TechNote

Changing Contribute's default file extension

Issue

By default, Contribute saves new files with an '.htm' file extension, but there may be times when you want to change this setting for your site. This TechNote explains how to change the default file extension.

Solution

The process involves making a custom blank page with your preferred extension. These steps require administrator permissions for the Contribute site.

To change the default file extension for Contribute:

Make a blank new page by choosing File > New Page. Choose the Blank Web Page option.
Give it a Page Title and Click OK. Take this time to add any header information or other content needed on all pages. Publish the page to the server.
In the Publish New Page dialog box, enter the filename, using the file extension you want. For example, use .html if that is preferred instead of .htm.
Go to the Administration panel for the site by choosing Edit> Administer Websites.
In the Administration panel, select the user group that will use this new page and click Edit Group.
Select the New Pages section.
In the Allow users to section, uncheck Blank New Page and any other options you wish to restrict.
Check the option to Create a new page by copying a page from this list. The Add and Remove buttons will activate. Click Add.
Browse to the new page you created above and add it to the list. Click OK to finish.
Repeat steps 4-8 for any other user groups that use this new page.
Click OK to close the Administration panel. The file with the correct extension will be located under the Templates section of the New Page dialog box.

Use Dreamweaver to create this new page if more advanced code is needed on the page, like linking CSS pages to the blank new page. Upload the file and then follow steps 3-9.