This document contains late breaking news of the latest features added to the Vicomsoft FTP Client which do not appear in the manual. At the end of the document, the version history of the product is also listed.
For the latest news about updaters, shows that Vicomsoft are attending, new versions of our software, new products, press news and lots more, take a regular look at our news page at:
http://www.vicomsoft.com/newsflash.html
Contents:
• Vicomsoft's Technical Support Area on the Web
• Upgrading
• Important Changes
• Fixes in 3.1.4
• Version History
Vicomsoft's Technical Support Area on the Web
Vicomsoft's Technical Support team have an area on the Vicom web site which contains:
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Tutorials
• Vicom Software Updaters
• Application Notes and Version Histories
• Contacting Technical Support
This area is constantly updated to address common questions and problems our users experience.
The main page for the Support area can be found at:
Please report any problems you may encounter to our Technical Support team at:
http://www.vicomsoft.com/support/support.form.html OR
support@vicomsoft.com
Upgrading
If you are a registered user of version 3.0 or older, you can register and upgrade your 3.1.4 version to Vicomsoft FTP Client Pro by visiting https://secure.vicomsoft.com/upgrade.dept.html
If you are using the Shareware version of version 3.0 or older, simply download the whole 3.1.4 version.
If you are a registered 3.0.1 through 3.1.3 user please use the updater which will be available from our site.
If you are using the Shareware version of 3.0.1 through 3.1.4, either use the updater which will be available from our site or simply download the whole 3.1.4 version.
Important Changes for 3.0 (or older), 3.0.1 and 3.0.2 Users
Before doing anything, taking a backup copy of your current Vicomsoft FTP Client application folder is recommended.
Version 3.1.x has an extended Preferences file. If an older version is run after using version 3.1.x all preference settings will revert to defaults. If this may be a problem for you, make a copy of the file which is located in the Preferences folder inside your System folder.
Version 3.1.x no longer uses the ServiceBook file. Instead, individual BookMark files are used. Your existing ServiceBook entries can be converted into BookMark files by using the Importer application in the application folder. Drag your existing ServiceBook file onto the Importer application within the 3.1.4 application folder and the BookMarks folder will be filled with all of your ServiceBook entries as BookMark files. Please note that ServiceBook entry FTP proxy settings must be reinstated as these are not converted.
In version 3.1.x some AppleScript commands have been changed or removed, mainly due to the removal of the ServiceBook. Although every effort has been made to ensure backwards compatability, please review your AppleScripts.
If you have configured Host Specific Settings, for example default upload permissions, you will need to reconfigure these settings in the new version as these settings are stored in the Enabler file for each server type and some of the Enabler files from previous versions are not compatible with this version.
If you used the 'Desktop Icon' facility, you will find that this has been removed in version 3.1.4. The functionality provided by the 'Desktop Icon' facility has been replaced by the new FTP Droplets. FTP Droplets you be double clicked to open a connection to a specific server and view a specific directory or items can be dragged and dropped onto them to upload to a specific server and directory. Additionally, FTP Droplets can actually reside on the Desktop (or anywhere else you may prefer), where the old 'Desktop Icon' could not.
Important Change for 3.1.3 Users
The ServiceBook Converter application has changed its name to Importer. This is because it now imports bookmarks from other applications such as Fetch, Anarchie, Interarchy, NetFinder and Transmit in addition to importing a ServiceBook from an older version of Vicomsoft FTP Client.
If you used the 'Desktop Icon' facility, you will find that this has been removed in version 3.1.4. The functionality provided by the 'Desktop Icon' facility has been replaced by the new FTP Droplets. FTP Droplets can be double clicked to open a connection to a specific server and view a specific directory or items can be dragged and dropped onto them to upload to a specific server and directory. Additionally, FTP Droplets can actually reside on the Desktop (or anywhere else you may prefer), where the old 'Desktop Icon' could not.
Fixes in 3.1.4
1. Fixed a bug which may have caused a crash for some users when closing a connection.
2. When connecting to a Tandem host, the correct listing format was not being specified resulting in garbled directory listings.
3. Host directory listings could have appeared blank in very rare circumstances.
4. Synchronize fixes:-
a) Mirror synchronize facility could have got confused as to whether an item was a file or directory resulting in an aborted synchronize. In rare circumstances this may have caused a crash.
b) Synchronize dates would only do so if a file was actually transferred.
c) Mac alias files and Unix-type 'link' files are now ignored.
5. Alerts and input dialogs were not MacOS 9 like.
6. SOCKS
a) Inability to establish a connection to a server has been fixed. The server would sent a message along the lines of 'USER and PASS needed'.
b) Active connections may not have worked in certain circumstances.
7. If the 'Use Full Name for downloaded file names' option was on when connected to an AS400 server, it would not have been possible to upload a member of a file which had previously been downloaded.
8. In certain circumstances, the 'Automatically add suffixes' option would either add a suffix with two full points or add a suffix with a comma and a full point.
9. If a new BookMark was saved into a subdirectory within the BookMarks folder, the BookMark would not appear in the BookMarks menu until the app was restarted.
New Features in 3.1.4
1. Introducing... FTP Droplets - The quickest, easiest, and coolest way to upload files and folders.
An FTP Droplet can have files and/or folders dropped onto it in the Finder™ to upload those items using a predefined BookMark and destination directory.
An FTP Droplet can also be configured to have a default action when double clicked in the Finder™...
a) Standard - when double-clicked, a connection using the BookMark which was used to create the Droplet is opened.
b) Auto-Upload - when double-clicked, automatically uploads the contents of a user-defined folder on your Mac using a user-defined BookMark and destination directory.
c) Auto-Upload & Archive - an addition to Auto-Upload. When the upload of the user-defined Mac folder contents is complete, the contents are moved to a date and time stamped folder within a user-defined 'archive' folder on your Mac.
To create an FTP Droplet, connect with the required BookMark, navigate to the upload directory you require, select 'File', 'Save As', 'FTP Droplet' (also available via contextual menus) and save an FTP Droplet with a name and location of your choice. Then, when you want to upload files and/or folders to the location you specified just drag and drop them onto the FTP Droplet or double-click it. It's that simple! And because FTP Droplets use the actual BookMark to connect with that was used to create them, the original BookMark can be reconfigured without having to recreate the FTP Droplets, but if needed, FTP Droplets can be edited at any time with the built-in editor.
2. Improved and extended 'Edit In BBEdit' functionality:-
a) BBEdit's built-in ODBEditor suite is now used for the 'Edit In BBEdit' functionality for faster on-server edits and better integration.
b) An option has been added to create an empty file on the server, with a name of your choice, and immediately edit that file in BBEdit.
c) Options to upload changed files 'On Save', 'On Close' or 'Never' has been added.
3. Improved speed of Background transfers.
4. A new appearance of all connection windows is available for users who prefer a more Finder-like view. The new view has only a single pane (containing the Host directory listing) and none of the utility buttons or menus. To activate the alternate view, select the 'More Finder-like session windows' option in the 'Connections' tab of the Preferences window.
5. Files and/or folders can now be moved from one directory to another by dragging and dropping between windows. Previously this was only possible within the same window.
6. ServiceBook Converter application has changed its name to Importer as the application will now allow you to import BookMarks from Fetch, Anarchie/Interarchy, NetFinder and Transmit. Drag and drop the BookMarks to import onto the Importer application and the imported BookMarks will be placed inside a folder named "Imported BookMarks" within your BookMarks folder.
7. A pre-installed list of BookMarks to public FTP servers is now included. These are stored within a folder named "Example BookMarks" within your BookMarks folder.
8. Although the BookMarks menu returned in 3.1.3, the command key shortcuts (CMD 0-9) did not. They have now been reinstated.
9. Aliases to BookMark files can now be located in the BookMarks folder, allowing the actual BookMark file to reside anywhere.
10. Resume dowload improvements.
a) Multiple items can now be selected to be resume downloaded at the same time.
b) An option to automatically resume downloads of files when possible has been added.
11. The Size column in the Mac and Host directory lists will now display the exact sizes of items (in bytes) when the column is resized to be wide enough, like the Finder does.
12. Added a 'Make Default Location' contextual menu item for both the Mac and Host views which allows you to easily specify which directory should be displayed (either Mac or Host) when a BookMark is used to connect.
13. Added a 'Host Specific Settings' contextual menu item for the Host views.
14. Added a 'View Directory In New Window' contextual menu item for the Host views, which will open a new window and display the contents of the selected directory.
15. When transferring a selection which contains folders, the transfer window now shows size information and a progress bar for each of the items inside folders rather than just the intermediate barber pole. The window now shows estimated remaining time of transfer event when in the reduced state and the window has been widened so that very long names of items being transferred will not be trucated.
16. Items in the 'Recent Folders' item of the contextual Mac and Host menus are now remembered between connections and launches.
17. Support for the SOCKS extension 4A has been included to enable DNS resolution via the SOCKS server.
Version History
For the full version history of the Vicomsoft FTP Client, please see the Vicomsoft FTP Client Version History document on our web site at:
