On 13 Sep 2007, Phil <phil-d-smith@lineone.net> wrote in
comp.infosystems.www.servers.ms-windows:

> Yes, I am new to this Apache and from what I can see from all
> these questions is maybe I shouldn't do it. I have downloaded and
> installed the programme on Win XP and a little icon tells me all
> Apache services are running. But what do I do now? Where is it
> running? Can I send web pages to it that I am writing? I have
> loked in the Apache folder and there is nothing there that seems
> to be a proper control panel, you know, like Windows is. I have
> tried to read information about the system on the net but it seems
> very technical and totally confusing. I even found one article
> that said " don't send us questions that are not technical and
> make sure you spell everythinmg correctly"! Well, what is that all
> about? I thought this Apache thing might help display the web
> pages I write without me having to publish them to the web but
> maybe I should do this and not bother. It all seems to difficult.
> If people can't come up with a simple system then don't bother.

Sound like you're ready to give up without trying very hard. If you're
that easily discouraged, maybe you should bail out now. Apache has a
learning curve, and it would take you a little time to get a handle on
it. What you get in return is a very stable, industrial-strength
product that has been in development for over a decade and has a huge
user base.

Apache isn't a pointy-clicky program like most Windows programs. It's
usually set up to operate as a service whenever you start the OS,
although that can be changed. You configure apache by editing the file
HTTPD.CONF. In order for changes to take effect, you have to stop and
restart the server. If your server is properly set up and running, you
should be able to drop your html documents into the htdocs directory
and then call them up in your browser. If you just want to look at them
locally, you can use the address <http://localhost/mypagename.html>,
assuming that you don't have a firewall blocking the server's port
(port 80 by default).

If you have questions about apache, you need to look through the
documentation at <http://httpd.apache.org/docs/>, even if you don't
understand it all, so you will know what questions to ask.