This tutorial explains how to use
WS_FTP, a File Transfer Program
for Microsoft Windows.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES
Using WS_FTP
TUT 88
25p
EDITION: 1.1 DATE:July 2003 AUTHOR: Information Systems Services
Contents
Introduction 1
About FTP 1
Prerequisites 1 Using FTP from ISS Clusters 1
Task 1 Getting Started 2 Task 2 Editing the Session Properties 3 Task 3 Transferring Files 6 Task 4 Quitting WS_FTP 8
Format Conventions
In this document the following format conventions are used: Commands that you must type in are shown
in bold Courier font.
WIN31
Menu items are given in a Bold, Arial font. Windows Applications
Keys that you press are enclosed in angle
brackets. <Enter>
Feedback
If you notice any mistakes in this document please contact the Information Officer. Email should be sent to the address [email protected]
Copyright
This document is copyright University of Leeds. Permission to use material in this document should be obtained from the Information Officer (email should be sent to the address [email protected])
Introduction
About FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and is a method of transferring files across computers on the Internet. WS_FTP is a tool for Microsoft Windows which uses FTP to transfer files. You can both download files from the remote site and upload files from your computer to the remote site using FTP.
Many sites run anonymous FTP servers. This means you do not need a username and password to login to them. Examples of anonymous FTP sites include sites which distribute shareware and freeware software. Most
anonymous FTP sites only allow downloading of files, and if uploading is allowed it is usually restricted to specific directories.
Other sites may be protected, and require a username and password. For example, a username and password are required to connect to the Media Services FTP site. Once connected you can upload your files to the site ready for them to be printed by Media Services. As with anonymous FTP sites, uploading and downloading of files can be restricted by the owner of the remote site.
Note: You can also download files from an FTP site using web browsers such as
Netscape or Internet Explorer
Prerequisites
This document assumes you can log on to the network, are familiar with Windows and are running WS-FTP from the ISS desktop.
Using FTP from ISS Clusters
FTP access from ISS Clusters is only permitted to other machines within the University of Leeds.
Task 1 Getting Started
Objective To open WS_FTP.
Instructions You will run WS_FTP from the Start menu. Comments
Activity 1.1 Click on the Start icon to open the Start menu. Move your mouse pointer over Programs, Internet Tools and click on WsFTP.
Task 2 Editing the Session Properties
Objective To edit the Session Properties information and connect to a remote site.
Instructions You will enter various information about the remote computer into the Session Properties window.
Comments For security reasons you should not save passwords on shared machines such as those in the ISS clusters.
Activity 2.1 The Session Profile window appears as shown below.
Activity 2.2 Enter the following information:
Profile Name Mirror The Profile Name is just for
information and can contain any value.
Host Name/Address ftp.mirror.ac.uk This is the address of the site you
are going to connect to. In this case it is the UK Mirror Service, a collection of over 150 mirrors of FTP sites. (Also available through a web browser at
www.mirror.ac.uk)
Activity 2.3 Click the Anonymous check box. The User ID field will be filled in as Anonymous, and a password will be created. The window should now look
Activity 2.4 Click on the Startup tab at the top of the Session Properties window. The
window appears as shown below.
Enter the following information:
Initial Remote Site Folder sites/ftp.winsite.com/pub/pc/winnt
WS-FTP will automatically change to this directory on the remote site when you connect. If you leave this blank you will connect to the root directory of the remote site. The directory above is an archive of freeware and shareware software for Windows
Activity 2.5 Click on <OK> to connect to the remote site.
Note: If there is a problem with the network the connection may fail. In this case an error
message similar to the one below will appear in the status box.
Task 3 Transferring Files
Objective To transfer a file from the remote site to your directory.
Instructions You will download the file .
Comments For security reasons you should not save passwords on shared machines such as those in the ISS clusters.
Activity 3.1 The main window appears as shown below.
The main window has three main areas. On the left is a directory listing and buttons relating to your local system. In this case it shows details of your network directory. On the right is similar information for the remote system. At the bottom is an area that displays status messages.
Using the scrollbar on the right hand side scroll down until you see the file
SOFTWARE.TXT Click once on SOFTWARE.TXT to select it.
Activity 3.2 You must now select transfer mode, with ASCII, Binary or Auto. The transfer
mode depends on the type of file you are downloading:
ASCII This is used for plain text files (ending in .txt), HTML files (.htm
or .html), and any other file you know only contains plain text. It is not suitable for word-processed files (eg Word files .doc)
Binary This is used for all non-text files. For example:
• Archives e.g. Zip, Tar etc. (.zip, .gz, .z, .sit, .tar) • Graphics files (.jpg, .gif, .bmp, .tif, .iff, etc.) • Movies (.avi, .mov, .mpg, etc.)
If you transfer a text file in Binary format it may have additional characters inserted at the end of lines. If you use ASCII format to transfer a binary file, the file will often not work, eg image files may not display correctly, program files will not run.
As we are transferring a text file, click on ASCII
Activity 3.3 Click on the left-pointing arrow in the middle of the screen to download the file to your directory.
As the file is being downloaded a Transfer Status box showing the progress of the download will be displayed as shown below. The box will close
automatically when the file has been downloaded. For a small file this box may appear and disappear very quickly.
Activity 3.4 To verify that the file has been downloaded, scroll through your list of files
(using the vertical scroll bar on the Local System (left hand) side of the screen) until you find the file SOFTWARE.TXT
Click once on the file to select it, then click on the view button on the Local
System side of the window. A Notepad window will open up displaying the
file, which contains a list of the contents of the remote site. Click on the close button in the Notepad window to close it.
Close box
Activity 3.5 To change to a different directory on the remote site you can either:
• Double-click on the directory name in the list on the right-hand side of the window. Directories have a yellow box next to them Double click on the green up-arrow to move up one directory.
Or
• Click on the ChgDir box (Change Directory) type in the name of the directory in the Input dialog box and click <OK>
Task 4 Quitting WS_FTP
Objective To disconnect from the remote site and close WS-FTP.
Instructions You will use the Close and Exit buttons.
Comments The connection to the remote site may be closed automatically if there is no activity for a while.
Activity 4.1 To close the connection to the remote site click on the Close button at the
bottom left of the screen. The status area at the bottom of the screen will display a message similar to that shown below.
The Close button has now been renamed Connect, and clicking on it will bring up the Session Properties box and allow you to connect to another site.
