HTML web pages being converted to PDF
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- paul orford
- Hero Rocketeer
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Hi
not really a Rocket Theme issue as such but hoping someone might be able to help.
A good number of my pages seem to have been converted to PDF files.
For example if you do a search for Wheal Grey, Newton in Google, the first result that comes up is my page which is not an html file as it was created, but somehow has been converted (not very well) to a PDF document.
How can this be? Anyone else come across this before?
Regards
Paul - www.west5web.com
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- Nanci Memory
- Preeminent Rocketeer
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- Thanks: 3
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paul orford wrote:
Hi
not really a Rocket Theme issue as such but hoping someone might be able to help.
A good number of my pages seem to have been converted to PDF files.
For example if you do a search for Wheal Grey, Newton in Google, the first result that comes up is my page which is not an html file as it was created, but somehow has been converted (not very well) to a PDF document.
How can this be? Anyone else come across this before?
I did a search as you suggested, and yes, Google displayed your content in a pdf file as stated above. Google is referencing www.ukfisherman.com/fisheries/south-west...heal-grey-newton.pdf -
If you enter a search on your site entering Wheat Grey Newton one of the results the search produces is this: www.ukfisherman.com/fisheries/south-west...eal-grey-newton.html
You can control your search results and what search engines search by refining your robot.txt. This should take care of the problem. And enabling or disabling some functions in Extensions > Plugins
What you are finding is not unusual. The information is there... it is not an article, so the pdf output is provided with an html option.
There are several help files out for creating good robot.txt files or robots.txt. Google provides Webmaster Tools including information on Robot.txt.
www.google.com/webmasters/tour/tour1.html
Hope this has been helpful. Good Luck! -
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- paul orford
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Hi Nanci
thanks for the reply.
I am confused as to why and how these PDFs are being created in the first place. I have never had any sites where this has happended before.
cheers
Paul - www.west5web.com
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- Nanci Memory
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paul orford wrote:
I am confused as to why and how these PDFs are being created in the first place. I have never had any sites where this has happended before.
Google is displaying the output it finds. You probably have not had these same settings before. The output from a search on your site when you select the pdf icon, is the same output. Notice the pdf extension. www.ukfisherman.com/fisheries/south-west...heal-grey-newton.pdf
paul orford wrote:For example if you do a search for Wheal Grey, Newton in Google, the first result that comes up is my page which is not an html file as it was created, but somehow has been converted (not very well) to a PDF document.
Again, if you do the same search your own site, and select pdf you will see that the output is the same.
It also seems that these results are from something other than an article? Possibly a contact where form data is used. -
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- paul orford
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Hi
just an update on this issue:
in an attempt to stop Google indexing the PDF versions of my web pages I added the following code to the robots.txt file:
Disallow: /index.php?view=article*&format=pdf
Disallow: /index.php?view=article*&print=1*
Disallow: /index.php?option=com_mailto*
Disallow: /component/mailto/*
Does this look correct?
It's just that I still have over 300 PDF versions of my web pages indexed with Google. I thought they should have been removed from the index by now.
Cheers
Paul - www.west5web.com
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- Nanci Memory
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paul orford wrote:
Disallow: /index.php?view=article*&format=pdf
Disallow: /index.php?view=article*&print=1*
Disallow: /index.php?option=com_mailto*
Disallow: /component/mailto/*
Hi Paul,
I would also include:
Disallow: /component/search
Disallow: /component/contact
Disallow: /component/gallery
etc...
and anything else that is not article content...
keep me posted and let me know if you begin to see results
Have you considered using user friendly urls instead?
Also, set parameters for your search in Extensions > Plugin Manager > Enable / Disable different search plugins.
Good luck! -
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- paul orford
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Thanks Nanci
I've added the variables you suggested to the robots file. I'll let you know how I get on :cheesy:
I thought I was using user friendly URLs ???
cheers
Paul - www.west5web.com
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- Nanci Memory
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Good deal. Also check your components list on your ftp to see what else may be added. I can't do that from my end.
What I meant by the urls is .... you list above: Disallow: /index.php?view=article*&format=pdf
I don't think you have to list the url, I think you just list the component/ for the component/module/plugin installed. So look at the folder structure of these items.
For example above I listed the component/gallery where now I'm thinking just component would take care of it. Here is an example of how I have one of mine set up. By all means, use Google's reference....
User-agent: *
Disallow: /administrator/
Disallow: /cache/
Disallow: /components/
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /includes/
Disallow: /language/
Disallow: /libraries/
Disallow: /media/
Disallow: /modules/
Disallow: /templates/
Disallow: /tmp/
Disallow: /working_folder/
Disallow: /xmlrpc/
Luck to you! -
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- paul orford
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Hi Nanci
my full robots file looks like
User-agent: *
Disallow: /administrator/
Disallow: /cache/
Disallow: /components/
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /includes/
Disallow: /installation/
Disallow: /language/
Disallow: /libraries/
Disallow: /media/
Disallow: /modules/
Disallow: /plugins/
Disallow: /templates/
Disallow: /tmp/
Disallow: /xmlrpc/
Disallow: /index.php?view=article*&format=pdf
Disallow: /index.php?view=article*&print=1*
Disallow: /index.php?option=com_mailto*
Disallow: /component/mailto/*
Disallow: /component/search
Disallow: /component/contact
Disallow: /component/gallery
Guess I don;t need the bottom 4 as I aleady have: Disallow: /components/
cheers
Paul - www.west5web.com
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- Nanci Memory
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Yep. I agree... you've got it covered.
Again, let me know how it goes.
Cheers
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