An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client will allow you to transfer files from one computer or server to another with the click of a button. All you need is the computer's name and a user name and password for yourself. After entering this information into the client you will be able to transfer files to and from your computer from other computers.
This is useful in Web page design if you have composed a Web page on your computer and want to upload it to your hosting provider online. It is also useful if you want to edit one of your existing pages. All you have to do is download the page from the hosting provider's server to your computer, edit the file and re-upload it.
What is it and how will it help me?
You may or may not have heard the term, FTP, but it is something that can come in handy when creating a Web site. FTP is an acronym that stands for File Transfer Protocol. An FTP client is a program that allows you to easily move files from one computer to another.
In the case of creating a Web site, this means that if you create the pages for your site on your computer, either using a text editor or some other Web page editor, then you will need to move it to the server where your site will be hosted. FTP is the main way to do this.
How Does It Work
Once you have your FTP client (Crystal FTP Pro) uploaded to your computer and you have an account set up with a home page hosting provider that offers FTP then you are ready to get started.
Open your FTP client and go into the site manager (Favorites). You will see several different boxes that you will need to fill out. The first one is the "Profile Name". This is simply the name you are going to give to this particular site. You can call it "My Home Page" if you want to.
The next box is the "Hostname". This is the name of the server that your home page is being hosted on. You can get this from your hosting provider. It will look something like this: ftp.hostname.com .
The other important things you will need to access your site are your FTP "Username" and "Password". These are the same as the user name and password that you gave when you signed up for the hosting service that you are trying to access.
You may want to click on the button that saves your password so you don't have to type it every time, unless you have a security reason for not doing this. You may also want to change the initial local folder to automatically go to the place on your computer where you are keeping your home page files.
Once you have all your settings in place click on the button that says "Connect" and you will see it connect to the other server. You will know this is complete when files show up on the right side of the screen.
For simplicities sake I recommend that you set up the folders on your hosting service exactly the same as you set them up on your computer so you will always remember to send your files to the correct folders.
Using FTP
Now that you are connected the hard part is behind you and we can start the fun stuff. Let's transfer some files!
The left side of the screen are the files on your computer. Find the file that you want to transfer by double clicking on the folders until you get to your file. The right side of the screen are the files on the hosting server. Go to the folder you want to transfer your files to also by double clicking.
Now you can either double click on the file you are transferring or you can single click on it and then click on the arrow that points to the right side of the screen. Either way you will now have a file on your hosting server. To move a file from the hosting server to your computer do the same thing except click on the arrow that points to the left side of the screen.
That's not all you can do with your files using the FTP client. You can also view, rename, delete and move your files around. If you need to create a new folder for your files you can do that too by clicking on "New Folder".
You've now mastered the skill of transferring files. All you have left to do is go to your hosting provider, log in and look at your Web site. You may need to make a few adjustments to your links but you now have a working Web site of your very own.
source: about.com
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How to add a site to the favorites manager
1. Open the favorites manager
Launch Crystal FTP Pro and press the 'favorites' button on the main toolbar.
2. Add new site to the favorites manager
The favorites manager should now be visible and active on your screen.
Press the 'new site' button to add a new site to the favorites manager.
After pressing the button, a popup dialog asks for a nickname for the site. You can freely decide the nickname for the site. It could for example be MY Homepage
3. Fill in the basic site details
Now it's time to fill in the basic site details. Such as the site address, login information and more.
Hostname
Set this value to the address for the FTP site. This could for example be ftp.netscape.com
Port
Set this value to the port address for the FTP site. If you don't know this vale, set it to 21 (which is the default value)
Anonymous
If you want to connect to the FTP site as an anonymous user, check this checkbox and skip the 'Username' and 'Password' entries below.
Username (don't fill if you connect anonymously)
Enter your FTP login username here. If you don't know your login username, you should ask the FTP site responsible person about it.
Password (don't fill if you connect anonymously)
Enter your FTP login password here. If you don't know your login password, you should ask the FTP site responsible person about it.
4. Ready to connect
Even though there are more options in the favorites manager, the details you have now entered about the FTP site should be enough to connect.
!!! Before connecting, remember to press the 'save changes' button to save the site details you have just entered.
Now press the 'Connect' button to connect to the newly created FTP site account.
5. Easy reconnecting
The next time you want to connect to the FTP site, simply do the following:
1. Open the favorites manager.
2. Select the FTP site in the site overview.
3. Press connect.
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Connection history settings
Max retries in history list
Specify the maximum number of site entries that should be kept in the connection history. When the limit has been reached, the oldest site entries will be deleted automatically.
Save last used FTP folder in history
If checked, Crystal FTP Pro will automatically go to the last used FTP folder when reconnecting to a site in the hitsory list.
