Introduction
In a distributed work environment you need to keep your data and your files on several machines and at the same time you need easy and convenient access to all of them when you need. You have used so many file transfer programs over ages - some of them give you a command line interface and some of them give a GUI. All of them require that you move to the proper directory before actually transferring a file.
ActiveFTP is a simple file transfer program which easily integrates with your style of working. If you have selected a directory in explorer, you don't have to select the same directory again in ActiveFTP. You simple drag the file from ActiveFTP and drop it on explorer. So, effectively ActiveFTP presents the remote file system in a shell which is very similar to explorer.
Sounds interesting ? Go get it.
Installation
It's easy. Just copy the downloaded executable to the appropriate directory. You might want to create a program group icon and/or a desktop icon for the tool.
Using ActiveFTP
Connecting to the server
Before you can transfer a file, obviously you will have to establish a connection to your FTP server. Do that using the File - Connect ... menu. If you use a proxy server, you could mention its name in the connection details dialog.Once a connection is established, ActiveFTP will display the current directory in the title bar. Subdirectories on the left side of the screen and files on the right.
Getting a file
To transfer a file from the server to your machine, simple click the file in the list and use FTP - Get file ... menu or drag the file and drop on the desired location in explorer. You could select multiple files the way you normally do in explorer and drag-n-drop all of them together.ActiveFTP never deletes a drag-dropped file from server or local machine. So, when you drag-n-drop a file, you copy it and not move it.
Putting a file
Grab the files you need to transfer from explorer, drag and drop them in the files list. This will transfer the files from explorer to the remote server.Ac mentioned before, the files will be copied and not moved. So, your original files will remains intact.
You could also use the FTP - Put file ... menu to do the same.Renaming a file
If you want to rename a file, just hightlight the file by clicking once. When the filename is highlighted, click it once again to display a text box where you can enter the new name. Press Enter to rename the file on the server. If ActiveFTP fails to rename the file, it will display the old name in the list and an error message in the status bar. You could also use FTP - Rename file ... menu to do the same.
Choosing the correct transfer method
Files can be transferred either in ASCII or in binary mode. In ASCII mode of transfer, some text conversions are done when files are copied from one system to another. This makes sure that the transferred file is readable on the destination system. This mode of transfer is suitable for text files only. In binary mode, files are transferred "as is" and is required for executables, java class files, zip files, etc.You can choose the correct mode of transfer using FTP - Transfer mode ... menu option. Once a transfer mode is set, all file transfers are done using the chosen mode.
Deleting a file
Select the file(s) you want to delete from teh remote server and use FTP - Delete file ... menu option to delete them. When you invoke this menu you will be asked to confirm the action. There is no shortcut for this action to avoid accidental deletion of files.
Navigating directories
Just click a directory and the files and directories therein will be listed. If you are using a slow link, be particularly careful about clicking a directory as it may result in long delays for directories having a lot of files.
Meanings of file attributes
ActiveFTP uses single character mnemonics to denote different attributes of a file. This method of single-character representation has been adopted to save screen space and to present a global picture of the remote file system. The possible attributes of a file are :
Normal file N Archived file A Read-only file R Hidden file H System file S Compressed file CAny or all of these attributes may be present in a file.
How free it is
ActiveFTP is completely free (along with its source code [which I don't expect many people to be interested in]) as long as you are not using it for a commercial purpose. Any form of commercial usage of this application or any part thereof is strictly prohibited unless explicit prior written permission is obtained from the author. If you are interested in the source code, you can contact me. Source code is available for free if you promise (and I trust you) that you are not going to use and/or modify the code for any commercial purpose.
Although you are free to use the software for non-commercial purposes without any obligation - I reserve the copyright on both the installed product and the source code.
If you like the tool and feel that you are going to use it, please contribute
US$ 10 (or its equivalent in your currency) to CRY. Help a little child,
help your community, help your own family. You can send your contribution
in any currency but make sure that you send Demand Drafts
or Cheques only. CRY cannot accept cash donations. Send your
donations to this address :
| CRY- Child Relief and You
DDA Slum Wing, Bapu Park, Kotla Mubarakpur, NEW DELHI - 110 003 INDIA |
Please make sure that you mention this reference number for your contribution :
You can also contact CRY at 91-11-469-3109, 91-11-469-3159, 91-11-469-3137, 91-11-469-4790 or send fax at 91-11-463-2302.
Support etc.
Well, now comes the tricky part. As you know, this utility runs on a Microsoft product. So, I will follow Microsoft's strategy as far as support is concerned. You are free to mail me as many bug reports/suggestions/feedbacks etc. as you prefer but I will respond to or acknowledge only a selected few which, I feel, are worth it. But I will deviate from Microsoft's policy slightly - I will read and consider all correspondence from everybody.
I wrote this tool for myself and later realised that it could be useful to you too and therefore I let you use it. I am not liable for any kind of support although I promise that I will try my best. I too have my regular work and I am not left with much time to spare at the end of a day. So, I will try to provide support as best I can but don't let your expectations be too high.
However, like all programmers, I too like to know how great my program is. So, feel free to drop me a line at subhabrata.biswas@usa.net with your suggestions, feedback, etc.
I will keep my website posted with the latest ActiveFTP. So visit this page often and get the current version of ActiveFTP.
Disclaimer
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