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OS/2 Help File | 1995-07-30 | 48.2 KB | 1,073 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Lynn's WorkPlace File Transfer Protocol ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Lynn's WorkPlace File Transfer Protocol Read this Important Note if upgrading from V1.0. What Is It? Disclaimer Installation Creating an Ftp Folder Usage Hints Ftp URLs Benefits Of Registration Registration Form This book replaces the "readme" file traditionally included with shareware products. It contains the previously listed sections as well as all of the help associated with the various dialogs of LWPFTP. Feel free to browse the pages at will or simply double click on Installation for a quick introduction to the installation process. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Upgrading from LWPFTP V1.0 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ If you are upgrading from LWPFTP V1.0, please make sure you follow the installation instructions when it tells you to reboot and re-execute the installer. Failure to do this will result in a non-functionining installation since the new Ftp Directory class will not be available to the WPS. On the first execution of the installer, it will inform you that there are locked files that need to be updated. Take whatever option you desire here, and follow the instructions to reboot. After rebooting, you must re-execute the installer and take the manual path and tell then installer that you have placed the files where they belong (this is the Yes button). The installer will then make the Ftp Directory class known to the WPS and LWPFTP will function normally. You should not need to reboot a second time. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. What Is It? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ LWPFTP is a fully WPS-integrated, approach to FTP client applications. Simply configure an Ftp Folder to point to an FTP site, open it up, and you're on your way! Files and sub-folders will be created automatically based on the directory listing from the remote site. To get a file onto your machine, simply select Transfer from its popup menu or simply double-click it. Browsing FTP sites has *never* been easier. Even with the Web Explorer(s), you still had to deal with single-threaded (or at least single-site) transfers. Multiple sites now simultaneously initiate a transfer with multiple objects within a single site queueing internally (complete with progress status and estimated time to complete). LWPFTP implements a folder subclass (called LWPFtpFold) that allows specification of an FTP site, access information, and path. When the new folder is opened for the first time (or when (Re)Populate is selected from its popup menu), a remote directory listing is obtained from the FTP server and additional objects are created in the Folder. These objects will be either more FtpFolders or FtpFiles. An FtpFile is a datafile subclass (called LWPFtpFile) which also has the FTP information in its settings as well as a Transfer popup menu option. After a file is transferred (via menu or simply double-clicking), it will convert to a more appropriate datafile object (including the visible icon). At that point, the file is locally available on your machine and, if the file contained only text, it will be opened according to the WPS file associations. FtpFolders and FtpFiles adopt the original name provided by the FTP server. Since most of the world is not restricted by a dinosaur file system (namely FAT), these names are (more often than not) greater than 8.3 characters. Due to this, you should always create FtpFolders and FtpFiles on an HPFS drive. They are file system objects, so they can be created in any folder on any drive. With version 1.1, this is not required as much, but long filenames perform *much* better on HPFS than FAT. Lynn's WorkPlace File Transfer Protocol is a shareware application. If you don't know what all that means, look it up elsewhere. The fundamentals are that the software is yours to evaluate for a "reasonable" time (I estimate 2-4 weeks is "reasonable"). After your evaluation, you are expected to either remove the software and quit using it, or register it. Be cautious, however, of placing FtpFolders and/or FtpFiles directly on your desktop. When you do, the actual directory and/or file is physically moved under your Desktop directory tree on your default system drive. This is not usually a good place to store files long-term. I tend to browse sites using desktop-based FtpFolders and drag any FtpFiles of interest into another folder before (or after) transferring. When done browsing, the desktop can be cleaned up with a simple RMB on the original FtpFolder and selecting Delete. To register, send $20.00 (US) to: Mr. Lynn W. Deffenbaugh Homeside Software, Inc. P.O. Box 100453 Palm Bay, FL 32910-0453 USA Or use the online registration at Pete Norloff's OS/2 Shareware BBS. Dial (703) 385-4325 or telnet to bbs.os2bbs.com. The cost is still $20.00 but you can charge it to your choice of charge card. For more information, check out http://www.os2bbs.com/. You can even get the latest version from the BBS while you're registering. To get the latest version of LWPFTP, just check out the web page at http://www.teamos2.org/homeside/lwpftp. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Disclaimer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ LWPFTP is delivered as-is. While the author would appreciate problem reports, there is no requirement or warranty for fixing supposed problems or delivering such fixes if they are done. There is no warranty on LWPFTP, express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. However, some areas do not allow the exclusion of implied warranty, so the above exclusion may not apply to you. The author (and any distributors) assume no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from using LWPFTP, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. In addition, the author assumes no liability for damages claimed by you based on a third-party claim. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.4. Credits ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ A very large Thank You is extended to my loyal Beta testers. A special mention goes to Eric Erickson for providing the *much* better icons than I originally had as well as the suggestion for hooking into the animated icons for open folders. Also, a special mention of David Singer for providing VM ftp directory formats and driving a redesign of the .dir file parser. For version 1.1 testing, a special thanks goes to Walter J. Petlevich for discovering the problem that happens when you add a new WPS class and forget to distribute the .DLL that implements it. Here's the full list of 1.1 testers. Ron Couts Paul J. DelPalazzo David R. Demmer Dan Fisher Gene Gough Derek Howell Benjamin Y. Lee Ingo Luetkebohle Walter J. Petlevich David Schmidt Otso Ylonen Now, the full list of 1.0 beta testers - Thanks to *all* of you! David Alcock Bill Calvin Leonard Campbell Ron Couts Bob DeRosa Lionel B. Dyck Eric A. Erickson Dan Fisher Milton Forte Sheila Y. Forte Jack Hiatt Wayne L. Holmes Stewart Hyde Richard Lancaster Marvin Lichtenthal Simon Ma Joey Maxie Tracy Pipkin Wes Smith David Singer Rick Stenson Rick Suntag Mark A. Thompson Eric Van Norman ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Installation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ As a WPS extension, LWPFTP must place several .DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries) in a directory specified on your LIBPATH (in CONFIG.SYS). The WPS class must be registered, and sample and/or template objects must be created (so that you can create more). An installer program (LWPFTPIN or INSTALL.CMD) has been provided to automate this process. Extensive information is provided during the installation process, including help pages. To activate the installer, simply type INSTALL in the directory containing the LWPFTP distribution files. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Registration Form ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Receive your ID *instantly* via the OS/2 Shareware BBS at (703) 385-4325 or telnet to bbs.os2bbs.com. Check out http://www.os2bbs.com for more info. Please register ____ copies of LWPFTP @ $20.00 (US) each. Total _____________ I have version _____ which I downloaded from __________________________________ Name: ______________________________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Email: ______________________________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________________________________________ Send my registration key via: ____ Email (preferred) or ____ Snail Mail Mail this form (filled in, of course) along with a check (drawn on a US bank or an official bank draft), money order, or cash (I have a secure mailbox) for the total shown above (in US funds) to: Mr. Lynn W. Deffenbaugh c/o Homeside Software, Inc. P.O. Box 100453 Palm Bay, FL 32910-0453 Your registration key should be issued within two weeks of receipt of your completed registration form (allowing time for the check to clear). For registration inquiries, just drop me an email (to lwpftp@homeside.com) with "Registration" in the subject. Thank you for registering! ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. FAQ (w/Answers) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ LWPFTP - Lynn's WorkPlace File Transfer Protocol Latest version at ftp://ftp.teamos2.org/pub/shareware/homeside OS/2 Shareware brought to you by: Mr. Lynn W. Deffenbaugh Homeside Software, Inc. P.O. Box 100453 Palm Bay, FL 32910-0453 email: <lwpftp@homeside.com> The most recent FAQ can be found on the WWW at http://www.teamos2.org/homeside/lwpftp/faq. Where Can I Get It? Why are my Ftp Folders empty? How can I register from outside the United States? Creating an Ftp Folder Can I PUT files with LWPFTP? Does LWPFTP work with OS/2 V2.11 (or 2.1)? Can I do ASCII/BINARY transfers? What about firewalls? Why is populate *so* slow? Can I get transferred files to automatically open? Where do I get support? What's the point in registering? Does LWPFTP required HPFS? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Where Can I Get It? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1) I've been hearing about LWPFTP, where can I get a copy? ftp://ftp.teamos2.org/pub/shareware/homeside/lwpftp11.zip - Master Copy ftp://ftp.tach.net/pub/OS2/lwpftp11.zip - Another master copy ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/incoming/lwpftp11.zip (or os2/network/tcpip) ftp://ftp-os2.cdrom.com/pub/os2/incoming/lwpftp11.zip (or pub/os2/network/tcpip) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Why are my Ftp Folders empty? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2) Why doesn't anything appear in a folder after populating? There are two common causes of empty folders after the population is complete. The first is the specification of a non-existent path in the folder's URL. Ftp servers do not consider this an error, but simply return an empty directory listing. A directory file named after the folder's title encloses in parenthesis should appear during the population, but it will be empty. Try removing the path specification from the URL and dig your way down from the initial default directory provided by the ftp server. The second reason for an empty folder is a failure of LWPFTP's directory parser to understand the directory format supplied by the FTP server. If you get a directory file that LWPFTP does not create objects for, please sent it (along with the URL if possible) to <lwpftp@homeside.com>. I will attempt to update the parser in a subsequent release of LWPFTP. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. How can I register from outside the United States? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3) I'd like to register, but live outside the United States and cannot get a money order in US funds. How can I pay you? I cannot accept non-US checks. My bank would charge me $20.00 to collect on an $20.00 check! However, I *can* accept an official check from any financial institution as long as it is written in US funds. Also, I can accept money orders expressed in US funds. I believe these may be available at major banks and/or post offices outside the United States. Also, I can accept non-US currency (cash, notes, bills, whatever you call it) without penalty other than the exchange rate fluctuation. If you send cash, please allow for a slight lowering of the exchange rate while the registration is in the mail. You can also register via Pete Norloff's OS/2 Shareware BBS. Either dial (703) 385-4325 or telnet to bbs.os2bbs.com. Pete accepts VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. For more information, check out http://www.os2bbs.com. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. What happend to the remote date/time? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4) Why doesn't LWPFTP retain the date/time stamp on Ftp Files? I'm looking into incorporating this feature in a future release of LWPFTP. Unfortunately, there is no standard format for the directory listing and I'm *sure* I don't handle all of them right now. Handling the variations on the date/time format adds even more complexity. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Can I PUT files with LWPFTP? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5) Can I put files to a remote server with LWPFTP? As of version 1.1, you can put files to a remote server simply by dropping the file on an enabled Ftp Folder. On the Ftp Info page of the folder, you must check the "Allow Drop/Put" box. After that, you simply drag the file over and drop it on the Ftp Folder. LWPFTP will create a shadow object in the Ftp Folder and will transfer the file to the remote site and into the directory specified in the URL. This assumes, of course, that you have write access to the remote directory. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.6. Does LWPFTP work with OS/2 V2.11 (or 2.1)? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6) I'm running OS/2 V2.11 (or 2.1), why doesn't the installer work? LWPFTP uses features of the WPS that are only available in Warp and later versions. As a result of this restriction, I also took advantage of a new .EXE (and .DLL) compression feature available in Warp. Unfortunately, V2.x does not give very good error messages when it encounters such an .EXE file. In short, LWPFTP *requires* Warp or later. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.7. Can I do ASCII/BINARY transfers? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7) Where do I specify ASCII or BINARY transfers? The default transfer type is BINARY. Double-clicking an Ftp File or selecting Transfer from the popup menu will do a BINARY transfer. To do an ASCII transfer, you must use the conditional cascade from the Transfer option. Popup the menu and click on the arrow to the right of Transfer. Then click on the Ascii option on the submenu. The "And Open" option is the default for double-clicked Ftp Files. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.8. What about firewalls? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8) I'm stuck behind a firewall, can LWPFTP use xxxxx to get out? Right now, LWPFTP does not include any type of firewall support. I'm not even sure just how many different approaches there are. I've heard of a SOCKS firewall, an ftp proxy server, and a web proxy server. Right now, I have this on my list, but don't know when it will get done. If you want a particular firewall supported, drop a line to <firewall@homeside.com> with what the firewall is and, hopefully, a pointer to where I can get information on how to get through it (legally, of course). I have been told that access through an ftp proxy firewall is possible by encoding information into the URL. The following settings seem to work for some people. URL: ftp://anonymous%40desired.site.name:your%40email.address@firewall.node.name Node: firewall.node.name User: anonymous@desired.site.name Pass: your@email.address ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.9. Why is populate *so* slow? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9) What is LWPFTP *doing* when it populates? My computer seems to be locked up and the drive is going nuts! There are known performance problems when creating large numbers of WPS objects in a short span of time. With release 1.1, the population thread has been moved into the WPS process. This reduced the population of 100 objects from 1 minute 15 seconds, to 45 seconds (on a 486/33). During that time, you can expect the CPU to get *very* busy (like 100%) and the WPS response will be extremely sluggish. Since all Ftp File and Folder objects are file system objects, they actually create files and directories on your hard disk. These files are zero length (until you transfer it) and only contain EAs (extended attributes), so they don't occupy a whole lot of space, but the drive does get busy to create them all. I'm still investigating other performance improvements like "bursting" the creation of objects into smaller groups to allow the WPS to "catch up" and avoid the exponential performance curve. I'm also considering a directory WPS object that doesn't require all Ftp Files to be created during the populate but will support drag/drop object creation from a browseable list. For now, be aware that if you answer "No" to the large population warning, you will be given the opportunity to create just the folders. In any case, a new Ftp File template is created that allows relatively easy creation of a desired Ftp File object based on a manual browse of the directory listing. The template will have the URL mostly populated for you. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.10. Can I get transferred files to automatically open? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10) How about a "view" option on Ftp Files? Why should I have to double click to get it transferred and double click *again* to open it? With release 1.1, the default double-click action for a non-transferred Ftp File is to transfer the file and open it when completely received. To transfer a file *without* opening it, you must select the Transfer option from the object's popup menu. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.11. Where do I get support? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11) I can't get the install to work, how can I get help? Where's your email address? If you encounter any problems during your trial period of using LWPFTP, you can reach me at <lwpftp@homeside.com>. Please include a good description of what you are doing and what you are seeing. It is also helpful to include a copy of the server conversation log (push the "L" button on the progress dialog when it says "Completed."). Also, if you are getting a .dir file but no (or not enough) Ftp File objects, please include a copy of the .dir file. I'm working on beefing up the population parser to handle more different ftp servers. I'm aware that MVS' Partitioned Data Set is not currently handled. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.12. What's the point in registering? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12) Ok, I like it, now just what do I get when I register? Lynn's WorkPlace File Transfer Protocol is a shareware application. If you don't know what all that means, look it up elsewhere. The fundamentals are that the software is yours to evaluate for a "reasonable" time (I estimate 2-4 weeks is "reasonable"). After your evaluation, you are expected to either remove the software and quit using it, or register it. Push the Help button on the "Register" page in the settings notebook (or double-click here) for the list of registration "perks". I tried to make it a fully functional product in its unregistered form, but a much more streamlined and friendly one in its registered form. After registering, you will receive a registration name and ID that you should enter on the "Register" page of any Ftp File or Folder object settings notebook. After doing this, the new features will be enabled in the version that you already have installed. My plan is that all registrations will remain valid until "substantial" enhancements are made to the product (ie. Version 2.0). ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.13. Does LWPFTP required HPFS? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13a) Does LWPFTP *require* HPFS or does it work with FAT? 13b) I'm getting DosOpen error 123 in the log window, what's it mean? 13c) I'm getting DosOpen error 206 in the log window, what's it mean? As of version 1.1, LWPFTP works just about as well on a FAT-formatted drive as it does on HPFS. However, due to the differences in the handling of Extended Attributes, all WPS objects work better on HPFS drives. See the Usage Hints for more information. With the improved FAT support, you should not receive either the 123 or 206 error. If you want to know what they are, simpy type "help 123" or "help 206" at any OS/2 command prompt. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Creating an Ftp Folder ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ There are several ways to create Ftp Folders after installation. These are outlined in the following sections. From Template From Another Ftp Folder Copy An Ftp Folder From REXX ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. From Template ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Creating an Ftp Folder (or File) from a template is just like any other template operation in OS/2. 1. Open the Templates folder 2. Drag the Ftp Folder (or File) object 3. Drop it wherever you want the new Ftp Folder 4. The settings notebook will open automatically allowing entry of the new URL ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.2. From Another Ftp Folder/File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ If you have an Ftp Folder (or File) visible, and would like to create another one, simply select the Create Another -> Default option from the popup menu. The WPS will prompt for the (open) folder to contain the new object. There are three disadvantages (from my viewpoint) to this method. First, the WPS only makes it easy to create new objects in open folders. Second, the WPS arbitrarily decides where to place the new object in the folder. Third, you must manually open the Settings notebook to specify the new URL. Even with all of these "problems", this is the method I use most. I always seem to have a few Ftp Folders visible and it sure beats going after the Templates folder. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.3. Copy An Existing Folder/File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ If you have an Ftp Folder (or File) visible, you can use the Copy option (or Ctlr-Drag) to create a new one. Be aware that this copies *all* of the contents of the existing folder as well as its URL. After the copy operation is complete, you should open the settings notebook to specify the new URL as well as open the folder to delete all of the contents. LWPFTP will think the folder has already been populated as well, so Re-Populate must be used to get the initial population of a copied folder. I use this method when there are two or three similar directories for which I need Ftp Folders. I create the first one with Create Another, set up the URL, and copy the resulting (non-populated) Ftp Folder to a few more. This way only a portion of the URL needs to be changed and the issues raised in the previous paragraph are avoided. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.4. From A REXX Procedure ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Since Ftp Folders (and Files) are WPS objects, you can create them using a REXX procedure. A single setup string value is required for both Ftp Folders with an (optional) additional one for Ftp Files. For both files and folders, the URL should be specified in the setup string with URL=. Specify the string *exactly* as you would in the URL entry field of the settings notebook. For Ftp Files, you can also specify SIZE= if you know the expected size of the remote file. This will enable the estimated completion time on the transfer progress dialog. As with all WPS objects, you can specify an OBJECTID= as well to get back to the object by name regardless of where is physically resides. Also, if you specify OPEN=DEFAULT, the folder (or file) will open and populate (or transfer) itself as soon as it is created. A sample REXX procedure is included for Ftp Folders and Ftp Files. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.4.1. REXX Procedure To Create an Ftp Folder ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ /* This makes it a REXX procedure */ Call RxFuncadd 'SysLoadFuncs', 'RexxUtil', 'SysLoadFuncs' Call SysLoadFuncs RetCode = SysCreateObject( "LWPFtpFold", "Title", "<WP_DESKTOP>", "URL=ftp://anonymous:user%40node.domain@node.domain/pub/wherever") if RetCode then say 'LWPFtpFold Object created' else do say 'Error creating LWPFtpFold object' end ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.4.2. REXX Procedure To Create an Ftp File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ /* This makes it a REXX procedure */ Call RxFuncadd 'SysLoadFuncs', 'RexxUtil', 'SysLoadFuncs' Call SysLoadFuncs RetCode = SysCreateObject( "LWPFtpFile", "Whatever.Ext", "<WP_DESKTOP>", "URL=ftp://anonymous:user%40node.domain@node.domain/pub/wherever/whatever.ext") if RetCode then say 'LWPFtpFile Object created' else do say 'Error creating LWPFtpFile object' end ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Usage Hints ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The following sections provide several usage hints that have developed over time. A more updated list can be found on the WWW at http://www.teamos2.org/homeside/lwpftp/hints. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. Use HPFS! ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ While Version 1.0 of LWPFTP almost required HPFS, Version 1.1 (and later) actually handle FAT-formatted partitions transparently. However, the FAT file system is inherently inefficient at storing OS/2's Extended Attributes. Each file that has attached EAs actually occupies an additional allocation cluster on a FAT drive. Since the WPS (and hence, LWPFTP) store object instance information in the EAs, this means that every Ftp File or Folder object occupies an additional allocation cluster. The High Performance File System (HPFS) was designed with EAs in mind. Therefore, in addition to the 512 byte allocation unit (which saves *lots* of disk space on the typical drive), EAs do not have the extreme storage overhead on HPFS like they had on FAT. Switch to HPFS (unless you *have* to do DOS sometimes), I think you'll like the performance boost! ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. Programs Are Not Executable ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ FtpFiles are subclassed from WPDataFile. Unfortunately, this is a sibling of the WPProgramFile class that knows how to execute programs. Transferred executable files are *not* double-click executable from the WPS. Instead, you need to create a program object referencing them or run them from the command line. I'm researching a way to modify this behaviour for a future release. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. Large Population Warning ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The OS/2 WPS is not extremely efficient at creating new objects. It doesn't seem to have been designed to perform batch creations of file-system-based objects. This means that Ftp Folders can eat your machine *alive* (from inside the WPS) if you ask it to populate a large number of objects. Don't say you weren't warned! LWPFTP is aware of this issue and offers to create just the folders contained within a large population folder. If you answer "No" to the Large Population prompt, you will be asked if you want to create folders only. This can prove very handy when "drilling down" through a remote directory hierarchy. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.4. Do you know where your desktop is? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Be cautious of placing FtpFolders and/or FtpFiles directly on your desktop. When you do, the actual directory and/or file is physically moved under your Desktop directory tree on your default system drive. This is not usually a good place to store files long-term. I tend to browse sites using desktop-based FtpFolders and drag any FtpFiles of interest into another folder before (or after) transferring. When done browsing, the desktop can be cleaned up with a simple RMB on the original FtpFolder and selecting Delete. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU USE DESKTOP ARCHIVING! When you reboot your machine, OS/2 makes a *complete* copy of your desktop in another directory. If you have Ftp Folders located directly on your desktop, they (and all their contents) will be cloned delaying your startup by a substantial time period. Also, if you use DeskMan/2 to save your desktop, be aware that the same behavior applies. DeskMan/2 will import your Desktop-resident Ftp Folders and all of their contents into its database whenever you do a "Save Desktop" operation. This can take a substantial period of time as well. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.5. Getting a single file ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The best approach to getting a single file if you know its full access information (from a magazine, for instance) is to create an Ftp Folder (yes, I did mean Folder) specifying the *full* access information including the file name. LWPFTP will populate the folder with an Ftp File that has the expected size included. This enables the estimated completion time on the progress indicator. If you simply create an Ftp File object, the size will be unknown and the progress indicator will only show the bytes received. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.6. Cleaning Up After Browsing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ I have found that I can accumulate *lots* of Ftp objects within a folder hiearchy as a result of casual browsing. LWPFTP now has a "DePopulate" option on Ftp Folders that assist in cleaning up. Go back to the original Ftp Folder that you created and select the DePopulate option from its popup menu. This will delete all nontransfered Ftp Files and subsequently remove all empty Ftp Folders recursively down the folder tree. When the DePopulate finishes, any remaining Ftp Folders contain files that were transferred. After removing them, you will want to DePopulate the original folder again. LWPFTP does not clear the "populated" state of an Ftp Folder until it is totally emptied by a DePopulate operation. When the populated state is cleared, the folder will automatically repopulate the next time it is opened. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Dialog Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The following sections contain the help panels for the various dialogs used by the LWPFTP package. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Ftp Info (FtpFile) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This page sets up the FTP access information in the form of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or individual entry fields. Entries made in the URL field are automatically parsed and distributed to the individual entry fields. Changes in the individual fields are automatically combined into the URL. These actions only occur when the focus is moved away from the current field (for instance, when you tab or click elsewhere). Updates are NOT reflected on a character-by-character basis for performance reasons. The following list describes the components of an Ftp-type URL (as expected by FtpFile and FtpFold). ftp://user:pass:acct@node:port/path where: What Is It? ftp:// URL type (only ftp:// supported) user Username for Ftp login (optional) pass Password for Ftp login (optional) acct Account for Ftp login (optional) node Node name or IP address of Ftp server port Port of Ftp server (default = 21) (Specification Not Currently Supported) path Path of directory or file within the Ftp server The default URL type (and the only one currently supported) is ftp://. This is supplied on all empty settings pages. There is no individual field for the URL type. If you know what the type is, you can type a URL. Another important feature to note is that URL's do not support any of "special" characters in any of their components. "Special" characters are those used to delimit the fields of the URL (along with several more). To place such a character in the URL, it must be "escaped" by typing it as a hexadecimal value following a % (percent) character. For instance, to enter an @ sign in a URL component (the password of an anonymous login) you would enter the following: ftp://anonymous:me%40my.node@Ftp.Node/path Alternatively, you can simply enter the information into the individual entry fields. Data entered here does NOT need to be escaped, the FtpFile will handle this for you when it constructs the URL. The "File" individual entry field is simply appended to the end of the path with a "/" separator. If this is not the proper separator for the ftp site, simply enter the complete specification in the Path field and leave the File field empty. For registered users, you can specify a default username, password, and account that will be used if the one specified (or not specified) on a particular URL fails. This is *very* convenient for anonymous ftp sites, since you will never need to specify this information in the FtpFile setup. Also for registered users, if the specified access fails, and the default access fails, you will be prompted for an addition username, password, and account to try. For non-registered users, you MUST specify COMPLETE access information on the FtpFile or FtpFolder prior to attempting a transfer or populate. (Note, however, that an FtpFolder's access information automatically propagates onto all FtpFiles "discovered" within it.) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2. Ftp Info (FtpFolder) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This page sets up the FTP access information in the form of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or individual entry fields. Entries made in the URL field are automatically parsed and distributed to the individual entry fields. Changes in the individual fields are automatically combined into the URL. These actions only occur when the focus is moved away from the current field (for instance, when you tab or click elsewhere). Updates are NOT reflected on a character-by-character basis for performance reasons. The following list describes the components of an Ftp-type URL (as expected by FtpFile and FtpFold). ftp://user:pass:acct@node:port/path where: What Is It? ftp:// URL type (only ftp:// supported) user Username for Ftp login (optional) pass Password for Ftp login (optional) acct Account for Ftp login (optional) node Node name or IP address of Ftp server port Port of Ftp server (default = 21) (Specification Not Currently Supported) path Path of directory or file within the Ftp server The default URL type (and the only one currently supported) is ftp://. This is supplied on all empty settings pages. There is no individual field for the URL type. If you know what the type is, you can type a URL. Another important feature to note is that URL's do not support any of "special" characters in any of their components. "Special" characters are those used to delimit the fields of the URL (along with several more). To place such a character in the URL, it must be "escaped" by typing it as a hexadecimal value following a % (percent) character. For instance, to enter an @ sign in a URL component (the password of an anonymous login) you would enter the following: ftp://anonymous:me%40my.node@Ftp.Node/path Alternatively, you can simply enter the information into the individual entry fields. Data entered here does NOT need to be escaped, the FtpFolder will handle this for you when it constructs the URL. For registered users, you can specify a default username, password, and account that will be used if the one specified (or not specified) on a particular URL fails. This is *very* convenient for anonymous ftp sites, since you will never need to specify this information in the FtpFile setup. Also for registered users, if the specified access fails, and the default access fails, you will be prompted for an addition username, password, and account to try. For non-registered users, you MUST specify COMPLETE access information on the FtpFile or FtpFolder prior to attempting a transfer or populate. (Note, however, that an FtpFolder's access information automatically propagates onto all FtpFiles "discovered" within it.) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3. Register ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This page allows entry of your registration name and ID. A registration ID can be obtained by sending $20.00 (US) to: Mr. Lynn W. Deffenbaugh Homeside Software, Inc. P.O. Box 100453 Palm Bay, FL 32910-0453 USA or you can use this convenient Registration Form. You can also use the online registration at Pete Norloff's OS/2 Shareware BBS to receive your registration ID instantly. Dial (703) 385-4325 or telnet to bbs.os2bbs.com. The cost is still $20.00 but you can charge it to your choice of charge card. For more information, check out http://www.os2bbs.com/. You can even get the latest version from the BBS while you're registering. When you have obtained one, the Registration Name and ID must be entered EXACTLY as provided (including case sensitivity). Otherwise, the registration will probably fail leaving you back where you started. The registration information is recorded in OS/2's .INI file and will need to be re-entered if you ever reinstall OS/2 or recreate the .INI files. The benefits of registration are: The Ftp Info page will be at the front of the settings notebook. This doesn't sound like much, but it gets to be a drag when you really get carried away with ftp site browsing. You can specify a default username, password, and/or account for use when the URL-specified access fails (or is not even provided). This is invaluable when considering the number of anonymous ftp sites out there. Simply set up your default access with "anonymous" and your email address and browse sites with a simple URL of ftp://site.name. You will be prompted when the specified and default access information fails. You don't have to specify secret passwords in your (plainly visible) Ftp Info pages. FtpFolders and FtpFiles will prompt you for the information whenever it is needed. You can specify the confirmation levels for file transfer size and folder object population count as well as the time to hold the populate/transfer status dialog open after the last task is completed. While the status dialog is open, the connection is maintained speeding subsequent accesses to the site. Click here for more information about the Default settings available to registered users. You will receive e-mail notification of all new releases of the product. Depending on the functionality extension in the release, you will still be registered (with your current Name and ID) or may qualify for a reduced re-registration fee. You will be able to sleep better at night knowing that you are not using unregistered shareware on your machine for longer than a reasonable trial period. If you find yourself using it, please register it. Remember, registration is only $20.00 (US) to: Mr. Lynn W. Deffenbaugh Homeside Software, Inc. P.O. Box 100453 Palm Bay, FL 32910-0453 USA Note: Ten percent (10%, a full Biblical tithe) of all gross registration receipts will be donated to charities for the poor and homeless. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.4. Thank You ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This page displays your registration name and support contacts. Thank you for registering. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.5. FTP Access Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This dialog prompts for one-time-only access information for the indicated node. It is displayed if the URL-provided access information fails. Information provided to this dialog for access is NOT propagated onto created objects. Your password is safe. The access information initially displayed will be a mix of information specified on the URL with the configured default information replacing any non-specified fields. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.6. Defaults Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This page provides entry of a default set of access information and other configuration parameters. Each of the data items is described below. Default Access This information will be used to attempt access if the URL-provided access information fails. The general idea is to configure a default anonymous userid and password on this page to allow simple URL's of the form ftp://site.name instead of the much longer form with embedded access information. The Acct field is normally not required by ftp servers (especially anonymous sites). Confirmations FtpFile can (optionally) request confirmation of transfers larger than a specified size. This can prove valuable for people on asynchronous SLIP or PPP connections. A setting of 0 disables the confirmation. FtpFolder can (optionally) request confirmation before populating a folder with a large number of objects (more than a specified count). Given that FtpFiles and FtpFolders are actually stored on your hard drive (they are WPFileSystem objects), this can prevent some major messes. Again, a setting of 0 disables the confirmation (and is probably not a good idea unless you only visit known sites with "reasonable" numbers of files per directory). The Detransfer and Depopulate check boxes allow you to turn off the confirmation dialog for the respective actions. Depopulation is fairly safe since it doesn't delete anything that you can't get back quickly. However, accidently detransferring a 5 Mbyte QuickTime movie can hurt! Double-click Action The next two check boxes allow you to configure the double-click action for Ftp File objects. By default, a double-click will transfer the file and open the default view if the contents are all printable text. Using these checkboxes, you can disable the open behavior or have LWPFTP open non-text files as well. Status Window Finally, you can configure how long the populate or transfer status window remains visible after completing the last operation in the queue. For protocols that support persistent connections (like FTP), the connection is held open to the server for the same period of time. This improves responsiveness when multiple transfers are done since a new logon sequence is not required. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.7. Progress Status ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This window displays progress information about the current population or transfer operation as well as visibility to the queue size pending for a single site/operation. The centered text at the bottom shows the pending (including currently active) queue entries for the site/operation. The next text up shows the title of the queue entry that is currently (or was last) active. The next text up (just under the slider) shows the current (or last) activity in the processing of the current (or last) queue entry. The slider shows the percent complete of the current operation. For population directory list transfers, this slider goes from 0 to 50 to 100 since there is no way to know the total size to be received. if an estimated completion time is known, the slider labels will reflect this time. The button labelled "X" will cancel the current queue entry, disconnect, and continue on the next queue entry (if one exists). The button labelled "L" will display the command/status interaction that has occurred for the current transfer or population. The interaction log is *not* dynamic, so you will need to dismiss it and push this button again to see the complete log. The button labelled "?" will display this help text. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.8. Interaction Log ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This window displays the current server interaction log. If an error occurs, it will be the last line of the display. This display is not dynamic and must be re-displayed to reflect the current state of the connection. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.9. (Re)Transfer Binary ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option requests that the file be transferred (again) to the local machine. Opening an FtpFile object that has not yet been transferred has the same effect (the first time). This menu option will transfer the file in binary. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.10. (Re)Transfer Ascii ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option requests that the file be transferred (again) to the local machine. Opening an FtpFile object that has not yet been transferred has the same effect (the first time). This menu option will transfer the file in ascii. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.11. Transfer And Open ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option (the default for double-clicked objects) will request a default transfer of the object with an automatic open of whatever the associated application is upon successful transfer completion. Note that for non-associated objects, the settings notebook will open upon transfer completion. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.12. Remote Delete ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option requests that the file be deleted on the remote FTP server. The local object will also be deleted if the remote delete is successful and it has not been transferred to the local machine. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.13. DeTransfer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option requests that the file be set back as if it had not been transferred. This effectively removes the transfer date and sets the file length to zero. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.14. (Re)Populate ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option requests that the folder be populated (again) with Ftp objects based on a directory listing of the specified URL. Opening an FtpFolder object that has not yet been populated has the same effect (the first time). ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.15. DePopulate ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option requests that the folder be depopulated. In the process, all non-transferred Ftp File objects will be deleted and all child Ftp Folders will be asked to DePopulate themselves as well. When a folder is done DePopulating it will delete itself if it is then empty. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.16. Access Parent ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This menu option will either open the parent Ftp Folder or create and/or open a new Ftp Folder in the parent folder with a URL specifying the parent of the current URL (via a ".." concatenated to the URL). If a new folder is created, a shadow of it is placed in the current folder. This will allow faster access to parent directory(s) of a configured or default URL.