Example: Basic FTP Transfers

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• Connect to the Internet.
  That is, make sure you're connected to youe Service Provider.
• Run FTP.
  Assuming you've already connected to your Service Provider, this happens one of several ways, depending on the exact software you use.
• If you're using a "graphical" type program (such as Fetch for the Macintosh, or QVTnet/FTP for Windows), things are fairly simple.Most programs have an option called something like "Open Connection", "Open Host","Open Remote Computer", or "New Session". This option will generally appear in the Connection, Session, or New menu. You will prompted for:
• The address of the computer you want to FTP to or from. Assuming you're an ASIS client, that should be: asis.com
• Your USERNAME and PASSWORD, so the other computer will give you access.

From here, you will be able to transfer files between the file systems of the two computers (yours and your server), generally by dragging and dropping icons, or selecting files and clicking "SEND" or an arrow icon.

• For those using a Command-Line style FTP client (such as FTP in Windows95, or UNIX versions), things are different. You can generally open the Server when you start the FTP program, by sending the Server's address as a command line argument. That is, if you're connecting to ASIS, you can start FTP by typing (from the "Run" window or a DOS window):

ftp asis.com

Or, just start FTP, and after it's running, type:

open asis.com

Either way, you'll then be prompted for your USERNAME and PASSWORD. Then you may transfer files using the "get" and "send" command. First, however, you may need to change the way FTP sends your files. It generally assumes you are sending a text file; if you send graphics, you may have problems. You need to inform FTP by entering the command: "binary". To return to text file mode, type: "ascii".

"send" allows you to move files from your desktop computer to the server;
"get" performs the converse.

These commands have the following syntax on standard UNIX-style FTP programs: Enter get or send, then the file you wish to perform the operation on. That is:


send source destination
get source destination
where source and destination are the filenames or pathnames you wish to transfer 'from" and "to", respectively. The destination is generally optional, though you must be careful to know where you are sending files. Note that standard UNIX file system commands (ls, dir, cd, etc.) should all work from within FTP.

A Few Examples:

• Move index.html from Windows Desktop to my public_html directory on the server:

send c:/windows/desktop/index.html public_html/index.html

• Move index.html from my public_html directoy (assuming I am in the directory above...) back to my local Desktop:

get ./public_html/index.html c:/windows/desktop/index.html

• If my current local directory was the Desktop, and my remote working directory was public_html, I could simply type
  

send index.html

To perform the first operation.

• Close FTP.
  This is performed with the Close option on graphical FTP programs, or by typing "close" on command line versions.