FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer files to or from your computer over the Internet. Many computer systems throughout the Internet offer files through anonymous FTP, which allows you to access files without having a special account on that particular machine.

Most people who surf the Internet come in contact with FTP servers while downloading software, graphic files, configuration files and a host of other valuable information. If you use a browser like Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer, most of the time you won't have to use a separate ftp program - these browsers have the ability to download FTP files built into them.

For example: let's say you are visiting the C/Net software library at http://www.shareware.com/. On this site the authors have archived thousands of freeware and shareware programs, so you will need to use the FTP capability of your browser to download these programs. If you are using Netscape you should designate a folder for your downloaded items to be transferred to (set this Preference under the Options menu, in "Applications and Directories").

To download one of the files, you would simply click on the appropriate link, and wait for the transfer to finish. Most FTP files have been either archived, compressed, or both. If you have a decompression utility set up to 'launch' (the settings for this are also under Preferences , in "Helper Applications"), the FTP file will be automatically decompressed after it finishes downloading to your computer. Otherwise, you can decompress the file manually at a later date.

Sometimes you may want to have more control over the transferring of files to or from your own computer. You may wish to rename your files, upload, download, or otherwise manage your files. To do this you will need to use a regular FTP client which provides more overall useability.

FTP Commands

Since commands are sometimes different on various computers, it is a good idea to read the README files on each site to determine which commands to use. Your FTP client will list the commands if you type 'help' or a question mark (?).

Some of the more commonly used commands are:

ascii

Switches to ascii mode (default mode used for transferring text files)

binary

Switches to binary mode. (Use binary for files like .ZIP files, .Z files and the like)

cd

Changes the directory on the computer you are accessing

dir

Lists the files in the current directory

get

Copies a file to your computer

help

Gives help on the use of commands within the ftp program

lcd

Changes the directory on your computer (the 'l' is for local)

mget

Copies multiple files to your computer

pwd

Shows the present working directory (pwd) on the accessed computer

Sites on the Internet which allow anonymous FTP, permit you to log in with the user name "anonymous" or "ftp". When you get a prompt for a password, use your e-mail address. Then you can look through the directories and retrieve files. Usually, the directory entitled "pub" is where the public files are kept. FTP files are generally grouped in archive files (small files put together into a larger one). The most common file formats for archived files are ".tar" and ".zip".

For help with publishing your web page using your Internet Explorer browser, please visit Publishing a Web Page Using Internet Explorer.