FTP stands for File Transfer
Protocol and is a standard application protocol that uses the
Internet's TCP/IP protocol to transfer files from one computer
to another. FTP is a very common process today. FTP is
commonly used to transfer web pages from the creator's computer
to the server where the web site is situated. Also FTP is
used to download programs and files to your computer from a
server.
How do I use FTP?
To use FTP you will need to install FTP software on your
computer. There are many freely available FTP programs on
the Internet such as, FTP explorer (http://www.ftpx.com) and
Smart FTP (http://www.smartftp.com).
How do I connect with FTP?
Follow the steps below to connect to a server, to upload
files using FTP Explorer:
- Open FTP Explorer.
- Click on the connect button on the toolbar or select
connect from the Tools menu.
- In the Profile Name text, enter a name to give your FTP
connection.
- In the Host Address text box enter the address of the
server you are connecting to (this can either be the DNS
entry or the IP Address).
- Enter the Port number that the server accepts FTP
connections on (the default port for FTP is 21).
- Tick the Use PASV option, if your computer is behind a
firewall, which does not allow external FTP connections.
- Tick the Use Firewall option if your computer is located
behind a firewall.
- Either enter a user name for the FTP login or tick the
Anonymous option (the anonymous option will only work if the
server is set up to allow anonymous FTP connections if this
is selected go to step 10).
- Enter the user's password in the Password text box.
- In the Initial path text box, enter the path on the
server, where you want your connection to start at this is
optional.
- In the Attempts text box enter the number of times to try
the FTP connection if fails, you will need to have at least
1 in this text box.
- In the Download path you can specify the path on your
computer where to save the files downloaded from the server
this is optional, you can specify this later if you like.
- To establish the connection with the server click on the
Connect button.
How do I upload files using FTP?
Once you have established your connection with the server the
next step is to upload your files to the server. The
following describes how to do this:
- Go to the path on the server where you want to upload your
files to.
- In the Tools menu click on the Upload button.
- Select the file or files that you want to upload (to
select more than one file hold down the CTRL key).
You can also upload files by dragging and dropping them to
the directory/folder on the server.
- Click on the Open button. Your file will now be
uploaded to the server. (You will see this uploading process
in the dialog box.)
How do I download files using FTP?
You can also use FTP to download files to your computer from
a server. The following describes how to download a file.
- Make sure you are connected to the server.
- Go to the file that you want to download.
- Right click on the file and select Download To
- Select the path on your computer where you want the file
to be saved to.
- The file will now be downloaded to your computer. (You
will see this downloading process happening in the dialog
box.)
How do I end my connection?
You can end the connection by simply clicking on the
Disconnect button on the tool bar or by clicking on Disconnect
from the Tools menu.