How to determine whether the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed and are working correctly in FrontPage 2003 (828909)

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View the _vti_inf.html file

If you experience problems with the server-side copy of a FrontPage Web or when you publish a FrontPage Web, locate the _vti_inf.html file in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Note By default, the _vti_inf.html file is located in the root of the site--for example; http:// servername/_vti_inf.html.

The _vti_inf.html file provides the following important information:

• When you locate the _vti_inf.html file, the FrontPage Configuration Information page should appear. If this page appears, the FrontPage Server Extensions have probably been installed.
• The _vti_inf.html file will also help you to determine the version of the FrontPage Server Extensions that is installed. To do this, right-click the page, and then click View Source. The HTML code for the page will open in Notepad. About three-quarters of the way down the page, you should find HTML code that is similar to the following:

  FrontPage Configuration Information
  FPVersion="5.0.2.4330"
  FPShtmlScriptUrl="_vti_bin/shtml.exe/_vti_rpc"
  FPAuthorScriptUrl="_vti_bin/_vti_aut/Author.exe"
  FPAdminScriptUrl="_vti_bin/_vti_adm/Admin.exe"
  TPScriptUrl="_vti_bin/Owssvr.exe"

  The "FPVersion" line indicates the version of the FrontPage Server Extensions that has been installed on the server:
  
  5 = 2002, 4 = 2000, and 3 = 98.
• The _vti_inf.html file tells you what type of server the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on. The following are examples:
  • If the FPAuthorScriptUrl and FPAdminScriptUrl elements list "Author.exe" and"Admin.exe" (respectively), the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on a non-Microsoft Windows Web server. For a list of supported Web servers, visit the appropriate following MSDN FrontPage Server Extensions Web site:

    For Windows-based servers

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnservext02/fpse2002win.asp

    For Unix-based servers

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnservext02/fpse2002unix.asp

    Note On this Web site, click Ready-to-Run Software.
  • If the FPAuthorScriptUrl and FPAdminScriptUrl elements list "Author.dll" and"Admin.dll" (respectively), the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on a Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) server.

If you cannot determine the information that you want from the _vti_inf.html file, visit the following Netcraft Web site to determine the operating system (OS) that is being used: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
After you view the Netcraft Web site, follow these steps:

1. On the Netcraft Web site, click What's that site running?.
2. In the What's that site running box, type the URL of the Web site that you want information about (for example, type www.microsoft.com ), and then click Examine.

Note This method is not always accurate. For example, if you view the information for www.walmart.com, Netcraft reports that the site is running IIS 5.0 on an OS other than Microsoft Windows 2000. Windows 2000 is not a possible configuration.

When you are not sure about the OS that the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on, view the Shtml file. If you find the _vti_bin/Shtml.dll file on the Web site that you are working with, the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on an IIS server. If you find the _vti_bin/Shtml.exe file on the Web site that you are working with, the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on a UNIX server.

Locate the Shtml file

If you locate the _vti_bin/shtml.dll or the _vti_bin/shtml.exe file on the Web site that you are working with, you should receive the following error message if the FrontPage Server Extensions are running: If you receive a different error message, the FrontPage Server Extensions are not running.

Test the FrontPage Server Extensions

The following are some simple methods to determine whether the FrontPage Server Extensions are working:

• Look for a hit counter on the home page in the Web that you are working with. If the hit counter increments correctly when you click Refresh, the FrontPage Server Extensions are working correctly.
• Open the Web site in Internet Explorer. On the File menu, click Edit with Microsoft FrontPage. If FrontPage opens a read-only copy of the current Web page without prompting you for the user name and password, the FrontPage Server Extensions are probably not working correctly.
• If you make an edit on the Web page, save the changes, and then the Save As dialog box appears, this also indicates that the FrontPage Server Extensions are not working correctly.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.