Business Support Internet

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
is the protocol used in communication with an FTP Server. Similar to HTTP which is the protocol used in browsing the Word Wide Web. There are a number of Shareware programs on the Internet available to the public that will allow a person to access FTP servers.

Why Do I Need FTP Software?

Sometimes referred to as an FTP client, the FTP program is useful for transferring binary files and uploading text and graphics to your Web Site. Allstream recommends WS-FTP at http://www.ipswitch.com/Products/WS_FTP/index.html as a useful ftp program.
Visit the http://www.ipswitch.com/Support/FAQ/ws_ftp.html for help with WS-FTP.

Can I use my browser to FTP?

While it is possible with most browsers to FTP to a site, it is generally only possible to download files from a site. Most browsers only allow entry to anonymous ftp sites.

How do I use FTP Software?

Most FTP software will require the user to input a few basic values to be able to access a site.

1. Host Name - This is the address of the site. Sometimes this will be in the form of numbers such as 201.345.111.987 This set of numbers is called an IP Address. Sometimes it will be written as name "ftp.demon.com.us" or "ftp.microsoft.com". When you receive confirmation that your domain name is live, you will be able to use it, in the form of ftp.yourdomainname.com instead of your I.P. address. These addresses tell the FTP program where to link to.
2. User ID - This is generally the name of the person. Your User ID was selected when you subscribed for hosting services.
3. Password - Your Password is required when logging on to your site. Or to a site that you have been given special access to. Generally a password is not necessary if you are logging on to a public site. In that case you would use your e-mail address as your password and the word anonymous as your User ID.
4. The following Screen Capture gives an example of the locations where you will enter 1. Host Name, 2. User I.D., and 3. Password.
   (Image capture from http://www.ipswitch.com/Support/FAQ/ws_ftp.html by ©WS_FTP Limited Edition used with permission.)
   
5. Once you have entered the correct information and have connected to your site you will be able to upload and download files to your domain area. You will see a few different directories created for you on your site when you first log on. With most FTP programs, you will see a window split into two sections. The left section will show files and directories on your home computer and the right section will show the files and directories on the remote computer you are ftp-ing into.
6. To transfer a file from your home computer to the remote computer, you need to tell the FTP program to go to the directory on your home computer where your web page files are saved. This is usually a point and click process. You then need to make sure the FTP program is set to upload into the corrrect directory on the remote computer. This is also a point and click process. The htdocs directory is where you will place all of your web page related documents and images. Once you see the correct files in the FTP window on the left side of the FTP screen, you can double click on them and they will automatically be transfered to the visible directory on the remote computer.
   
7. Images that can be seen by browsers must be in GIF or JPEG format. Both of these formats use compression to make the images smaller and load faster. Sometimes, to keep your site directories more organized you may wish to create subdirectories for specific types of files like images or Java or Shockwave. If you do create a subdirectory to store your images in make sure that the directory you create is a subdirectory of your "htdocs" directory. To create a link to an image file in a subdirectory called images, create a link like this:
   <img src="images/yourimage.gif">

This tells your browser to load the image "yourimage.gif" from the images Subdirectory of htdocs.

It is preferable that you create all directories in lower case as well as naming all of your files in lower case.

Important! Once you have connected to your domain you will want to upload both Text and Images to your web page. Make sure that you have the AUTO check box turned on when uploading files to your site. This button is next to the two small ASCII and Binary radio buttons below the file requestors on the main screen. This tells WS FTP to automatically determine whether the files being uploaded are binary or ascii based. All text files are ascii and all image files will be binary.

Note : The main page of your web site MUST be called index.html in order for your domain name address and web site to work correctly.