I use MS Frontpage for website design - it is a simple site and my
skills are minimal. Please do NOT tell me how to solve this using
other software or spend time explaining why other software is better
for website design. I fully agree that Frontpage has problems, but it
is what I am using in part because it is mandated. Now, having gotten
over that...my question

When I upload excel files and set them up to be downloaded, when you
actually click on the link to download the file it asks for your
username and password. It does not do this for the pdf files that I
normally set up for download, only for the excel ones. Oddly, if you
click 'cancel' indicating you don't want to enter your username and
password, it goes ahead and downloads the file. This is baffling to
users for obvious reasons. I want them to be able to just download the
file at will. How can I suppress the request for the username and
password?

Thanks to all. -Susan

---

Clarification of Question by susank-ga on 07 Mar 2004 12:39 PST

Yes! They are in the exact same place. If you have any inclination to
see the problem, the page is at: http://www.eval.org/iccff.htm. - the
two forms (both pdf documents) download fine and the two excel
spreadsheets have the problem.

---

Clarification of Question by susank-ga on 07 Mar 2004 15:42 PST

I just tried again. I see http://eval.org/iccff.htm - I first get a
small window that notes

Transferring file  [this is the header]
Transferring:
http://www.eval.org/aea.cffabrevwks.xls

This has a progress bar that doesn't move until...

The downloading window pops up and then this is replaced by a window
that asks for my username and password.

Given that the transferring window shows up it would, indeed, seem
like it is trying to ftp. But I am never see the ftp configuration in
the URL.

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 07 Mar 2004 20:12 PST

Susan...

Your latest clarification leaves me as baffled as 
yourself. The only thing I can think to try is to 
change the Source Code on the page and specify http
in the link, as follows:

For example, change <a href="aea.cffabrevwks.xls">
to <a href="http://www.eval.org/aea.cffabrevwks.xls">

In this way, you would bypass any possibility of FTP
being invoked (or so I would like to believe).

Let me know if this is clear enough, or if you would
prefer further elaboration of this idea.

sublime1-ga

---

Clarification of Question by susank-ga on 08 Mar 2004 06:11 PST

Sorry. I went to bed! I have a meeting this morning, but will try to
fix as soon as I am back. Thanks for your ongoing thinking on this.
-Susan

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 11 Mar 2004 08:40 PST

Susan...

In your latest comment, you note "I think we got it fixed
based on this info. Thanks for working this through with me!"

I looked at the Source Code for the page, and don't see that
you've made any changes to the '<a href=' entries, but if
you're suggesting that I post a formal answer and collect 
the fee, I will be happy to do so. Let me know.

sublime1-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 18 Mar 2004 16:09 PST

Susan...?

This sounds like a permissions problem to me. Are the files in the same directory?

Susan...

I was able to download all the files without a problem,
simply by right-clicking and selecting 'download' or 'save',
in both Mozilla and IE browsers. Clicking directly on the
Excel files would open them in the browser in IE, and 
would open a dialog offering the choice of 'download' or 
'save' in Mozilla.

I hope that helps. Let me know if I can be of further 
assistance.

sublime1-ga

When I try to download either of the excel files in IE, by directly
clicking on them, I get the request to enter my username and password.
Not only that, but twice it has locked up my browser completely. I
then went and tried it on two different machines with the same basic
result (I locked up one of the two, and the other asked for my
password). Hmmm.... now I am baffled. Thanks so much for trying!

Susan...

Actually, as I think about it, perhaps it is asking for 
authentification because clicking directly on the link
actually opens the file from your server, without
downloading it. This means the file could theoretically
be altered and saved on the server, so maybe it's a good
thing that this is happening.

Perhaps you could simply add the instruction to the page:
"To download these files, right-click on the link and
 choose 'Save Target As...' in Internet Explorer, and
 'Save Link Target As...' in Netscape."

Many sites include these instructions for downloading.

sublime1-ga

Susan...

You wrote:

"When I try to download either of the excel files in IE, by directly
 clicking on them, I get the request to enter my username and password.
 Not only that, but twice it has locked up my browser completely. I
 then went and tried it on two different machines with the same basic
 result (I locked up one of the two, and the other asked for my
 password)."

This behavior sounds like you are trying to access them from the
FTP site, rather than the HTTP site. When you get the results above,
which address are you seeing in your browser address window?:

http://www.eval.org/iccff.htm

or 

ftp://ftp.eval.org/iccff.htm

sublime1-ga

Sorry for the delay. I think we got it fixed based on this info.
Thanks for working this through with me!