Now that Lynn’s blog is running under the new domain on my ISP account, time to look at what he will need to do if I am no longer able to do the techy stuff for him.

I am using the Hugo static site generator. The “draft” site is the one set up in the previous post. The production site is currently hosted on a free Netlify account. I use GitHub as my offsite repository. (I originally thought I’d be using continuous deployment to Netlify via Git/GitHub, but…) I have two Hugo config files to generate the suitable files for each site. I use the Netlify cli to update the netlify site. And, I use FTP to manually update the site hosted on Hostinger. (Should probably look at scripting that FTP update.)

As this is not really Lynn’s bailiwick, I will need to provide clear and useable instructions for him to follow should it become necessary. As all of this has already been installed on my dev machine, it will not be easy to provide images to go along with the written instructions. But I will try to do my best. And I expect it will take a few posts to cover everything. But I am doing this for my own records as much as for Lynn’s possible future needs.

Not entirely sure about the order of things. But since the production site is up and running on Netlify, likely most important to cover what’s needed for Lynn to get that working.

Windows Programs

There are a couple of programs I use constantly that I don’t expect Lynn will have installed. They are I think useful and not a big deal to install. For writing any future posts, which are done in ‘markdown’, I think VS Code would be a most suitable editor. Though, as I am using it, I might be a little biased.

The other is Windows Terminal. I do all my Hugo and Netlify stuff at the command line. And, I find Windows’ Command Prompt is just not as efficient as Windows Terminal. Especially its ability to use multiple tabs rather than multiple windows. From hereon I will refer to it as just Terminal.

VS Code

Start by downloading the current version of the VSCode installer. Clicking the preceding link should initiate download.

Once downloaded:

  • double click the installer file (at time of writing, VSCodeUserSetup-x64-1.83.1.exe).
  • read and accept the License Agreement
  • enter the installation location if you wish to use one different from the default, otherwise accept the default
  • click “Next >” when asked about the shortcut. I didn’t add a desktop icon, and only left the “Add to Path” item checked. Click “Next >” and then “Install”.
  • I left the “Launch Visual Studio Code” checked and clicked “Finish” (but uncheck it if you don’t want VSCode to launch just now)

And VSCode should now be installed.

One more thing I highly recommend—pinning VSCode to the Start Menu. Click Start (Windows button), scroll down until you find the entry for Visual Studio Code, right click and then click ‘Pin to Start’.

Now when you click the Start button, you should see to the right a VSCode icon to allow you to more quickly start VSCode. That area of icons to the right can, to some extent, be arranged to suit your preferences. Mine looks like this:

image of my Start Menu

Of course, it is nearly as fast to go to the appropriate directory in a Terminal tab and enter code -n .. Don’t miss that ‘.’ at the end. It is basically telling VSCode to open the current directory (the dot) in a new window (-n). I use the -n because I tend to have VSCode open somewhere in one of my workspaces and don’t want that directory being opened in an existing VSCode window. Something like:

PS C:\Users\bark> Set-Location -Path "r:\hugo\lb_dbls"
PS R:\hugo\lb_dbls> code -n .
PS R:\hugo\lb_dbls>

And do believe me, VSCode opened that directory in a new window. Note: I am trying to develop some Powershell skills so using it in the preceding set of commands. But, cd r:\hugo\lb_dbls would also have worked in a Powershell tab. But not in Command Prompt window. cmd.exe won’t accept the drive letter as part of the path.

You can do the above in a Command Prompt, with some small changes, but I do recommend you install Terminal first and use that.

Windows Terminal

I believe for most people, including Lynn, the best way to install Terminal is from the Windows Store. Clicking the preceding link should take you there. You should only need to click on the blue Install button and be good to go.

As with VSCode I recommend you pin Terminal to Start. Will save you having to scroll down the Start menu to the ‘T’s in order to open a Terminal window.

Node

Didn’t mention this in the introduction, but the Netlify CLI is installed and updated via npm (node package manager). The only way to install that is to install node.js. So, best, as well, to get that done now.

I suggest you use the installer from the Node.js download page. Be sure to install the version labeled LTS. Other versions have not yet been tested with npm.

Click the Windows icon labelled Windows Installer. See image below.

the relavent portion of the Node.js download page
  1. Once it has downloaded, open the location where you saved it and double-click on the installer file and follow the instructions.
  2. The system will ask if you want to run the software – click Run.
  3. You will be welcomed to the Node.js Setup Wizard – click Next.
  4. On the next screen, review the license agreement. Click Next if you agree to the terms and install the software.
  5. The installer will prompt you for the installation location. Leave the default location, unless you have a specific need to install it somewhere else – then click Next.
  6. The wizard will let you select components to include or remove from the installation. Again, unless you have a specific need, accept the defaults by clicking Next.
  7. Finally, click the Install button to run the installer. When it finishes, click Finish.

Now you should verify the installation. Open Terminal, and enter the following in a Powershell tab. Your versions will likely be different. These were the ones on 2023.01.18. And of course your home directory will also be different.

PS C:\Users\bark> node -v
v18.18.2
PS C:\Users\bark> npm -v
9.8.1

Done

Think that’s it for this one. We’ve got some key pieces of software installed and should be good to go with the next steps.

Next time we will look at installing Git and Hugo. Perhaps also clone the blog Github repository locally.

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