Newsprint
Newsprint
Newsprint

FTP FAQ

What is FTP?

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Like HTTP, FTP is one of the original building blocks of the Internet.

What does it do?

FTP allows users to send or retrieve files to and from a remote server in real time.

Why is this better than emailing an attachment?

Email is not sent real time. Like a conventional letter, it is sent, travels on a journey, and then is received. Email is handed from mail server to mail server, like a relay race. Because of this, it is possible for a problem on any server in the chain to corrupt or lose the file. When you FTP a file, you watch it send in real time. When it is finished sending, it is already on the receiving server's hard drive. You know it's there.

What kind of problem could cause a problem with emailed attachments?

It is not uncommon for a server to reject large files, or files with attached executables. Some mail servers allow no attachments at all. Some try encoding/decoding that can damage files. Many servers filter and remove messages in an attempt to control “spam” email. It is also possible for your message to be refused if it comes from an IP address that has been used to spam in the past.

With all this going against it, how does anyone ever get an email message?

SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) works very well for delivering mail. Small attachments work pretty well, and mail generally gets where it is going, most of the time. SMTP was not really designed for moving 200 MB graphics jobs, that might contain binary data or executable files, however.

What do I have to buy to FTP? Do I need special software?

When you want to use HTTP, or HyperText Transport Protocol, you use a Web browser. You are using one right now to read this. FTP works the same way, except you use a different program called an FTP client. There are clients for every type of operating system, and depending on the license and your intended use, they might even be free. Fully functional evaluation versions can be downloaded for many of these, as well. Check on our software page for links to several clients.

Do I have to learn another program just to send files?

There is not really much to learn to FTP files. If you know enough about computers to find and select your files, you know almost everything you need to know already. Check out our step-by-step tutorials in the toolbar at the left of this page for several of the most popular FTP clients, like WS_FTP and Fetch.

Should I compress my files before sending?

Yes, this will speed up the transfer greatly.

Can I FTP over a dial-up modem?

Yes, but only for smaller files. If your project is one or two megabytes in size, no problem. If it is 20 MB, it will take a long time to send, and when done it may be corrupt from transmission errors. If your project is 100 MB, there is no way sending it over your modem will work (FedEx would be faster!).

Are there certain restrictions on filenames of my files?

Yes. Do not use symbols or spaces in file names.

I have hundreds of files in my project... do I have to rename them all if I used spaces?

No. Compress the files into an archive, and make sure its name contains no symbols or spaces. It is a good idea to adopt a naming convention that does not use symbols and spaces for other reasons, however. Bad characters can cause problems with some servers, software, and RIPs.