RootsWeb FreePages Banners and XHTML Doctype

RootsWeb recently revised the masthead banners that are displayed on all free hosted websites. If you are using the HTML Transitional doctype and your pages already validate, you should experience no problems with the new banner validating.

If on the other hand, if your account is hosted on the FreePages server and you are using the XHTML doctype, your pages will no longer validate because of the bottom banner. Goods News, there is a “fix.”To change the banner code so that it will validate if you are using the XHTML doctype create a file named “banner_select” containing only the text:

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and nothing else. The file should be a plain text file and the file name must not include a file extension, i.e. do NOT name it banner_select.txt or banner_select.html

Upload the file to your misc_html directory.

If you are using the FreePages File Manager -

1. Sign in to your FreePages account with FileManager
2. Enter your username and password
3. Select the misc_html directory
   
4. Click Enter File Manager
5. Scroll down to File Upload Utility
6. Browse to the banner_select file on your computer > Select It
7. Click Send Files

This will change the banner code for your entire Freepages account, e.g. family_html, genealogy_html, military_html, etc. as well as misc_html.

If your system will not allow you to save or upload a file without a file extension, upload the file with the extension as required by your system, then rename the file on the server. File Manager can be used to rename the file without the file extension or your ftp program.

If you have already used the banner_select file to change from the default gray banner to the green one, you will have to make a choice as to which one you want to use. At this time, the banner_select file can only include one or the other.
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