Press the Option Key at any time to enter the On Line Help mode: your cursor becomes a question mark ('?') while in the active part of the window. Click on any item, and keep the mouse button pressed, to display the help message associated to the subject. Try it now!
FTPack can be used interactively or under the control of any application respecting the Communications ToolBox (CTB) programming standards.
Using FTPack is a two step process: you must first configure all the connection parameters for a specific server, which will be recorded under a session name of your choice, then activate the transfer functions and select the session of your choice.
In order to configure a session:
- create a new session name or select an existing one in the session list
- configure the communication parameters for the selected session
- click OK to record the configuration or Cancel to exit without changes
In order to activate a session :
- launch any application supporting the CTB File Transfers
- select "Send…" or "Receive…" in the File Menu.
When you actually initiate a transfer session, you will only have access to the session list; you must then select a session name and FTPack will attempt to establish a connection using the corresponding configuration.
What happens next depends on the way you decide to use FTPack and the options you set for the current session; you can use a fully mouse-activated graphic Client interface, or select the Command Line interface, and enter all commands on your keyboard.
The active session is the one that you select in the Session list.
The list displays the names of the existing sessions. Use the buttons to create, delete, duplicate or rename an entry in the list.
Selecting an entry causes all parameters to be set to the values which you defined for that session, so that they may be reviewed or changed.
If you do not select a session in the session list, all changes will affect the default session.
You can switch back and forth between the configuration functions at will, in order to set or review all the parameters of the active session.
Click the OK button to record your configuration parameters or Cancel to exit without changes.
Note:
The session names, and all related parameters, are stored in the FTPack Prefs file, in the System folder.
In some cases, this file may have to be rebuilt from scratch. This is likely to happen if you had an older version of FTPack. In such a case, you should drop the older FTPack Prefs file into the trash before activating FTPack. You will then have to create a new session list.
When FTPack does not find a Prefs file, it will create an empty one, using the default values set at installation; make sure that these defaults correspond to realistic values in order to avoid possible problems.
This section allows you to specify the Internet Process address of the server you wish to connect to, which is entered/displayed in the Address/Name field.
The list displays the names of the machines that you, or your Network Administrator, recorded previously in the Hosts File. Click on any entry to select a server which will be displayed in the Address/Name field.
Use the Get Address button to convert a name into an IP-Address, using one of two methods:
- The Hosts file: this 'TEXT' file located in your System Folder contains a list of names and addresses. The Name-To-Address functions will first try to find the selected name in the Hosts file.
- The Domain Name Resolver: DNR functions will try to find the name in the Domain Name Server, if there is any active on the network.
If the Name-To-Address conversion fails, you must enter the full IP-Address manually.
In other words:
- If the name you entered is not found in the "Hosts" file, FTPack will ask the Domain Name Server to return an IP-Address matching the selected name
- If the search is still unsuccessful, you must supply the IP-Address manually.
If the list is empty, it means you do not have a valid Hosts file.
Note for Network Administrators:
The IP-Address list should be recorded in the Hosts file in the System Folder. A sample Hosts File is delivered with each copy of FTPack and can be edited with any word-processor (it must be saved in TEXT format).
Refer to the MacTCP documentation for the exact syntax of commands and don’t forget to specify the Domain Name Server (if any) in the MacTCP setup dialog.
Host Login will let you define the user name and password which enable you to gain admittance to a server. These parameters will be encrypted for safety, if you choose to record them. If not, then FTPack will display this dialog at connection time to request this information, and it will not be recorded.
Preferences is the general title of a group of controls dealing with important aspects of the user interface of FTPack.
Show Client Interface: check this option to use the fully mouse-driven graphic interface. If this item is not checked the interface is reduced to a simple command line where all commands must be entered manually.
Show Files List: check this option to obtain an alphabetic display of the contents of the server at any level. Use the mouse to select items in the list for review, for transfer or to go to another directory.
This list can display up to 400 file/directory names; if there are more, FTPack will display an alert and refuse to display the list, which would become difficult to manage.
If you know that the number of files on the server is larger than 400, (or if you know exactly what file you want to transfer), un-check this option to inhibit the display of the list. Of course, if the list is not displayed, all commands must be entered using the Command Line Interface.
When the Show File List option is checked, it activates two radio-buttons:
Names Only: displays a list composed of names only
Full List : displays all the information received from the server, which may include size, creation date, access privileges and more server dependent data
When the Full List option is selected, it activates a pop-up menu :
Format : allows you to have standard display whatever the FTP Server may be. The list of Formats can be modified or extended through ResEdit by your Network Administrator.
Log File: check this option to request a running log of all transfers to be kept in the file FTPackLog.TXT.
When the Log File option is checked, it activates two radio-buttons:
Summary : the Log file will record the file transfers only.
Full Log: the Log file will record all the commands sent by FTPack and all the replies from the server.
Line Endings: offers different ways of terminating lines.
Transmit LF after CR, when checked, forces transmission of the Line-Feed character after the Return at the end of a line of data sent.
Skip received LF when checked will discard any Line-Feed characters received after a Return at the end of a line of data received.
Defaults:group has three pop up menus:
Transfer Mode: sets the default transfer mode (valid for send or receive). This default can be changed at run-time
To send a file: (if the file you want to send already exists on the target directory of the server)
Store : replaces the old file with the new one
Store Unique : changes the new file name (Ex: Any_File becomes Any_File-1)
Append : writes the contents of the transmitted file at the end of the existing file
If received file exists :
Cancel : aborts the transfer
Prompt : displays a standard system alert and lets you decide what to do
Rename : opens a standard file dialog to let you rename the file
Append : writes the contents of the received file at the end of the existing one
Overwrite : deletes the existing file without warning
The Storage pop up menu can be modified to contain the most frequently used creator and file type signatures; received Text or Binary files will be stored with the selected signatures, so that the corresponding application can be launched by simply double-clicking on the file name.
FTPack allows you to write a Script, or sequence of FTP commands, which can be executed just after you have logged onto the server. These commands are the same than the ones which can be entered through the Command dialog of the Client Interface. Some of them are recognized by FTPack and then translated into real FTP commands : for instance, "get" is changed into "RETR" and "put" into "STOR". If a command is not recognized, it is directly sent to the server : this can be the case for standard commands such as "mkd" or "quit" but also for non-standard or seldom implemented commands.
Use Script : allows you to disable temporarily your Script.
No Alerts : when checked, the Script execution will not be interrupted by alerts in case of error (remember : errors can be reported in the Log File).
FTPack recognizes the following commands :
ls : get the list of filenames
dir : get the full list
cd : change directory
cdup : change to parent directory
get : receive a file from the server
put : send a file to the server
getDir : receive a folder from the server
putDir : send a folder to the server
view : display the beginning of a file
rename : rename a file or a directory
del : delete a file
rmd : remove a directory
text : turn into Text mode
binary : turn into Binary mode
macbin : turn into MacBinary mode
help : display a Help message
waitTill hh:mm:ss : delay execution until the specified hour
All these commands have the usual syntax : for instance, you can write "dir *.c", "rename oldName newName" or "get remoteName localName". A filename which contains a space should always be enclosed between quotes (i.e. "Read Me First.TXT").
The "waitTill" command allows you to make automatic transfers. It can be interrupted by typing Command-Dot, or by closing the Client Interface window (but this also closes the FTP session).
Lines beginning with '--' are not executed and can be used to comment a Script.
If the script ends with the "quit" command, it closes the session, otherwise the Client Interface window stays on the screen.
Note : Some servers close the session if it remains idle for longer than 5 minutes. If this occurs while executing the "waitTill" command, the session will be automatically re-opened by FTPack to continue the execution of the Script at the prescribed time.
Important : Scripts are currently limited to 1000 characters.
MacTCP Buffer: sets the size of the transmit/receive buffer.
Blocks size: sets the size of an individual block of data. The Block size will affect the amount of data displayed with the View function.
Time-outs:
Connections: sets the number of seconds to wait for a response from the server.
Two more items are necessary because the FTP protocol requires two types of connections:
Control Stream: used to send commands and receive replies
Data Stream: used to send or receive actual file data
The two items contain the number of seconds to wait before declaring that communications have failed in one of these streams.
Ports:
Repeat TYPE Command: check this to send a TYPE command before each Binary or MacBinary transfer. Some particular servers may require it.
Use PORT Command: check this option to send a PORT command before opening each Data Connection. Some particular servers may require it.
Remote Control Port: the FTP standard is 21, but you may choose another value (up to 65535). Approximately three hundred Port numbers have been assigned by the Internet Community, for specific purposes (see the corresponding RFC's for details).
Note:
All these options affect the transfer speed of FTPack; other factors can affect it as well, such as line quality, network architecture and traffic load.
In order to obtain the best performances, you may have to try different alternatives.
You should also remember that the optimal setting for the Cache Memory in the Control Panel is 128K.
Names and Full List If the standard format proposed as default by the server does not produce the expected results, enter here the commands required to produce a Names Only list, and a Full List presented in alphabetical order.
You may enter here one or more commands that will be automatically sent to the server at specific moments of the FTP session, depending on the item you use.
If you want to enter several commands (separated by return characters), you should prepare a string (of no more than 256 characters in length), with any word processing application, and use Copy-Paste to enter it in the corresponding item. You can type individual commands directly.
Do not press the RETURN key unless you are through configuring the session parameters.
The extensions feature may be used to trigger actions that may be required for the correct execution of the file transfer operations: for instance, it is necessary to issue the SITE UNIX command in order to force the CUX implementation of FTP to send only one line of information per file, as it would normally send several, which would totally disrupt the presentation of files as a scrolling list.
Under IBM's MVS, FTP can be used to submit jobs to the Job Scheduler for execution. In order to do that, the default filetype must be changed with the following command:
SITE FILETYPE=JES
Files consisting of JCL statements and data, sent to the server with the command PUT filename.filetype will be then directed to the JES internal reader and wait for an initiator to start the job. While in the JES mode, the DIR or LS commands will let you determine whether the job is waiting, running or finished.
You can restore the default filetype at any time by entering the command:
The window title displays the name of the active directory, at any time.
The default transfer mode can be set by clicking on the boxes at the bottom of the window.
The actual window is divided in two by a border line:
- the upper section is where the files and directories will be displayed in a scrolling list
-the lower section will be used to display all commands and messages exchanged with the server. You can drag this border up or down, or even all the way down to hide the commands and messages section.
The icons represent the commands that the user may trigger using mouse clicks:
Send initiates a file transfer by opening a standard file dialog to let you select the file(s) to transfer to the target directory.
Receive: if at least one file is selected, initiates a reception transfer by opening a standard file dialog to let you specify where the file(s) should be written to on your disk.
View: to view a file (or group of files), select the file(s) and click on this icon. You can view the file contents, change the font, adjust tab sizes or change them by spaces, and copy the contents to the clipboard.
Rename: select a file, then click on Rename to display a dialog where you can enter the new name and click OK or hit Return.
Upside: click on this icon to go "Up" to the parent directory. The list (if active) will be re-drawn to present the contents of the new directory.
Change Dir: click on this icon to display a dialog where you can enter the full name of any directory on the server, to accelerate navigation in the remote filing system. Click on the Home icon to return to the directory where you logged in at the beginning of the session.
Make Dir: click on this icon to be prompted for the name of the directory to create. The new directory will be a child of the active directory.
Command: click on this icon to open the Command Line Interface. You can enter any FTP command in this interface. Type Help for details on the implemented commands.
It is possible to use the Command Line Interface at any time, even while using the full graphic environment, for all the FTP commands not featured as icons .
Delete: select a file or group of files, then click on this icon to be prompted for confirmation before deleting a file.
Mouse actions:
- Shift-Click on file names for Multi-selection. Selected files can be transferred, viewed, renamed or deleted.
- Double-click on an entry in the list triggers a reception file transfer (if the entry is a file…) or opens the directory (if the entry is a directory…).
- Option-Double-Click: (equivalent to clicking on the View icon) displays the contents of the selected file(s), which can be copied to the clipboard. The maximum amount of data which can be displayed depends on the Block Size in the "Options" Configuration Dialog.
Power Keys:
Every icon in the FTPack window has a keyboard equivalent:
Send Cmd-T (Transmit)
Receive Cmd-R (Receive)
View Cmd-D (Display)
Rename Cmd-N (Name)
Upside Cmd-UpArrow
ChangeDir Cmd-G (Go)
MakeDir Cmd-M (Make)
Command Cmd-K (Kommand)
Delete Delete
Cmd-A: select all files in the list.
Cmd-C: copy selected filenames to clipboard.
Cmd-L: toggle between Full List and Names Only
Cmd-W: close session
Cmd-Dot (.): abort transfer or current operation.
UpArrow or DownArrow: move selection up or down.
Return or Enter: equivalent to a Double-Click (enter directory, receive file or, with Option Key, display file).
Any Other key: Alphabetical Search in the list of files (also works in the list of sessions).
When the Shift Key is used while clicking on the Rename or Delete icons, a Rename dialog box lets you modify the name of the selected files. This is useful with systems such as VMS wich require a version number as additionnal information.
When the Option Key is used while clicking on the Delete icon, or pressing the Delete Key, the selected files are deleted without asking for confirmation.
This chapter is of interest for Developers and Network Administrators only.
- You can install Conversion Tables in FTPack using ResEdit. The resource type is 'CVRT'; the resource name must be the Session name (or the first word of the Session name) followed by a space and "Send Table" or "Receive Table". Both tables must be present and they must be 256 bytes long (an exemple already exists in resource). When Conversion Tables are installed for a session, the name of the Text button at the bottom of the FTP window turns into "Text" (into quotes). These tables are not used for Binary or MacBinary transfers.
- You can modify the Formats list using ResEdit. The resource type is 'LOOK'; the resource name must be the name of the Format. It is highly recommended that you take a look at existing resources before editing new ones. The meaning of each parameter is :
Marker : the character which is displayed by FTPack at the first position to indicate that the item is a folder instead of a file. The default Marker is ‘◊’ (Opt-Shift-V).
Folder Mark Pos : position of the Folder Mark String in every line of the list returned by the Server (-1 means anywhere in the line).
Folder Mark String : string which indicates that the item is a folder.
Read Pos : position of the start of the field in a line of the Server’s list.
Length : length of the field.
Write Pos : position of the start of the field in a line of the FTPack’s list.
Header : string written on top of the FTPack’s list.
Important :
- (Write Pos + Length) must be less than 80 !!!
- FTPack can only display 77 characters (characters at positions 78, 79 and 80 are truncated).
- Developpers : your applications can take complete control over the FTP Session. Contact us for details.
