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Using FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is a standardized method of transferring files from one computer to another on the Internet. FTP is not the same as peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing where you can download files from any computer that’s in the network. Nor is it like transferring files with Windows Messenger, where you can send and receive files with whomever you’re having a conversation. Rather, FTP allows you to copy files from, and perhaps to, a computer called an FTP server. In FTP, the words “upload” and “download” have very specific meanings:
- Download: To copy files from the FTP server to your own computer
- Upload: To copy files from your computer to the FTP server Every Web server has a URL (address) that takes the general form: ftp://host.domain.tld where host is a specific computer’s name, domain is the name of the company or site that owns the server, and tld is one of the common top-level domain names such as .com or .net.
Anonymous FTP versus FTP accounts
There are two basic ways to do FTP. Anonymous FTP allows you to download files from the FTP server without having an account name and password. Often, you can download files using anonymous FTP. However, the ability to upload to an FTP server using anonymous FTP is rare, because the owner of the FTP site doesn’t want millions of people uploading files at random. To upload files to an FTP server, you generally need an account that includes a user name and password. As an example, let’s say that your ISP provides some empty space on a Web server on which you’re allowed to publish your own Web pages. Or, maybe you’ve rented space on a Web server somewhere to publish your Web pages. Either way, the service provider may give you the URL of the Web server, a user account name, and a password that allows you to upload Web pages from your computer to the Web server. Once the pages are on the Web server, anyone with an Internet account and Web browser can view those pages. To upload and download files with FTP, you may need an FTP client. As the name implies, the FTP client is a program that lets you transfer files between your computer and the FTP server to which you have access. However, like so many Internet things these days, many FTP sites will allow you to use Microsoft Internet Explorer, and perhaps other Web browsers, to upload and download files.
Using Explorer as an FTP client
You can use either Internet Explorer or Explorer (the one you use to browse local resources) to access FTP sites. In Internet Explorer, type or paste the FTP site’s address into the Address bar and press Enter. If you see a message saying the site or page can’t be opened, choose File -> Log On As from the menu bar to open the Log On As dialog box. It’s the same basic idea using Explorer. Open any folder (Documents will do). Then type or paste the FTP site’s address into the Breadcrumb menu box and press Enter. Typically, the Log On As dialog box opens automatically. Fill in the Log On As dialog box as follows:
- If the FTP site allows anonymous access, choose Log on anonymously and then click Log On.
- Otherwise enter your user name and password. Optionally, choose Save Password so you don’t have to log on each time. Then click Log On. Either way, the FTP site opens looking much like any folder on your local computer. To copy files to or from the FTP site, first open a local folder without disturbing the folder that’s showing the FTP site.
For example, click Start and then click your user name. Then navigate to a local folder to which you want to copy files, or to the local folder that contains files you want to copy to the FTP site. Then size and position the two folder windows so you can see at least a portion of each. Once you have the two windows open like that, you can just drag items from the FTP folder to the local folder to download them. To upload, drag items from the local folder to the FTP folder.
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