INTRODUCTION TO FTP

FTP is short for "File Transfer Protocol" and is the protocol used to transfer files remotely between a "client" (eg the computer on your desktop) and a server (such as the Internet Hotline, IHOT WebHosting server where your web pages are to be published). It is common to refer to the transfer of files from client to server as "uploading", and the transfer of files from server to client as "downloading". Using FTP, you can transfer files in ASCII or binary mode, the appropriate choice depending on the type of file you are transferring. FTP access to your account is available for your use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

HOW TO FTP TO YOUR SITE

By running an FTP program on your local computer, you can FTP to your account by connecting to either the address of the server you are assigned to or, once your domain is fully functional, yourdomain.com (replacing yourdomain.com with your own domain name). When you connect to your site, you are required to provide your User Name and Password, for security reasons. Files should be uploaded to the public_html folder. You will need to replace the index.htm file in this folder with your own version of this file which should contain the home page for your site. You can, of course, also create and upload web page files to subfolders of the public_html folder if you wish. 

RECOMMENDED FTP PROGRAMS

We recommend that you use either WS_FTP or CuteFTP, but any other FTP program may be used if you prefer. WS_FTP is available in two different versions. The Light Edition, which is free for non-commercial use, or the more powerful Pro version. Both are available for download from the Ipswitch web site. CuteFTP can be downloaded from the GlobalScape web site or from Tucows, an excellent source of shareware where you will also find many other FTP programs available. For Apple Mac users we recommend using the Fetch FTP program. 

PRE-INSTALLED FILES AND FOLDERS

When you FTP to your account, or when you view a list of files and folders from the File Manager in your Control Panel, you will see a number of system created folders already installed in your account. Certain files and folders are created when your account is set up and others may be automatically added if you use your Control Panel to set up optional features such as the various pre-installed CGI scripts. 

Many of these files are essential for the smooth running of your account, so please be careful when deleting any files which you don't remember creating yourself. Examples of preinstalled folders which should not be deleted include mail, public_ftp, public_html, tmp, www, and the cgi-bin folder in public_html. In addition, if you have  installED Frontpage Extensions for your account then the various _vti* files and folders are required. Deleting any of these files could leave your site inaccessible. 

An exception is the index.htm OR index.html file which you will find in the public_html folder. This is the page which is displayed by default for your domain name. The existing index.htm file is merely a placeholder which displays a message along the lines of "Welcome to your new web hosting account". You will need to overwrite this file with your real home page. 

If you are unsure if a particular file or folder can be safely deleted, especially if you believe you may have deleted one by mistake, please contact us. 

FILE TYPES

Files may be uploaded as either ASCII Text (or plain text) "file type", or as Binary (or image or raw) "file type". While many times the upload method you choose will not affect the operation of those files, for some files the file type is very important. Failure to upload files using the correct file type can result in images appearing distorted (or not appearing at all) and CGI scripts not functioning properly. In general, you should use the following file types: Transfer HTML pages, Perl CGI scripts and text files as ASCII Text file type. Transfer images and compiled CGI scripts as Image or Binary or Raw file type. 

HIDDEN FILES

Any files or folders with names which start with a full stop character (.) are treated by the system as hidden files. Hidden files will not be visible in most FTP programs unless the FTP program has been specially configured to display them. There are a number of pre-installed hidden files in your account. In most cases it is helpful that these files are kept hidden as it is rare that you need to access any of these files directly. Keeping them hidden makes the list of files displayed by your FTP program more manageable and should make it easier for you to find those files and folders which you really do need to access. 

However, there are times when it can be necessary or convenient to be able to view and work with a hidden file. This can be done by setting a remote mask of -a in your FTP program, something that can be done with all of the better FTP programs. For detailed instructions on setting up the two most popular FTP programs to display hidden files, please refer to our WS_FTP and CuteFTP documentation. 

ANONYMOUS AND RESTRICTED ACCESS FTP ACCOUNTS

Anonymous FTP is not allow to our server for security reasons. Having anonymous FTP, any visitors can FTP into your account and upload or download files The anonymous FTP capability of your account is disabled by default. 

You should set up a username/password protected FTP accounts which allow particular users or groups of users to upload files to a particular folder or subdomain of your account. 

See the FTP Manager section of our Control Panel documentation to learn more about administering FTP accounts.