based on SynchWWW 1.1.1 by Aaron Freimark (aaron@inch.com)
UpdateWWW is freeware -- distribute it to your heart's content, but always include this Read Me file and NEVER redistribute a modified copy as UpdateWWW. Feel free to redistribute a modified copy as a separate program, with a different name, different Read Me, etc.
Important Note: UpdateWWW requires two Scripting Additions from the Script Tools suite by Mark Alldritt: Choose Files & Folders and File IO. The Script Tools suite is available from:
You can either follow the instructions included to install the whole Script Tools package, or you can just drop the two files listed above (from the Additions folder in the Script Tools package) into the Scripting Additions folder in your Extensions Folder.
UpdateWWW is designed to let you know what parts of your web page have changed since the last time you did an upload. It examines a folder you specify and compares it to previous runs. This folder is assumed to be a mirror of the web page as it is arranged on the server. The output is a SimpleText file on the desktop called "update these!" containing a list of files that have changed or been added, followed by a list of files that have been removed.
Known problem: UpdateWWW is not too smart when there is already a file called "update these!" on your desktop. If there is a file of that name there, the script will fail at the end when it tries to create the output file. Make sure there is not a file or folder named "update these!" (without the quotes, of course) on your desktop before running UpdateWWW.
UpdateWWW is a very simple AppleScript to use, but before you try, you should know exactly what you need to do in order to get the best use out of it. First, you MUST keep a "mirror" of your web page on your local hard drive. For example, if you have a web page with the following files:
index.html
something.html
images/me.gif
images/wife.gif
You should make a folder somewhere on your hard drive that contains the index.html and something.html files, and within that folder should be a folder called images, which will contain the me.gif and wife.gif files. (If you're not married, don't worry, you don't need to get married for this script to work! ;-)
Not only is such a setup required for this program, but you'll also find that it makes your life much easier. You can preview your pages directly from your hard drive and spot any errors before uploading the pages. Once you have this folder, UpdateWWW will help ensure that any changes you make to this folder will not be forgotten next time you do an upload.
When you first run UpdateWWW, it will ask you for a source folder. (If it doesn't, you probably got your copy from a friend who has used the program before. In this case, click the New button, then the Get on with it! button.) You should select the folder containing your web pages. Once you do this, UpdateWWW will remember this folder and record its current state. The first time it runs, it spits out a file containing a list of every file in the folder. As you may guess, it's not much use the first time. Thereafter, it will record changes since the last time you ran the program.
If you want to scan another folder (if you have two web pages, for example, or if you move the folder containing your pages), it will forget the state of the last folder it scanned. This is one of the program's drawbacks -- it can only monitor one folder at a time. You could compensate a couple ways if you have multiple web pages. One would be to put the folders for all your web pages inside one central folder, and have UpdateWWW scan that. Another way would be to keep a copy of UpdateWWW for each page.
Once you've begun a scan, just sit back and wait -- UpdateWWW is none too fast! I have a web page with over 150 files, and it takes several minutes for UpdateWWW to finish. Of course, this is considerably less time than it would take me to figure out which files needed to be uploaded by trial and error!
Enjoy!
If you have questions, please e-mail me at ThomasReed@aol.com -- do not contact Aaron Freimark about this program.
