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ftpmon.txt
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1996-10-11
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FTPMon 1.2a for OS/2
DESCRIPTION
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I wrote FTPMon so that I could scan the incoming directory of an
anonymous FTP site and not have to look through a lot of old files
to see what was new. FTPMon maintains a list of all the files in the
incoming directory of a site, but displays only those that you have
not seen previously. Once you see a file in the list, you can download
it, view it, or tag it as boring. Downloaded and boring files are
removed from the list (but not, of course, the FTP site). They don't
appear in the list again. FTPMon will optionally refresh the list at a
user-selectable frequency. The user can also request an immediate refresh.
COPYRIGHT AND DISTRIBUTION
---------------------------------------------------------------------
See the file README.1ST for copyright and distribution information.
HOW TO USE FTPMon
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Install FTPMon according to the directions in README.1ST. Double-
click on the "FTP Monitor" program object to start FTPMon. You may
also enter the path and filename of a site file in the Parameters field
of the settings notebook to start FTPMon with a specific site file.
_First time startup_
The first time you run FTPMon, you will see a Quickstart info... screen
describing the next two dialogs you will see. Click the OK button
to continue. You will then be asked for your e-mail address.
The e-mail address is used to set your initial password for anonymous
logins. You are then asked to create a site file. A site file holds the
information needed to connect to a specific site as well as the list of
files you've already seen. You may create or switch to another site file
by selecting the 'Open/Create' option from the 'File' menu.
After you pick the name and location of the site file to create, you
are prompted to enter the site file parameters which, if you use
your imagination, looks something like this (best when viewed with
monospaced font):
.__________________________________________________________________.
| Site file parameters |
|__________________________________________________________________|
| ._____________________________. |
| Host name: | | |
| +_____________________________+ |
| ._____________________________. |
| Host directory: | | |
| +_____________________________+ |
| ._____________________________. |
| Username: |anonymous | |
| +_____________________________+ |
| ._____________________________. |
| Password: |abbott@hiwaay.net | |
| +_____________________________+ |
| ._____________________________. |
| Download dir: |G:\TMP | |
| +_____________________________+ |
| .___________.__. |
| Update interval: | 1 |/\| hours |
| +___________+\/+ |
| .___________.__. |
| Aging interval: | 30 |/\| days |
| +___________+\/+ |
| |
| Get new list: * when site file loaded |
| O after update interval |
| .________. .________. |
| | OK | | Cancel | |
| +________+ +________+ |
+__________________________________________________________________+
Most of the fields have defaults; all are required. You will need to
enter the name of the FTP site you want to monitor in the Host name field.
For example, "hobbes.nmsu.edu". You also need to enter
the directory on the FTP site that you want to monitor in the Host directory
field. Do not include a leading '/'. For example, "download".
The username and password to log on to the site default to "anonymous"
and your e-mail address, respectively. THE PASSWORD IS NOT ENCRYPTED
IN THE SITE FILE. IT IS NOT PROTECTED IN ANY WAY. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
The download dir defaults to the value of you TMP environment
variable. It should already exist -- FTPMon will not create the download
directory. The update interval specifies the time in hours between automatic
queries for new files to the FTP server. Specify 0 to disable
automatic queries. The Aging interval specifies how long should remember
seeing a file in the FTP directory. Aging the site file on a regular
basis will keep down the size of the site file. You can also specify
whether or not FTPMon should query the FTP site immediately after loading
the site file.
_Using FTPMon_
Once you enter the first time startup information, you will see the
FTPMon main window. It will look something like this (best viewed
with a monospaced font and a good imagination):
.__________________________________________________________________.
|\/| New Files - HOBBES |
|__________________________________________________________________|
|File Global |
|__________________________________________________________________|
|.________________________________________________________________.|
|| |/\||
|| | ||
|| | ||
|| |\/||
|+________________________________________________________________+|
|.________________________________________________________________.|
|| hobbes.nmsu.edu/incoming ||
|+________________________________________________________________+|
| Download Directory |
|.________________________________________________________________.|
|| G:\TMP ||
|+________________________________________________________________+|
|.______________. .______________. .______________.|
|| Download | | View | | Boring! ||
|+______________+ +______________+ +______________+|
|.________________________________________________________________.|
|| Update Now ||
|+________________________________________________________________+|
+__________________________________________________________________+
The FTPMon window consists of the following parts:
(1) A File menu and a Global menu, which are described later.
(2) A list box. The list box will eventually contain a list of files
at an FTP site.
(3) An entry field. The entry field contains the name of the
FTP site you're interested in and the directory you want to
monitor in the format <site>/<directory>.
(4) Another entry field, under the Text "Download Directory". This field
contains the drive and directory on your computer where you want the files
you download to go.
(5) Four pushbuttons: Download, View, Boring!, and Update Now.
To download files in the list to the directory in the Download
Directory entry field, highlight all the files in the list you want to
download and push the Download button. Multiple files may be selected
via ctrl-click and (if the files are sequential) shift-click in the
list box. After downloading a file, it is removed from the list
automatically. You will not see those files in the list again.
To view files text files in the list, highlight the files you
want to view and push the View button.
Both the Download and View buttons will display a progress indicator
that shows how far along you are in terms of the number of files downloaded.
For example, if you selected 5 files and clicked Download, after the
third file is downloaded the progress indicator would show 3/5 = 60%.
The progress indicator window also has a Stop button that will abort
the current and all queued transfers.
To remove files from the list without downloading them, select the
files you want to remove and push the Boring! button. You will
not see those files in the list again.
To update the list by re-scanning the FTP site, push the Update Now
button. FTPMon will then connect to the FTP site, get a list of files
in the desired directory, disconnect from the FTP site, and update the
list. Note that updating the list involves adding files that you have
never seen to the list as well as removing files from the list that
are no longer there. **If a file was removed from the list because
you downloaded it or because you said it was Boring!, it will NOT
reappear.**
The list is updated automatically at the frequency you
specified in the Site file parameters window.
_The File menu_
The File menu has three items:
(1) Open/Create... This option allows you to create or to switch to
another site file. All information for the current file is saved
before opening the new file.
(2) Parameters... This option redisplays the Site file parameters
window and lets you make changes.
(3) Age... Aging a site file means removing old 'downloaded' and
'boring!' entries from it. Aging took a long time in version 1.0
of FTPMon. It is quick now.
_The Global menu_
The Global menu has two items:
(1) Email (email address)... This option allows you to change what FTPMon
uses for your e-mail address. The current setting for your e-mail address
is displayed.
(2) Viewer... This option allows you to set the program started to
View files. The default is 'E', the OS/2 system editor. If you specify
'*', the file will be viewed with the default open action for a file of
that type. In other words, if you have PMJPEG associated with '*.GIF',
viewing a GIF file will start PMJPEG.
(3) Cleanup TMP on exit... FTPMon stores the Viewed files in the user's
TMP directory. If this option is enabled, FTPMon will attempt to delete
all the Viewed file for this session when it exits. If you want to
save some Viewed files, be sure to move them from the TMP directory
before exiting FTPMon. Possible reasons FTPMon might be unable
to delete a viewed file include (1) the user might have moved the
file to save it, and (2) the user might still be viewing the file.
KNOWN BUGS/LIMITATIONS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FTPMon has these limitations:
(1) Filenames are case sensitive. If a file appears on the site twice,
once uppercase and once lowercase, the file will appear in the list
twice.
(2) Only a file's name is used when desiding if a file has been in
the list before. If a file is uploaded to the FTP site, made Boring!,
removed from the FTP site, and another file with the same name is
uploaded to the FTP site, it will not appear in the list. Aging the
site file should help lessen this problem.
(3) When the viewer is E.EXE, it opens in the background.
POSSIBLE ENHANCEMENTS FOR FUTURE VERSIONS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a list of enhancements that may appear in future
versions of FTPMon. If you have any other ideas for enhancements,
please e-mail them to abbott@hiwaay.net.
(1) Rather than deleting a file from the list after the user
downloads the file or selects "Boring!", leave the file in the
list but change the color.
(2) Add "View Group" option to download all selected files, concatenate
them together, and view them as a single file.
(3) Add "Download all" option to dowload all files in the list.
(4) Add a hands-off mode where FTPMon automatically downloads
any new files.
(5) Display/sort based on file size, file date, etc.
Number 5 is probably the most requested. It is unfortunately also the most
difficult by far. For those interested, the problem involves the format
of the data returned by FTP servers. I am currently requesting directory
listings in LS format, which includes the filename only. The DIR format,
which includes the other information, is unfortunately not the same with
all servers.