By Ashley Schroeder
What is FTP?
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It allows people to transfer files between computers with a minimum of fuss.
FTP is especially good for files that are too large to send as an email attachment. FTP is now OWAA’s preferred method for members to send large files to our headquarters (such as photos to be considered for the cover of OU).
We recommend using FileZilla, free open source software, to connect to OWAA’s FTP site. Go to http://filezilla-project.org and click the button to Download Filezilla Client.
How to use FileZilla…
(Excerpted from FileZilla’s quick-guide wiki. For more in-depth instructions, visit http://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Using.)
Using the Quick Connect bar
To connect to an FTP server, enter the address of the server into the host field of the Quickconnect bar (i.e. example.com, see image below).
To request OWAA’s FTP login info, send email to aschroeder[at]owaa.org.
Navigating on the server
After a successful connection attempt, a list of files and directories appears on the right side of the main window. The name of the current remote directory is listed in the edit field on the top.
You will notice a directory called “..” listed in virtually all directories.* Selecting this directory allows you to go up to the parent directory of the current directory.
*If you are accessing OWAA’s FTP site via info given to you by OWAA, you will be sent directly to your folder and you won’t need to navigate anywhere else on OWAA’s FTP site.
Navigating on your machine
Navigating on your machine works almost like navigating on the server. The current local directory and the local directory tree are displayed on the left side of the main window by default.
Transferring files
You can upload or download a file by double-clicking on it. It will be added to the transfer queue and the transfer starts automatically. To transfer directories and/or multiple files, select them and right-click the selection. Then you can click on Upload/Download in the popup menu.
You can also drag the files from one side and drop them on the other side.
Why use FTP?
Using FTP is a great alternative if your e-mail provider limits the size of attachments that you send or if you don’t know whether a recipient can receive large e-mails. Directly transferring files via FTP ensures that the file’s size will not reduced in transit to the receipient. You also don’t have to worry about whether you correctly attached an image to an email.
How to send files to OWAA via FTP…
Just send me an email. I will be happy to create you a folder on OWAA’s FTP site and then provide you with the necessary login info. ◊
Ashley Schroeder is OWAA’s Publications Editor. Contact her at aschroeder@owaa.org.