Beginner's Guide to Downloading & FTP

Downloading with FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is exactly what is says - the method used to transfer of files from one place to another. This includes downloading files from web pages, transferring (uploading or downloading) files to or from your Internet America personal web site, or transferring (uploading or downloading) to or from an anonymous FTP site. You may not use all these methods, but you will probably come across one or two in the course of your travels on the web.

Downloading programs off of the web is probably the most used file transfer protocol. This is a good place to speak about the fear of viruses sneaking onto your computer though downloading programs. If you download from a reputable site such as www.tucows.com, www.download.com, www.microsoft.com or any hardware or software manufacture's site, then there is a very slim chance that you will get a virus. However, if you are going out to "Bob's Programs-o-Plenty", or "Doug's Download Shack," then download at your own risk. A virus scanner may or may not find a virus in a download. If you scan a download before you unzip it, it may not find the virus. You may not find the virus until after the program is executed (run). So, when in doubt, don't download it.

Nothing is more frustrating than downloading a file to your hard drive and then not being able to find it when you want to install it. To avoid this dilemma, create a directory or folder on your hard drive and call it "Downloads."

To demonstrate a download from the web, open up your Netscape Communicator and enter http://www.ipswitch.com/ in the location line. On the page that comes up, there should be a "Download" or "Download Evaluations" link. Click on that link. In the list, you should see WS_FTP LE. If you are using a Mac, you will need to download Fetch instead (http://fetchsoftworks.com/) You may have to follow a few links before it gives you the download option. Once you click on the final download link, it should automatically pop up a window that will prompt you for the location to save the download. A "Save as:" screen will appear. At the top of the "Save as:" window is a field labeled "Save in:" Make sure that field reads "Desktop." If it doesn't, click on the first button (a folder with an up arrow on it) to the right of the "Save in:" field. Click on this button until the field reads "Desktop." Do not change the information in the "File name:" field. Do not change the "Save as type:" field either. Click the "Save" button to start the download. While the program is downloading, you should get a download progress screen like the one below (for PC users):

When the download is completed, this screen will disappear and the program will be located in the folder you saved it to, in this case, the Desktop. That's just how easy it is to download from the web. Be sure to read any information on the page you are downloading from to see if there are any special instruction on how to install or view what you have downloaded. Also, if a "Read Me" file is included in the program you have download, take a look to see if there is anything else you must consider when using that particular program or file.

File Transfer with WS_FTP LE

Double clicking on the downloaded file of WS_FTP LE (the actual name is probably "ws_ftple.exe") will start the installation of the program. After the program installs, you can go to your Program menu (off the Start Menu), and click on the WS_FTP icon to open the program. The first screen that opens to WS_FTP will look like this (if it does not come up, click the Connect button):

This is where you will enter the information in order to log in to a particular FTP or web site. The first example we are going to use is if you are logging in to your personal web2 space at web2.airmail.net. For information about getting you personal website, click here.

Click on the New button on the right of the prominent window and the screen will be wiped clean. Now you can enter the information for FTP'ing your pages to the server. The information you will enter will basically match the information you see above. Profile Name can be anything you want. This is just a name for the profile. The Host Name/Address is web2.airmail.net. Leave then the Host Type on Automatic Detect. The User ID is your username and the Password is your password . Remember, just like when you logon or check your mail, your user name and password are always in lower case. If you want to save your password so that you do not have to enter it each time you update your web page, go ahead and check Save Pwd. Leave everything else blank and click on Apply to save your information.

Click on the Connect button and you will automatically log in to your web site and the screen will look like the picture below.

In the left window you will find your computer's files while in the right window you will find the files on your site on web2. You will notice that there are already a few things on your section of the server. The folders "bin" and "etc" should be left alone. Do not change any information in or about these folders. Do not change their names. Do not delete any information in them. First, you will replace the "index.html" with your new "index.html." This is the name of your "homepage." You will also upload other files, directories, or folders you have created for you website.

There are also other types of FTP programs, take a look here for more information.

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