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Other web servers
If you are using another vendor's web server, refer to the documentation supplied with your web
server software to learn how to prevent users from accessing specific folders and files.
Staging servers and Contribute
If you use Contribute to update information published to a website that is accessible to the public
(not protected by a firewall), but need to ensure that temporary drafts of pages and user
information remains protected, consider using a staging server. Staging servers let you update
website content in a protected environment and only publish those pages approved for public
viewing to a production server. To protect Contribute administrative files, do not copy any
folders whose names begin with an underscore ( _mm, _baks, and _notes), the MMWIP folder,
and files identified by the file extensions .lck, .mno, .bak, .lbi, .csi, and .dwt.
If you use a staging server, you need to create Contribute connections to the staging server and
not your production web server.
To learn more about using a staging server, see
Website connection distribution
To set up Contribute users, you need to provide them with the basic site connection information
for the web server. You do this by sending them a connection key.
A connection key is a file generated by Contribute that contains all the information that
Contribute requires to connect to a site. The information in the connection key is encrypted with
a 128-bit algorithm for security purposes. Users cannot read or change the connection or role
information in the connection key. Administrators create these password-protected connection
keys using the Send Connection Key feature of the Administer Websites dialog box. The keys can
be sent to users by e-mail, or saved to the network.
You do this in Contribute through the Administer Websites dialog box (Edit > Administer
Websites). If a user uses a connection key that refers to a deleted role, an alert appears, asking the
user to contact the site administrator.
When you use this option, Contribute automatically starts the default e-mail application and
generates an e-mail message containing the connection key as an attachment, along with simple
instructions to help the user get started. As the administrator, you must send users the connection
key password information they need to access the website. Typically, you send the password
information in a separate e-mail message or contact the users by phone.
After receiving a connection key, a Contribute user simply double-clicks it to start the connection
process. Because the file is encrypted, the user must know the password that the administrator
defined for the key. Connection keys also specify what role settings to apply. When the user
supplies the correct password, Contribute automatically makes a connection to the site and allows
page edits as defined for the associated Contribute role.
"Staging servers and Contribute" on page
Website connection distribution
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