Copyright: Copyright ©1997 Save-It Software Pty Ltd


Connecting to an FTP server

The easiest way to connect to an FTP server is to select Quick Connect. Then either paste or type in the URL in the edit field or select a URL from the Address Book. eg  FTP://ftp.Save-It.com/Pub/SetupBC.exe (or just  ftp.Save-It.com/Pub/SetupBC.exe) they are both valid. The program will then traverse to the correct directory and select the Internet file ready for downloading.

If you need to log on to an FTP server using a Username and Password you need to select Normal Connect. Enter the URL and then enter your Username and Password. Leave the Anonymous button un-checked.

When you are finished with the connection click the Disconnect button or select Disconnect from the File menu.

You can modify the number of connection retries and the time between retries from the View/Options menu.


Contents

The ESSENTIAL paragraph of hints

Setup Options

Connecting to an FTP server

Downloading files

How to find files on the Internet

Frequently asked questions


Downloading files

To download files simply tick any files you wish downloaded and drag anyone of the ticked files to your local directory of choice. If you only wish to download a single file simply highlight the file and drag it across.

You can also do the above by right mouse clicking on the remote file view and selecting Download from the popup menu.

If you download a file into a directory where a file with the same name already exists you will be given three choices. 1. You may attempt to download the rest of the file without restarting from the beginning. 2. You can truncate the file and download from the beginning of the file. or 3. You can cancel the download.

You can also Upload file in the same way in you have permission to on the remote server.


Frequently asked questions

Q. When I try to continue downloading at a later time the program says "Unable to restart downloading...downloading from the beginning of the file" ?

A. The FTP server may not support a command needed to restart downloading from a certain file position. For some unknown reason Microsoft FTP server's version (1-3) do not support this command.

Q. I try to upload a file to my web site but it says permission denied?

A. Make sure you are not logging on anonymously to the FTP server. Use normal connect with your Username and Password and the Anonymous button un-checked.

Q. I can't connect to any sites?

A. It may be that you are trying to connect through a proxy server to the Internet which is not supported in this version. It could also be that your DNS settings are not correct or set globally for all programs to access.

Q. Sometimes my computer seems to freeze up when running ByteCatcher?

A. Some commands in ByteCatcher are a little blocking. Which means that ByteCatcher waits for a responce from the server and seems to just sit there. It has a long time out period. This version is less blocking than release one and a later version will not be blocking at all. (As soon as possible).


How to find files on the Internet

The Address Book is a good place to start to find files to download.

You can also use your normal web browser to track down and find the files. Once you have found a link to the file your after you can simply paste the link into the ByteCatcher Connect dialog. (Believe me it's worth spending a couple of seconds pasting a link into ByteCatcher to enjoy the piece of mind that it brings).

A way to find the file your after is to use the AltaVista Advanced search engine at http://www.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=aq

Type in a query like " 'File your after' and FTP" or " 'product name' and Download" this should allow you to find the file your after. Then just copy the link from the web page and paste it into the ByteCatcher connect dialog.

If you find a link to a file your after and it is a HTTP:// link you can't get the file from that address with ByteCatcher. But you may be able to simply find an FTP:// connection to the file on a mirror site etc. Or just try connecting to an FTP site with the same address. eg. the FTP site for www.Netscape.com is ftp.Netscape.com.

If you regularly download large files from an site that does use FTP you can always E-mail them and ask them nicely to put the files on an FTP server as well.


Setup Options

Sound Effects: Switch the beep and digitised sound on or off.

Continue Download when disconnected: If you are disconnected from the Internet ByteCatcher can reconnect for you and after a delay time it will try to log on and continue downloading the files you selected. You can adjust the delay time to match how long it takes you to connect to your Internet Service Provider. Windows NT users must make sure the Remote Access settings are checked to allow redial on link failure. This option is found in the Options/Redial Settings menu.

Connect Settings: The port number is the Internet port the FTP server is set up to listen on. 21 is the standard port number. You can adjust the number of times ByteCatcher will attempt to connect, the delay between connection attempts and how long ByteCatcher will wait while trying to connect.

Force Computer to Shut Down after Download: If you click Yes here Windows will be shut down after all files selected have been downloaded. If you are disconnected before all files are downloaded it will reconnect and finish downloading, then shut down the computer.


The ESSENTIAL paragraph of hints

Try RIGHT MOUSE clicking on any view to bring up a popup menu of choices.

An easy way to find the file your after is with a web browser. When you find a link to the file your after in a web page, right mouse click on the link and copy it to the clipboard. Then select Quick Connect on the ByteCatcher screen. Right mouse click and paste in the link. You can then connect to the FTP server and the Internet file will be highlighted waiting for you to drag it to your chosen local directory.

When your downloading a large file minimize ByteCatcher and have fun browsing the web while it downloads in the background. When you've had enough simply hit Stop on ByteCatcher. Next time your on the web hit Go on ByteCatcher to continue downloading where you left off.

If your uploading your web pages, connect with Normal Connect entering your User Name and Password. Tick all your web page files, then drag them across to your Internet site.

Use the View/Options menu to modify the setup. It is important to allow enough seconds for Windows to reconnect before ByteCatcher tries to resume downloading a file after a disconnection has occured.

Windows NT users will need to make sure the Remote Access settings are checked to allow redial on link failure. This option is found in the Options/Redial Settings menu.

If you want to perform an action of more than one file. Tick all the files you want selected.

You can get ByteCatcher to shut down the computer after downloading is finished by selecting Yes in the ByteCatcher View/Options menu.