Boojum

Ah. Finally the true essence of the issue emerges: It appears that, thanks to CPanel, I will now have either to rename my subdomains so they have 31-character (or fewer) names and can be placed loose in /public_html/ or rethink my entire site layout. I suppose now is when to hope CPanel will at least let me set up subdirectories within my primary subdomains; else the entire site structure can be gently and ceremoniously deposited on the nearest landfill.

TCH Andy/MadManMCP: First, thanks for your continuing efforts to advise me on this issue. But please understand that there are certain procedures I have definitely decided, for my own reasons, will best serve my interests. One of these is creating the subdomain structure I have mapped. Another is avoiding artificially abbreviating subdomain names to avoid the 31-character limit. I would ideally prefer to set up the sub-sub-subdomain directories inside the sub-subdomain directories, and so forth--as I have done manually via my FTP client. This would keep directory names down to three or fewer words and eliminate the 31-character issue altogether. However, I am not sanguine about the likelihood that this process will work correctly in conjunction with CPanel. (Does anyone reading this know?) Troublesome and tedious, but feasible, appears the idea of setting up both subdirectories and subdomains, and redirecting traffic for the latter into the former. This would allow me to use folders on my Mac OS 9 hard drive without running up against Baskin's 31 Characters, while retaining CPanel's fully named subdomain directories, which are not subject to the limit, as URL destinations. Could someone who actually has specific expertise on subdomains, if such is available here, please comment and advise?

TCH Andy et al.: I am indeed trying to create not just one subdomain inside another, but in fact a subdomain inside a subdomain inside a subdomain. And not just once, but several times! As far as I know from my reading on subdomains, it is possible to create sub-subdomains and so forth. Whether it is possible to do so in CPanel or not (and if not, why not?), it seems to me that it can be done, and has been on a few sites I've visited--admittedly not many. What I need someone knowledgeable to tell me is whether the sub-subdomain directories should in fact be placed inside the corresponding subdomain directories, as seems logical, or should be kept at the root level of public_html. And if the latter, is there some workaround--as I'd certainly expect there to be--for this 31-character-directory-name issue?

My primary question here is this: I know the subdomain folders go inside the public_html folder and the corresponding Web Pages/equivalent folder on the user's hard drive. And I know those folders only need be named for their subdomains. The concern, for me, has to do with nesting of folders for the sub-subdomains inside those for the subdomains to which they belong. It would seem the logical hierarchical arrangement, and yet I am not sure it is correct. Could someone who has, preferably, some direct experience with sub-subdomains please comment?

TCH Andy: My site is about to undergo reorganization and tremendous expansion. I will be adding many pages to various sections in coming weeks, and given the multifarious nature of the site, subdomains are the system of division that I think will work best for me. Also, I understand it is easier to find listings for subdomains than for subdirectories on search engines. And that leaves only the matter of actually implementing them. There must be some way around this 31-character problem; otherwise, no one would be able to use sub-subdomains without using abbreviations that would defeat the purpose of giving descriptive names to pages.

TCH Andy: If I understand you correctly, CPanel did configure the folders properly, with loose folders such as "nation-and-world.squort.com", "issues.nation-and-world.squort.com" and "common-sense.issues.nation-and-world.squort.com" all at the same level on public_html. And that would mean I should restore that hierarchy, and make sure my hard drive reflects it. But how, then, do I get around this 31-character-limit problem in OS 9?

Grr! Arrgh! I went back into CPanel to restructure the subdomains, followed the procedure to place sub-subdomains within subdomains and so forth--and found that CPanel had still placed the sub-subdomain folders loose in public_html. Using my FTP client, I dragged-and-dropped the sub-folders into the appropriate folders, so that the file hierarchy now matches that on my hard drive. The problem is, to open the files locally (on my hard drive) requires a path such as "nation-and-world/issues/common-sense", which does not correspond to subdomain paths as I understand them. On the other hand, keeping the "flat" arrangement initially applied by CPanel, I would have to have a folder named "common-sense.issues.nation-and-world" (not to mention a file named "common-sense.issues.nation-and-world/index.html), which doesn't fit within the 31-character limit. I should also mention that I use Mac OS 9, so even the Finder limits folder/file names to 31 characters. My question, then: Will my manual rearrangement work, and will my pages be accessible via a path as described above (i.e.: "nation-and-world/issues/common-sense") which will apply both to local (hard drive) and web access?

Thanks, Mike. It appears I misconfigured the subdomains on CPanel after all, not having fully understood the procedure. I have now reconfigured them, and we shall soon see how well it worked. Again, thanks for the assist.

I can't seem to get a reply to this question, so I'm reluctantly concluding that I didn't make it clear enough; hence the following rephrase. The issue: When I created subdomain, sub-subdomain and sub-sub-subdomain folders in "public_html" via CPanel, they were placed loose in the folder at the same level. The problem: If I match this configuration on my hard disk (in my "Web Pages" folder), I have to use folder names like "common_sense.issues.nation_and_world.squort.com" for some of the sub-sub-subdomains. And that brings me up against the famed 31-character limit for file/folder names. The question: Shall I (a) place my sub-sub-subdomain folders inside their respective subdomain folders, etc., on the server via CPanel or my FTP client? and/or ( do the same for said folders on my hard disk? I have gotten the impression that the server-side "public_html" folder should generally match the hard disk-side "Web Pages" (or the like) folder. But if I make the latter match the former now, I will not be able to assign the proper full names to each sub-sub-subfolder. This issue is really delaying my site restructuring--someone please help!

I have posted a version of this question in Back-End Issues--because it involves FTP and my hard disk as well as CPanel--and have not yet received clear guidance. So I thought I'd try here in hope of a better result. The issue: When I created subdomain, sub-subdomain and sub-sub-subdomain folders in "public_html" via CPanel, they were placed loose in the folder at the same level. The problem: If I match this configuration on my hard disk (in my "Web Pages" folder), I have to use folder names like "common_sense.issues.nation_and_world.squort.com" for some of the sub-sub-subdomains. And that brings me up against the famed 31-character limit for file/folder names. The question: Shall I (a) place my sub-sub-subdomain folders inside their respective subdomain folders, etc., on the server via CPanel or my FTP client? and/or ( do the same for said folders on my hard disk? I have gotten the impression that the server-side "public_html" folder should generally match the hard disk-side "Web Pages" (or the like) folder. But if I make the latter match the former now, I will not be able to assign the proper full names to each sub-sub-subfolder. This issue is really delaying my site restructuring--someone please help!

Er ... Please note that the reply doesn't actually have to come from the Head Guru--just anyone who's well versed in handling subdomains and CPanel. After all, before all is said and done, I may need to go back into CPanel and reconfigure it so my sub-subdomain folders go inside the corresponding subdomain folders. Can some subdomain maven please comment?

Rick, That's actually just the problem: CPanel does not configure the sub-subdomain folder as, e.g., "public_html/nation_and_world/issues/common_sense" but keeps them loose in the main folder, as, e.g., "public_html/common_sense.issues.nation_and_world". For what it's worth, I do not use or have access to a WYSIWYG HTML editing program; I use BBEdit Lite for the Mac--which means I do it all "by hand." Intuition suggests that I either disregard the CPanel structure and place the sub-subdomain folders inside the corresponding subdomain folders on my hard drive, or in fact look into restructuring the server-end structure via CPanel. If I can't do one of these things, I will run into the 31-character-limit problem, as following the loose-in-the-main-folder structure current in CPanel will require the creation of sub-subdomain folders with names like "common_sense.issues.nation_and_world.squort.com". Verily, I call upon the aid of the Head Guru himself, if he will but deign to offer it. (All right, Boojum; that's enough Paradise Lost for one day.)

Hmmm. I'm not really sure if MadmadMCP's advice applies here, inasmuch as it refers to sub-folders but not to subdomains. My question again: Should I put sub-subfolders corresponding to sub-subdomains inside the corresponding subfolders for the specified subdomains? Otherwise, I end up having to name sub-subfolders things like "common_sense.issues.nation_and_world.squort.com"--which is not in fact possible given the 31-character limit for file/folder names. Any moderators care to comment?

Madman, Although the procedure is slightly different because I have a Mac, I do indeed know how to view pages from my hard disk. Nor is my concern with the name of the overall folder--as its name, "Web Pages", not "squort.com", should attest. The problem is with the subfolders containing my subdomains. Simply: Shall I (on my hard drive) put the sub-subfolders inside the subfolders--even though this does not correspond to the way CPanel placed them on the server? And if not: How do I circumvent the 31-character limit in naming said sub-subfolders?

Maybe this question will answer itself like the last one--maybe. Assuming it doesn't, though, here's the issue: While I note that sub-subdomain folders are placed loose in "public_html" on my FTP client, I am wondering whether--and how--to follow the same protocol on my hard-drive "Web Pages" folder. The point is, if I do follow this convention, I am left with folder names such as "common_sense.issues.nation_and_world.squort.com"--which clearly does not fit within the 31-character limit for document/folder names. And if I don't, will it lead to compatibility problems with the corresponding folders/files on CPanel?

Ah. I begin to see. Offline browsing does read correctly from subfolders within "Web Pages" after all; I just have to name the subfolders correctly, and omit further specifications. My apologies for any wasted effort involved in replying to the self-answering question.

Hmmm... I wonder: Would it be well for me, on my hard drive, to rename my overall "Web Pages" folder "squort.com" and then create five separate folders (rather than five subfolders within "Web Pages"), titled "santacruz.squort.com", et cetera?

Madman, Thanks for responding, and I see your point in the general case. But here's a specific issue: Atop each page, I am installing six tabs for navigation among the subdomains, and the hypertext reference for each is in the format, e.g., "santacruz.squort.com/index.html", while the homepage tab is referenced by "index.html" alone. If I follow your advice as I understand it, referencing each page only with "index.html", the browser will presumably open the same page (the main index page) each time a tab is pressed. My problem, then: How to write the hypertext references for these tabs so they will open, respectively, "index.html", "santacruz.squort.com/index.html" and the other four pages as intended when pressed--whether on the internet or offline.

Lianna, I was afraid I might not have made my question clear. The problem I'm finding is with making the server (1) correspond with my computer (2) and vice versa. Let's assume I create a homepage for my server-side(1) Santa Cruz subdirectory and call it "santacruz.squort.com/index.html". That is easy; I have only to upload an "index.html" page into my "santacruz" subdomain directory and refer to it as above within all hypertext references, and it should be found when people type it into their browsers or click a link to it. But: On my own computer(2), that page needs to go into a subdirectory within my Web Pages directory. And, if I then click on a button linking to the page (listed as "santacruz.squort.com/index.html"), my browser will not find the page. How can I classify/place this subdomain index page in my Web Pages folder so that it can be found both via the internet once uploaded and via Local Machine Zone when I want to look at the page offline in Internet Explorer and its ilk? (I have already found that putting an "index.html" page into a "santacruz" folder within my Web Pages folder does not work; the hypertext reference that finds such a page is not "santacruz.squort.com/index.html" but "squort.com/santacruz/index.html", which in turn will not find that page in the subdomain folder online. Am I making the problem at all clear?) Please help me work this out; this problem is delaying my site upgrade.

I'm in the process of redesigning my site to incorporate six subdomains, arranged by topic, and understand that the "home page" for each subdomain should be called "subdomain.mysite.com/index.html" or ".../default.html". The trouble is, if I name them that way, they need to be placed in separate subfolders within my (local machine) Web Pages folder, and would therefore be listed (on my machine) as "mysite.com/subdomain/index.html" or ".../default.html", which I believe would lead to confusion in finding them online. A workaround is to name the document, e.g.: "subdomain.mysite.com/subdomain-index.html", but this seems clumsy and verbose. Needless to say, I'm still fairly new to this. Anyone know how to cut this particular Gordian knot?