Preserved Topic: FrontPage Password change

I don't know where this belongs really .. so if it's moved that's all good .. but her is my question

I'm doing small consultant work for a small net company where they deal with clients logging into a "job board" to look for clients or jobs .. well I wasn't on the ground floor on the design and functionablity of this website nor does the owner of the company want to put up the money yet for a properly functioning website(which he really needs) .. anyway .. the original coder wrote it in .asp using FrontPage has the password protection .. I guess .. I don't have any idea how to work FrontPage .. or it's functions .. I hate it personally .. well my client wants to change the password to the "job board" where the contractors log in to view potential jobs for themselves .. I've looked through the whole site finding NO admin panel or admin functions page .. my question is .. do I need FrontPage to change the password to the restricted parts of the sites .. since they were originally set in FrontPage?


.::. cEll .::. 513

Oh, a FrontPage question. This topic doesn't belong in the Ozone forum, it belongs in Hell. I'll be moving it there momentarily.


(seriously: see if you *can* do something with FrontPage to get in; I wouldn't be surprised if that's how it works.)

seriously .. it does belong in hell Slime!

this is insane .. they can't customize anything .. no admin panel .. nothing .. they got screwed over .. and they aren't going to pay me to do a new layout and site for them .. and let me tell you the site sucks! (here)

the original coder set up the database using Access .. which is slower .. and to actually delete entres from the job board or contractor list you have to manually open up this .mdb file and delete rows or information .. it's rediculas

[sighing] .. I keep telling my client .. this isn't worth it .. and you really need a more functionable web site for you company and for you to easially edit, modify, delete entres .. anyway .. I'm dealing with cheap people so whatever




.::. cEll .::. 513

RammStein: Look at it another way - they are paying you for technical skills and knowledge (I hope ) and so they need to trust your judgement on these matters. Ultimately they're paying you to find ways to keep the old design limping along and it is a false economy - they are basically throwing money away. That site needs redoing so it would actually save them money if they were to bite the bullet and get you to to the redesign now rather than later. Now only will it save them money in the long run but it should also help bring in more clients.

They might not have deep pockets (or if they do they may have short arms) but you have to tell them this - written down and sent as a letter if need be

___________________
Emps

FAQs: Emperor

if it was that simple Emp .. I would have already finished the new layout .. but they have refused 4 times now .. so I'm not going to say anything about it until they are ready .. if they want to continue losing money .. hey .. not my fault .. I gave them example after example of what benefits they would get from me .. but some people just don't want to take a clue .. so it's no monkey off my back .. when they need me .. they call .. that's our arrangement now


.::. cEll .::. 513

I believe the expression is "no skin off my back." Unless your back is made of monkeys.

If the client really isn't willing to let improvements be made, I guess there's not much you can do.

I don't know how FP does it on an NT/2K box with IIS. On Apache under *NIX it modifies the .htaccess file of the passworded directory.

If a password is required for ordinary users of the directory, (which it sounds like your client is doing), under <Limit GET POST> it adds the line: require valid-user

To the bottom of the file it adds these four lines:
AuthType Basic
AuthName name_of_web_for_login_box
AuthUserFile /full_pathname/to_passworded/directory/_vti_pvt/service.pwd
AuthGroupFile /full_pathname/to_passworded/directory/_vti_pvt/service.grp

service.pwd looks like standard *NIX pwd file, only with"# -FrontPage-" as the first line.

service.grp tells it which users in the pwd file have special access rights. It looks like this:

# -FrontPage-
administrators: username1
authors: username2

Administrators can, er, administer the web, authors can upload to it.

So under *NIX, you can use standard methods to create the pwd file and just stick "# -FrontPage-" at the beginning, then create the grp file in a text editor.

That may give you enough to go on to find what it does unter NT/2K and IIS. If not, you've gotta use FP.




"the most incredible feats are often accomplished by
those who have had the most incredible challenges"

brucew .. I left this out .. there is no .htaccess file .. and there isn't unique users .. only one functioning username and password to the protected "job board" for paying contractors

I'll look again for what you mentioned but I'm pretty positive that I will not find this

I think the only solution is to call the host and ask them to delete the FrontPage extentions and then apply a .htaccess file and work from there

but then again this client has there heads so far up there ass's .. I'm not that interested in helping them .. LOL


.::. cEll .::. 513

Is this on a virtual host? If so, keep in mind that many virtual hosting providers prevent .htaccess from being seen. I have one client where that's the case. Drove me nuts until I figured out what was happening. Now I make sure I keep a copy locally and *hope* I don't accidently cause concurrency issues.

"the most incredible feats are often accomplished by
those who have had the most incredible challenges"

For Pete's sake man, don't have them 'delete the FrontPage server extensions' and put in an htaccess file, chances are that you're on an NT/IIS server that doesn't support htaccess, the host would call you a son of a silly person for asking that (besides God knows what else would quit working without the extensions).

It appears that the whole /secure directory is password protected which is more than likely set in IIS, which it sounds like you don't have access to. Your best bet is to call the host and have them reset the password for you if it's an NT environment. If you have access to the IIS management console you can do that yourself in the /secure directory's properties under security/permissions (or somesuch, little foggy here). Not in town around my NT boxes so I can't be anymore descriptive right now but I should be back in town in 24 hours or so. If you have access to the console and need help finding the spot I can look when I get back, just post so.

Sounds like fun

Jason

I have zero access to anything .. and it's frustrating .. and it's another reason why I don't take "helping" them seriously .. because I did go out of my way to help and I got nothing in return .. so I'm not going to bounce all over the place for them .. shit .. I haven't even been paid for 14 hrs work


.::. cEll .::. 513

sounds like a nightmare, or communication problems, hope you get it sorted man and keep yer good name.

Jason