Getting Started Guide for FTP

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© 2010 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other trademarks are the property of their owners.

What is FTP?

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard procedure for moving files between two computers over the internet. FTP is commonly used to upload/download web page files to a server. To transfer files with FTP, you need an FTP client application. The FTP client application creates an internet connection to a remote server from your pc and allows you receive copies of files. The remote server typically requires a username and password.

This document includes information about: Select and install your FTP client

Connect to your web server

Understand your web server directories

Transfer files

Name your website content files

Give FTP privileges to your users

Contact Support

Getting Started Guide for FTP

Edition 1.0

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GETTING STARTED GUIDE FTP TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is FTP? ... 1

Selecting and Installing your FTP Client ... 3

Downloading an FTP Client ... 3

Installing Filezilla ... 4

Connecting to your Web Server ... 5

Collecting Account Details ... 5

Understanding Your Server Directories ... 5

Navigation ... 6 Additional Directories ... 8 UNIX ... 8 Windows ... 8 Transferring Files ... 8 Uploading ... 9 Downloading ... 10

File Transfer Mode ... 11

File Permissions ... 12 UNIX ... 12 Windows ... 13 Default Document ... 13 UNIX ... 13 Windows ... 13 File Names ... 13

Giving Users FTP Privileges (UNIX) ... 14

How to Contact Support ... 15

To contact us by email: ... 15

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Page 3 of 15 2010 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other trademarks are the property of their owners.

Selecting and Installing your FTP Client

There are many FTP clients available. Some are graphical and some are text-based. The FTP client you use is a matter of personal preference. Select the one that you will be most

comfortable using. You can try more than one out to determine which one you prefer. If you do not have an FTP client, you can find one online that is free or trial-based. Many website creation programs have an FTP client included in them and assist you with uploading your web content.

Downloading an FTP Client

You should save the FTP program to an easily accessible location such as your desktop or your Documents folder.

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Installing Filezilla

Open the installation program by double clicking on its icon.

1. You must agree to the License Agreement to install the software. 2. Select which users should be able to use the software

Graphics are for illustrative purposes only.

3. After you select the interface, the Ready to Install screen opens. On this screen, you can review the installation options you’ve selected. Click Install to start the installation.

4. A brief installation process will take place. You may have to restart your computer. If you choose not to restart, some WinSCP functions may not be available until you do so.

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Connecting to your Web Server

Before starting you should have an FTP client installed.

Collecting Account Details

Specific information is needed to connect to the server. You should have the following connection information handy:

• Host name of the server, such as example.com • Protocol the server supports (FTP, SFTP, FTPS, etc.) • Account username

• Account password

These details were provided to you in your Welcome email. Typically, your domain name will be the hostname of the server; however if your domain is not configured properly, you may need to use your accounts IP address to connect instead.

Note: UNIX Enhanced and Premium accounts support SFTP or SCP for secure connections. UNIX Basic and Windows accounts support standard FTP connections.

Understanding Your Server Directories

Once connected to your server you will see its file system. It is important to understand the organization of the files and directories on the server and where to upload your web content.

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Navigation

Navigating your web server files and folders is just like navigating the files on your local hard drive. Some FTP applications support a double panel view. The left panel is your local

computer to locate files on your hard drive. The right panel is the remote server or web server.

Graphics are for illustrative purposes only.

To change directories on either your computer or the remote server, double-click a folder to open it and view the contents. Clicking on ‘..’ returns you to the previous directory. Many FTP clients may also provide a directory tree of the remote filesystem that allows you to expand directories by clicking a + next a directory or clicking them to select.

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Web Site Directory

The web site directory is the folder on the server that contains your web site content. This folder may also be referred to as the ‘Web Site Root’, ‘Document Root’ or ‘webroot’. In order for your files to be accessible on your web site, you must upload them to this directory. This directory varies depending on your Web Hosting platform. Refer to the chart below to

determine your web site directory:

Web Hosting Platform Directory

UNIX Hosting account /www/htdocs

Windows Hosting Account (Primary site) /webroot

Windows Hosting Account (Child site) /sitename (where sitename is the short name assigned to the site. You can find this in your Windows Control Panel, under Web Site Tools, Web Sites)

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Additional Directories

You may upload non-website related content to your server. On UNIX, additional directories exist outside of your web site directory. On Windows, files can be uploaded to the /data directory. Typically, these directories are used for files such as Access or flatfile databases. Remember, only files uploaded to the web site root or a subdirectory of the web site root will be available through your website. Files in other directories or subdirectories can be accessed using your FTP client. The points below show some common directories on UNIX and Windows servers:

UNIX

/backup – any web site backups you created from your Control Panel /ftp – the folder for anonymous FTP and FTP users

/users – your users mail, shared files, and web access content /www/cgi-bin – location to store CGI files

Windows

All directories below are located in the /webroot folder:

/data – writable directory to store non-web accessible files such as databases /bin – location for shared dlls

/webroot/cgi-bin or /webroot/cgi-local – location to store CGI files /stats – IIS and FTP transfer logs

Transferring Files

Once connected to the web server, you can transfer files to your web server (upload) or retrieve files from your server (download).

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Uploading

If you need to transfer a copy of the files you created to the server, you can upload them from your local machine.

Many interfaces work in the same manner to upload files. Simply navigate to your local files in the left hand panel. Navigate to the remote directory on the server (the right panel) to the folder you wish to upload the files to. To upload, drag and drop your files from the left panel (local) to the right panel (remote). Optionally, most programs allow you to right click to copy and paste. If you drop the files on a directory, it will upload to that directory – otherwise, it will upload into the folder you are currently viewing on the server.

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Downloading

If you need to retrieve a copy of your files on the server, e.g. for editing or backup purposes, you can download them to your local machine.

Many interfaces work in the same manner to download files. In the right panel, navigate to the files on your server you wish to download. In the left panel, navigate to the local directory you wish to save the files in. To download, drag and drop your files from the right panel

(remote) to the left panel (local). Optionally, most programs allow you to right click to copy and paste. If you highlight a directory and drop the files, it will save in that directory – otherwise, it will download into the folder you are currently viewing on your local machine.

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File Transfer Mode

There are two modes to transfer files to and from your web server: ASCII and BINARY. ASCII file transfers means you are transferring files that are TEXT ONLY (html, .txt

files)

BINARY file transfers means you are transferring non-text files, such as images, videos, documents or other data file extensions.

Most FTP clients understand what type of file you are uploading. They will use an AUTO mode to determine the file type. The AUTO mode is based on the extension of the file you are uploading (for example, .txt is a text file).

If you are transferring unknown file types, you may need to specify which transfer mode to use. Many programming languages (.pl, .py, and .cgi) require the file to be uploaded as ASCII.

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File Permissions

UNIX

For UNIX accounts, files and folders have specific permissions which allow (or deny) users to either access or write to them. You can modify these permissions in your FTP client. Right-click the file or folder and select ‘File permissions’:

Typical Numerical value permissions for web files would be: 644 for standard HTML files

755 for CGI scripts

777 for files that need to be written to by your web application (use cautiously!) Note: Directories must have Read and Execute permissions to be accessible.

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Windows

Windows permissions differ from UNIX permissions and cannot be modified from an FTP client. You should log into your Control Panel, access the Directory Permissions under Web Sites, select your site, then IIS Web Site Settings.

Naming Web Site Content Files

You can create web site content using most web design application or a text editor. Some web design applications may include a built-in FTP client to upload/download files.

Default Document

Your web site will look for a default document which is the page that is displayed if a specific page is not requested in the URL. Typically this will be one of the following:

UNIX

index.html index.htm index.php

For UNIX, you can change the document order by creating an .htaccess file in the directory you want to change it for.

Windows

Default.asp index.html index.htm

For Windows, you can change your default document via the Control Panel under ‘Web Sites’, your web site, ‘IIS Web Site Settings’, ‘Default Document’.

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