Difference between revisions of "Using an FTP client to upload files"

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=== Connecting to FTP ===
 
=== Connecting to FTP ===
To connect to your FTP server, you will require the login details provided to you by your host or administrator. In the address bar, type '''ftp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST.com''' changing the username, password and host were appropriate. If you are running Windows Vista, you may be required to double click on the address bar to have the ability to type into it. Press '''enter''' on your keyboard once you have filled out the details correctly, and Windows Explorer will connect to your FTP server.
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To connect to your FTP server, you will require the login details provided to you by your host or administrator. In the address bar, type '''ftp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST.com''' changing the username, password and host where appropriate. If you are running Windows Vista, you may be required to double click on the address bar to have the ability to type into it. Press '''enter''' on your keyboard once you have filled out the details correctly, and Windows Explorer will connect to your FTP server.
  
 
If you entered the user login information incorrectly, you will receive an error like the following:
 
If you entered the user login information incorrectly, you will receive an error like the following:

Revision as of 06:36, 21 January 2008

Since many hosting companies do not allow their users shell/local access to their files, users wishing to send (upload) new files to their hosting space must make use of a File Transfer Program. FTP clients allow users to upload files that have been locally edited to a server. There are a variety FTP clients available and this chart nicely details the strengths of numerous popular programs, many of which are open source and/or free to download.

If you are using Firefox, may we suggest FireFTP as a useful add-on. FireFTP will be used for this tutorial.

You may want enable the display of hidden files so that you don't lose your .htaccess file (on a linux box) when you upload.


Using Windows Explorer[edit]

If you have a Windows Operating System installed, you can use Windows Explorer to connect to FTP.

Launching Windows Explorer[edit]

The images that follow are taken from Windows Vista but the process remains identical.

There are many ways to launch Windows Explorer. You can either just open a folder or My Computer, or you can Hold down the Windows Key and press R. Type explorer.exe and click Run.

Runexplorer-en.png

Connecting to FTP[edit]

To connect to your FTP server, you will require the login details provided to you by your host or administrator. In the address bar, type ftp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST.com changing the username, password and host where appropriate. If you are running Windows Vista, you may be required to double click on the address bar to have the ability to type into it. Press enter on your keyboard once you have filled out the details correctly, and Windows Explorer will connect to your FTP server.

If you entered the user login information incorrectly, you will receive an error like the following:

Errorwindowsftp-en.png

If this is the case, retype your user details in the boxes provided and try again.

You should see a page, like the following, listing all of the folders/files on your server.

Connectedwindowsftp-en.png

For security reasons files/folders on the example screenshot have been removed

Transferring files[edit]

The benefit of using Windows Explorer as your FTP application is that you will most likely be familiar with how transferring files work. Basically it's the same as you would if you were copying/moving to another folder.

The trick is to work out in which folder you will upload the files to. In most cases, you will need to upload into a folder called "public_html", "htdocs" or "www". You'll need to check this with your host or administrator.

To upload a file, simply drag the file from it's original folder onto the window that is connected to your FTP server. Here's an example:

Transferftpwin-en.png

Closing your FTP connection[edit]

To close your FTP connection, simply close the Windows Explorer window. To do this, press the red X on the top right hand corner of the window, as per the following screenshot.

Closewin-en.png



Using FireFTP[edit]

FireFTP is our preferred application for FTP transfer if you are using Mozilla FireFox.

Launching FireFTP[edit]

To begin a file transfer, open FireFox then click Tools >> FireFTP. FireFTP will open in a new tab.

Fireftpmenu-en.png

Configure your FTP Details[edit]

If this is the first time you're connecting to your FTP server using your application, you will need to configure the application to connect to the appropriate server. You will need to obtain the details from your host or administrator.