, and this is where the absolute reference comes in.