FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL
.File Transfer Protocol ( FTP) allows people using the Internet to send (and retrieve) files from an FTP server using an FTP client, such as WS_FTP for Windows or Fetch for the Mac . Your FTP Site differs from your Web Site When someone uses a web browser to visit your Web Site, he or she is using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to retrieve the web pages. Using FTP, you can upload as well as download files. Also, using FTP, you can delete files from an FTP server, create and delete directories, and determine who has the permission to upload, download, or delete.
You can also create a directory named "incoming", where visitors to your FTP Site can upload files to share with you or you or others.
You should realize is that your entire site can be accessed by anyone on the Internet with an FTP program, provided they have the correct username and password. Since the administrative username and password give one the ability to change or remove all files on your server, you should give this information to as few people as possible. Aside from administrative access, outside users may access your FTP site using either the public anonymous account or a Dropbox account you have created
The Anonymous Account - when a user connects to your FTP area, he or she will do so anonymously. That is, visitors will use the word anonymous as the username, and will send their e-mail address as the password When visitors are logged in anonymously, they are restricted to the /pub directory. (public). This is where you place files that you want anyone to be able to access. Anonymous users can't erase anything, create or delete directories, or upload files.
Where can anonymous users put uploaded files? Normally There is one directory within the /pub directory that is for visitors to upload files. This is the /pub/incoming directory . One feature of this directory is that even though anonymous users can upload files to it they can't see any files in this directory. This is to prevent visitors from using your FTP area as their own private server. Only you, as the administrator, can see the files that visitors upload.
Placing Files on Your Anonymous FTP Site You can place files on your FTP site using a standard FTP client such as WS_FTP os Fetch.
To place files on your FTP site - 1.FTP to ftp.yourdomain.com using your Web Hosting User ID and password. - 2.Change the directory to /pub - 3.Upload your files to that directory.
Linking to FTP Files from Web Pages - Depending on how many people download your files and how many files you want to make available on the Web, you may wish to place your files for download on an FTP directory and link to them from your Web site. This is generally considered a better alternative to putting the files directly on your Web site and having the Web server send them.
You can also create links to directories rather than links to files. This is a quick way of showing an index of the files that are available for downloading. When you link to a directory, as in ftp://ftp.wcie.net/ bible.studies.htm/make sure you include the final forward slash.
From Webmaster Tips Newsletter
Anonymous FTP: Transfers files from the public portion
of an FTP server. "Anonymous" means that you don't have to have an
account on the server. In most cases, use anonymous as your user
name and your email address as your password.
Archive: An FTP site that contains a selection of files for
download.
Download: Also called "Get". Copy a file from an FTP site to
another computer. If you're merely downloading shared files an
anonymous account is usually sufficient. However, if you're
downloading Web pages for update, a password and user privileges
is usually required.
FTP site: A Web site that stores files for download. You
can access the sites with a Web browser by typing in the address.
All FTP site addresses begin with ftp:// (instead of http://).
Upload: Also called "Put". Place files on an FTP server.
Upload privileges are usually password protected to keep
unauthorized users from placing files that could contain viruses
or other malicious code on the server.
You web host will generally provide specific instructions about how to access their FTP server, but it's important that you understand the basic process: Open your FTP program and use your username and password to establish a connection with the server. You may also need to know the server's name. Find and open the directory that you want to copy your page to. Note: you may need to create a new directory or create a subdirectory in an existing directory. Choose the transfer mode: this will be either binary or ASCII.
ASCII Text files Use for all HTML files
Binary Raw data Use for all graphics and multimedia files
Upload your files to the appropriate director on the server. Disconnect from the server. This is important! You'd be surprised to know how many sites are disabled by careless webmasters who make changes by accident. Test the pages with a web browser to ensure that everything uploaded properly.
You may actually have already used FTP and never realized it. If you developed your site in FrontPage, the simple "Publish Web" option posted it using the FrontPage extensions installed with your account on your Web host's server. If you have FrontPage extensions installed within your site, you should only use FrontPage to send and edit your Web files.
There are three basic ways to use FTP
* FTP using a Web browser. This is most commonly used for anonymous FTP - like downloading software. Always run a current virus scan program on anything you download! No extra software is required.
* FTP using an HTML editor. Many Web page editors bundle this interface into their products. You don't need to install a separate FTP program.
* FTP using a standalone program. Use this if you're administering a complex site with CGI programming or if you need to administer file permissions remotely. Very large, complex sites may require commercial FTP packages; otherwise, evaluate the freeware and shareware programs available for download.
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