Questions about FTP What is uploading? What's a server? Do I need to choose a server? What software is necessary? Can this be done anywhere? What gets uploaded? Can I download files, too? How do I use FTP?

What is uploading?

• Uploading is what is done when files are transferred from your computer to another computer in a remote location. It's similar to copying files from one folder to another. When making web sites, only a limited audience can visit your site unless you give your creation a home on a computer that others can access from their machine. If you upload to a computer connected to the internet, not only do you give your web site a home, but you give it an address, called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), that anyone can reach. When you move files (upload or download) you will use a protocol known as file transfer protocol (FTP).

What's a server?

• A server is simply a big hard drive that lots of users can access. Your web site is saved in several places. If you work on it at home, you probably save your site to your hard drive. You may try to back it up on a floppy or two, but floppies don't have the capacity to hold a web site that contains lots of images. So you may back up your web site on a Zip disk, too. Most likely, however, your site is saved on the server in the lab where you meet for this class. Everyone in the class can save to this server, but no one (we hope) can access this server from outside the school site where that server is located.
• The internet is a vast collection of connected computers called web servers. Those web servers can be accessed by anyone who has permission to do so. You will upload your web site to a web server, and by doing so, you will give permission to others to access your material. Only you will have permission to change your web site, but everyone will be able to see your stuff.

Do I need to choose a server?

• You need to choose the server you want to use. However, you are fortunate in that you attend CSUS. Colleges and Universities usually provide free e-mail and web site hosting to their students. CSUS is no different.
  • The Saclink Option: The CSUS account you can use is called Saclink, and you can get one of these from University Computing and Communications Services on campus in the Science building in room 322. You'll get instructions that show you how to set up your account, and the friendly people there will also walk you through any problems you may experience.
    • Once you sign up, it takes 24 hours for the account to be established.
    • After your account has been established, you need to activate your web site. That's one of the options you choose as you set things up. It takes about twenty minutes to log on, read the disclaimer and set up the site.
    • You get a cup of coffee and read the class textbook assignment for about thirty minutes, and your site is active.
    • All the documentation can be obtained from this URL: http://www.csus.edu/uccs/labs
  • The Classweb Option: Another option is to use the Classweb server. If you are in my Problem Solving and Computers class, I will give you space on that server.
• The ISP Option: The other option, is to use a private provider. These are called ISPs (Internet Service Providers). You pay for this service. The most efficient provider I have experience with is JPS Net. I tend to direct students away from large providers like AOL because the uploading process is much more complicated than what I will show you here. A few students have reported that AOL uploading services are becoming much more simple of late.
• I would suggest that you use a combination of all three options. Having lots of server space is a big deal when you make websites. It's like pie and ice cream; there's never enough!

What software is necessary?

• There are several pieces of freeware and shareware that you can use to upload your web site. Click on any of the options named below to go to the download sites.
  • The common software for the Macintosh is called "Fetch" by Jim Matthews from Dartmouth College. It's free to those connected with educational institutions and charitable organizations.
  • Another very nice piece of FTP software for the Mac is called "Transmit" (also referred to as Transit) from Panic Software. You can download it for free, and if you want to buy it, you pay only $24.95! Transmit is much easier to use than Fetch in my opinion, but both are extremely user friendly.
  • The most common software for PCs is called "WS_ftp" from Ipswitch Inc. and it's completely free.
• In this lesson, I'll illustrate using Fetch. Once you know how to use Fetch, any other set-up will be similar.

Can this be done anywhere?

• Yes, unless there is a firewall that prohibits this procedure from the lab you're using.

What gets uploaded?

• Everything in your web site folder gets uploaded to the web server you choose. You will have a directory on the web server. With Saclink and Classweb, it's called "web". You will upload all your html files and all your gif and jpg images.

Can I download files, too?

• Absolutely! Anything that can be placed on a web server can be taken back or deleted. Remember, your files are still on the hard drive in the lab and probably at home, too. When you upload and download, files remain on the host computer. You can think of this process as copying files from one location to another.

So how do I use FTP?

• This is actually the easy part, but it can be dreaded by the uninitiated. Here we go!

You will be given a copy of Fetch. Most likely, however, it will be on the computer you use in the lab. Open Fetch by double clicking on its icon. You will see a window that looks similar to this.

Hit "Cancel" and go to "Customize" => "New Shortcut" as you see in the image below.

You will see a window similar to the one below.

Enter the correct information to make the window similar to this one if you're configuring Saclink.

Obviously, your User ID will be different than mine. Don't enter your password because this information is saved on the computer you're using in the lab at the time.

Enter the correct information to make the window similar to this one if you're configuring Classweb.

Once you click on OK, you have a shortcut that you can access from that particular computer. If you use another computer, you'll need to reconfigure another new shortcut. Since I do most of my uploading at home, I usually forget the procedure. Lucky for me I have it written down somewhere!

To actually upload something, all you really do is open Fetch, cancel the window that opens up first, go to "File" => "Open Shortcut" and you'll see your account name that you entered into the window above. You'll see lots of other accounts, too. Just ignore them. You only need yours. When you open your shortcut, you'll see the password window.

Your user name will be at the top (not mine) followed by @saclink.csus.edu or @classweb.educ.csus.edu. Enter your password and press return. A window opens with a little dog that "fetches" your directory on the Saclink or Classweb server. Here's the directory window below with the fetch pooch scooting right along!

When the dog stops, you're in your directory. At this point, you go to "Remote" => "Put Folders and Files" in the Mac menu bar.

The last window that opens is the one that lets you select the files you want to upload. It looks like this. When you're finished adding to the list (double click on the files you want), click Done! You can drag and drop from your file folders to the directory window above, too.

The Window above shows you a portion of my San Juan folder on my hard drive. The files that I double click will appear in the little window below that one and upload to one of the CSUS faculty servers. You will upload hundreds of times! Typically, when I make a web page, I edit, save, browse and upload eight or nine times per page. It pays to get to know this procedure as soon as possible.

On Windows machines, the WS_FTP set-up looks like this:

Hit New.

• The Profile name can be anything you want.
• Fill in the Host Name as shown above or use Saclink as a host name as illustrated in the Fetch window above.
• Type in your User ID that was given to you in class or by the Saclink clerks.
• Type in your password but don't click on Save Pwd unless you are on your own computer at home. Otherwise, anyone using the computer you're using for this procedure can open your account.
• IMPORTANT: At the top of the Session Properties window is a tab called Startup. Click on that and type /web for your initial remote host directory.

Hit OK and your new window looks like this:

The window on the left is your computer; the one on the right is the remote server. Select the files or folders in your hard drive to upload to the server by clicking. Once selected, click on the arrow that points to the right. Doing the opposite will download files from the server to your hard drive. Kapeesh?

And finally, if you used Saclink, your URL will be something like this:

Classweb URLs will look like this:

You can send this to anyone in the world who is online, and they can see what you've done. You can even e-mail it to yourself if you think you'll forget it!