Help Desk | FAQ's about WS

Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions

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FAQ's about WS_FTP: What is FTP ?; What is Ws_ftp ?; Connecting to the site ?; Finding files ?; Getting files ?; Putting files ?; Troubleshooting ?; For more information ?

Q. What is FTP ?

A. FTP is a way of transferring files from one computer to another over the Internet. It is also the name of a UNIX program for FTP. For a more detailed description of what FTP is and for more general information about FTP, see the "ftp" help file.

Q. What is Ws_ftp ?

A. Ws_ftp is an FTP program for Windows. You can use it to get files from the Internet, or to put files onto the Internet.

Q. Connecting to the site ?

A. Connect to a site using Ws_ftp

Open Ws_ftp. The Session Profile dialog box opens.
For "Host Name" type the server you want to connect to. The FTP server's name is often "ftp.sitename". For example, the FTP server at Access is "shell.accesscom.com", so anyone wanting to connect to FTP at Access would put "shell.accesscom.com" in the "Host" field.
For "User ID" type your user name. For anonymous FTP, type "anonymous".
For "Password" type your UNIX password. (This is the password we gave you in lower case letters, the one you use to get your email.) For anonymous FTP, type your email address.
Leave the "Account" field blank.
For "Remote Host" type the path for the directory you want to open. If you do not know the path for the directory you can leave this field blank.
For "Local PC" type the path for the directory you want to download files into.
Click OK.

Q. Finding files ?

A. Once you are connected to the site you need to locate the file(s) you want to download.

The left side of the Ws_ftp window shows directory and file information for your computer. The right side shows directory and file information for the remote system. The top part on each side lists directories, and the lower part lists the files in the current directory. The path for the current directory is shown above the directory list.

To open a directory, double-click on the directory name in the directory listing.

To move up a level in the directory structure, double click on the two periods in the directory listing: "..".

To move directly to a directory, instead of changing one directory at a time, click on ChgDir (change directory) button, and type the directory's path.

Q. Getting files ?

One the left side of the window open the directory you want to download the file(s) into.
On the right side of the window, use the directions in the last section to locate the file(s) you want to download.
Select the file(s) you want to download.
If it is a text file, you can use the View button to view a file before downloading. This way you can be sure you want the file.
Click on the left-pointing arrow to transfer the file.

Q. Putting files ?

A. You can use Ws_ftp to upload files from your computer to another computer on the Internet.

Connect to the site to which you want to transfer the file(s).
On the left side of the window, open the directory that contains the file(s) you want to upload.
On the right side of the window open the directory into which you want to upload the file(s).
Select the file(s).
Click on the right-pointing arrow to transfer the files.

Note: If you do not have permission to put a file into a directory the transfer will appear to happen, but the file will not be put into the directory.

Q. Troubleshooting ?

A. Error message: "can't get 'shell.accesscom.com' host entry"

Try using the numeric address for "shell.accesscom.com", 64.240.196.10. If that does not work, make sure you have the newest version of Ws_ftp or call technical support.

Q. For more information ?

A. For more information on how to use Ws_ftp click on the Help button.