The Ws_ftp Tutorial

What is File Transfer Protocol (ftp)?

The term File Transfer Protocol (ftp) was originally developed as a Unix function to allow files of all kinds (ASCII -- text files; and binary files -- programs, executables and data files that use machine codes) between two computers over a Local Area Network (LAN) or Internet network. The software allows a client (the user's local computer) to exchange files with a remote server. The client must have access privileges on the remote server. If the client has an account or formal privileges, then a user ID and password are required to log in. Some servers allow another type of informal privilege called an "anonymous" or guest account. A typical anonymous account uses "anonymous" as the user ID and the user's email address or some similar mechanism to log in.

Overview: Ws_ftp as the Web builder's Swiss Army knife

The Ws_ftp program can do some amazing and useful things that make the life of any Web developer much easier. This tutorial is by no means comprehensive and is not designed for the power user. The student who wants answers to more complex questions or wants to move into the power user class should visit the Ws_ftp Pro Download site and complete documentation (needs Acrobat Reader). The documentation is available online, covers 102 pages and is an excellent example of how to create user documentation.

The student may notice that simple file transfer of the finished Web page can be done efficiently by the Netscape 4.0 Composer. While it can perform some of the functions of Ws_ftp, it cannot do many of those that a student needs to correct errors and false starts resulting from inexperience. Further, the university and some corporations do not support all the Netscape functions (the Publish function, for example). Thus, the need for familiarity with Ws_ftp.

A few of Ws_ftp's useful operations:

Ws_ftp is like a Swiss Army knife because it combines so many necessary tools into one simple package. The program reduces the need for a complex background in Unix and Windows command languages to a bare minimum.

How to log in

The Login Dialog Box below pops up when the program is activated. The Profile Name and the Host Name must match. The Host is the remote host that you wish to log into, and you must have an account there (as students do on the CS computer). Normally, you would need either the domain name of the computer or its IP address. For instance, the CS computer's domain name is cs.uml.edu. For Lab 1, you received a user ID based on your first and last name and a random password. In Lab 2, you changed this password to one that you could easily remember..

How to log in to a machine where you have an account.

Examine the Profile and the Host Name to make sure they match. If they do not match, then set them to cs.uml.edu, the Unix machine at CS. If you were transferring files to another machine, then that machine's Domain Name or IP address would go here.
Next type in your user ID.
Type in your password.
Check the fields to make sure they are correct and click OK.
Unless you are the sole user of your computer, and it's in a secure place, do not save your password!.

Library of Congress

How do you move through the directory structures of the user's machine and the remote host?

Assuming that you logged in correctly, the Login Dialog Box is replaced with the following Dialog Box that shows, on the left, the directory of the machine that you are currently at (normally the Windows machine in the Lab). The right side is normally the CS Department's Unix machine. Hence, the first view of the Unix machine is your Home Directory, and you should see the public_html directory that you created in Lab 2. Normally, when working on Web pages, you should use the CS department's lab machines to develop, correct and test until the file is ready to transfer to your public_html directory, where it becomes part of your website. In general, you do not want the public to see anything but your final effort, which should have no spelling errors or grammatical mistakes.

Note the top window on the left hand side shows the working directory of the local computer (in this case, C:\Program Files\WS_FTP). Similarly, on the right hand side (the remote computer) you can see that the author's Unix home directory.

The large windows on either side list the sub-directories and files stored in the working directories of the local and remote computers.

The process of transferring material by floppy disk from one machine to another is sometimes known as "sneaker net" (in reference to the fact that one must walk from computer to computer). The process of saving two or more copies of computer files is called "backup;" every student should backup his or her files.

For changing directories on either side, the principles are the same.

If you are transferring material from the A: drive, you must find the disk icon for the [A] and double click on it.
If you are transferring material from the current directory, single click on the file or sub-directory you are getting ready to transfer. This will cause it to be highlighted in blue.
If the sub-directory is below your current working directory, as it is on the right side, click on the one (in this case public_html) that you want to descend into and click on the ChgDir button.
If you want to ascend to higher level directory, find the top of the directory window by using the slider. Note the green arrow on the left side, "Remote host." If you click on this green up arrow, then double click on the ChgDir button, you ascend up to the next level in the directory tree.

Beside each machine's directory contents window is a vertical row of buttons. Note that not all the buttons are active, i.e. some are grayed out. The four that are active are:

ChgDir -- changes the directory.
Mkdir -- the same as the Unix command Mkdir or make directory. Allows you to create a directory.
Refresh -- When you are working on a directory and modifying it in some way, it's necessary to "refresh" the screen to reflect the changes. The screen does not update unless you tell it to! If you replace the disk in the A: drive or create a new file, and you do not see the expected results, click the Refresh button before you start to panic!
DirInfo -- As stated in Lab 2, the directory's files and sub-directories have properties that limit access, and show creation dates, size, and ownership. Clicking on DirInfo gives detailed information on the directory.

How to transfer a file from one machine to the other

Preparing to Move files from the Windows working directory to the Unix public_html directory.

The above dialog box shows that the user has located and highlighted (in blue) the file wsftplog.jpg in the local system directory A:/lab 9 . To move the highlighted file to the remote system's public_html directory, you must go over to the right hand side, click on the public_html directory, and click on ChgDir. This will change your working directory to public_html. At this point, examine the target directory, for files of the same name and extension as the one you want to transfer. The latest version of Ws_ftp will warn you if try to store two files with the same name in the same directory, but do not count on it. Check for yourself. If a file of the same name does exist, then you must delete it before you move the the new one into the public_html directory. If you are unsure if you will need the old file, rename it before you transfer the new file.

Assuming that you have highlighted the file for transfer and have the correct Unix directory opened as the target directory, what is the next step?

Moving the file from the local system to the remote system and visa versa.

The two arrows in the center column indicate the direction of file transfer.

Clicking the left-pointing arrow moves file from the remote system to the local system.

Clicking the right-pointing arrow and the highlighted file in the local system moves the file to the remote system's chosen working directory.

Talk about the special case where a file is in the student's working directory and will replace one in the Web site.

How files get "fixed"

Highlighting the file activates the remaining buttons on the vertical bar in the selected working directory.

View (and Edit) -- Sometimes it is necessary to see the contents of a file to make sure that the changes you think you've made have actually occurred. Clicking View brings up the file. If the file is ASCII (a text file), you will see the contents of the file, which can be edited. HTML and .txt files are always ASCII, and can be edited by the NotePad editor used to view the file.
Exec -- If the local system has the proper application for executing a file, it will start that application and open the file. For example, HTML files will be opened in a browser. Other files like sound and video require other programs to execute their data.
Rename -- The most common errors made by students involve file names. Names are often misspelled, or spelled correctly with incorrect capitalization, or the extension is wrong. Incorrect extensions can sometimes make the file difficult to locate on the computer. The latter case happens frequently to students doing Web development in Windows 3.0, which uses the three-character extension .htm; these files won't be found by Windows 95, 98, or NT computers, which recognize the .html extension. Getting extensions right is a matter of paying attention to detail. Another frequent source of errors is capturing files from the Web. The Windows system frequently uses uppercase characters in the filenames; Windows browsers don't distinguish between upper and lower case (they are not "case-sensitive"). When files are transferred to Unix, which is case sensitive, problems can arise; often, the system won't recognize filenames in capital letters.
Delete -- As the name suggests, this causes a file to be erased. The result is permanent; if in doubt, rename the file. However, renaming and keeping many files can cause the directory to become unwieldy and cluttered.

How to find file sizes and the dates of recent file changes

The large window that lists the files and sub-directories of the current working directory displays columns labeled "Date" and "Size." For example:

The directory INTERNET was created on 980303 (Mar. 3, 1998) at 21:44 (9:44 PM) and contains 102 Kb of information. Kb stands for "kilobyte." A kilobyte is 1000 bytes of data (in a text file, roughly 1000 characters or 200 words).

The Folder icon denotes a directory.

The icons with tiny 1s and 0s denote files.

How to re-establish a connection to the remote host

Why are connections lost? -- Time-outs, computer crashes, and network failure are the most common reasons.

How do you know if you have lost a connection?

How do you log in again?

How do you log into another computer?

Although many ftp sites are reachable through the World Wide Web, there are still those that use ARCHIE, Gopher, and other programs to allow users access to files over the Internet..

How to get help

You will find the Help button in the middle of the bottom tool bar. Learn to use the Help buttons to find out the answers to your questions.

How to log out

Always log out before leaving the lab or the computer you are using. Click on the Exit button in the lower left corner. Do not depend on the good nature of your friends and never tempt your enemies.

Other features worth mentioning

The combination of a well-designed ftp program and an informed and motivated user will lead to shorter connect times, lower communication costs, and a more productive online experience. A careful reading of the supplied Ws_ftp user's manual will introduce more effective techniques than can be covered here, such as drag-and-drop file management, point-and-click transfer of files, and profiles of frequently visited sites.