Configuring and Using WS-FTP
This document will show you how to configure and use WS-FTP (or WIN-FTP) for uploading and downloading files.
the topics are:
 | Configuring |
| Using |
| Transfering Files |
| Closing the FTP Connection to the Current Server |
| Closing the FTP Program |
[hint: printing a copy of this page with your Web Browser's Print command may prove useful ]
Configuring
Once you have started WS-FTP, the following window will appear. This is the Session Profile dialog box. You can create a New profile for connecting to the MSOD FTP site by clicking on the New button.
The
"Profile Name" or "Configuration" in some
versions, is just a description. You can call this session what
ever you want.
like MSOD.com FTP site
The Host Name field is the name of the server you want to connect to. If you want to transfer files to or from the MSOD.com FTP site, type in ftp.msod.com
The Host Type field should be set to UNIX (standard) .
The User ID field is where you specify anonymous for Anonymous FTP
transfer ... this means you do not need to have an account or
special password to access the site. ( Many/most sites allow some
level of "anonymous" login and transfer. )
HINT: If you Check the Anonymous Login box
it will automatically enter the correct values for the User ID
and Password fields.
The Password field is where you put your password on our system. The password on UNIX systems are case sensitive. Make sure you enter it with the appropriate case.
The Account field should be left blank as it is not used on our system.
In the box that says Initial Directories you can leave blank. This entry will automatically put you into a specific directory on the MSOD site immediately upon login. This is handy if you usually access a certain directory on the FTP site. (this will become more apparent after you navigate around the site)
The box for Local PC is where you specify in which directory on YOUR computer you want your FTP program to start up. This makes finding files on your computer easier and will be explained more in a bit.
If you want WS-FTP to save your password for you (recommended if you have a secure computer or it just an anonymous login anyway), check the Save Password box.
Once you have entered the above information click on the Save button to save the profile for future use.
Using
Once you are actually connected to our server, the following screen will appear.
Local System
On the left side of the window is the Local System . This is your computer. The right side is the remote system, this is our server.
The local system side is divided into 3 areas; the path, the directory structure, and the files. The path is your current directory. This shows where you are in your hard drive. In the example, you are in the "c:\windows\desktop" directory.
In the directory structure area, you see all the available directories underneath your current directory. For example, if I double-clicked on the "new" directory, the path would change to "c:\windows\desktop\new" .
The buttons to the right of the directory structure area are ChgDir, MkDir, and RmDir. The ChgDir stands for "Change Directory" which will let you specify a specific directory to change to. MkDir stands for "Make Directory" this will let you make a new directory in the current directory. RmDir stands for "Remove Directory" which will delete an empty directory. These buttons also exist on the Remote Server side of the window.
Below the directory area is the file area. This shows all the files in the current directory.
Remote System
On the right side of the window is the Remote System. This is our computer. When you are connected to the MSOD FTP site, you will see sub-directories (or "folders") and/or files that are within the FTP site on our system here. If, for instance, you put "pub" in the initial directory for "remote host," you will be put in the /pub (or public) directory at this time.
Transferring files.
| transfer from Your
computer to our server To transfer a file from your computer to our server, you simply select the file on the "local" side of the screen then push the "-->" button. (note: for the transfer to work you need to be in a directory that accepts "uploads" such as the pub/incoming folder/sub-directory ) |
| transfer from Our
server to your computer To transfer a file from our server to your computer, simply push the "<--" button after selecting the file to transfer. Either way, a small dialog box will appear showing you the status of the transfer. When the transfer is complete, the screen will refresh to show that your file has been uploaded. |
| To select multiple files, press the control key while selecting the file. |
Closing the FTP Connection (to the current server)
To close the FTP connection, push the "close" button at the bottom of the window. This will close the session to the current server (in our case the MSOD.com FTP server), but will keep the FTP program running (so you can connect to another server if you want to). If you want to close the FTP program, press the "EXIT" button.
Closing the FTP Program
If you want to close the FTP program, press the "EXIT" button.
