File
Transfer Protocol
(
FTP)
allows people using the Internet to send (and retrieve) files from
an FTP server using an FTP client, such as
WS_FTP
for Windows or
Fetch
for the Mac OS. Every EarthLink Web Hosting account comes complete
with its own FTP server.
Using an FTP client you can upload and download files from
any directory on your Web site.
While your Web site is the best place for you to put your
Web pages, if you have other types of files you wish to make available,
such as literature in Portable Document Format (
PDF),
you may find that your FTP site gives you more options. But don't
forget that FTP supports uploading. You can create an area, often
a directory named "
incoming," where
visitors to your FTP site can upload files to share with you or
your other guests.
Depending on your EarthLink Web Hosting site's purpose,
your FTP area may receive a great deal of use or none at all. Either
way, it is important to understand its potential applications and
how they can benefit you.
Since the administrative username and password give one the
ability to change or remove all files on your EarthLink Server,
you should give this information to as few people as possible. Aside
from administrative access, outside users may access your FTP site
using either the public anonymous account or a Dropbox account you
have created.
As the
administrator
of your account, you have the ability to navigate through all the
directories in your Web Hosting site server space: including the
directories where you Web files are stored, as well as your
/pub directory, where your
public FTP files are stored. To
connect to your site via FTP as the administrator of your account,
use the account Web Hosting User ID and password included on your
Welcome
Letter. The username will be in the form
www<xxxxx>%<domain>.com
or
wfp<xxxxx>%<domain>.com
(where <xxxxx> is
your unique five-digit customer ID).
Generally, when a user connects to your FTP area, he or she
will do so
anonymously.
That is, visitors will use the word "anonymous" as
the username, and will send their email address as the password.
If you wish to provide anonymous access to your FTP site, you will
need to contact EarthLink Web Hosting Support at 1-888-932-1997.
When visitors are logged in anonymously, they are restricted
to the
/pub directory.
/pub stands for public. This is where you place files that
you want anyone to be able to access. Anonymous users can't
erase anything, create or delete directories, or upload files.
There is one directory within the
/pub directory that is for visitors to upload files. This is
the
/pub/incoming directory.
One feature of this directory is that even though anonymous
users can upload files to it, they can't see any files
in this directory. This is to prevent visitors from using your FTP
area as their own private server. Only you, as the administrator,
can see the files that visitors upload.
Note: Please note that FTP downloads are included in your
monthly bandwidth usage.
You
can place files on your FTP site using a standard FTP client such
as WS_FTP or Fetch.
To place files on your FTP site:
FTP to
ftp.yourecompany.com
using
your Web Hosting User ID and password.
Change the directory to
/pub.
Upload your files to that directory.
For specific information on using your FTP client, consult
the documentation that came with it or search for information at
EarthLink's Help Desk:
http://webhelp.mindspring.com
You can also place files on your FTP site using EarthLink's
File Manager. To place files on your site, take the following steps:
To place files on your FTP site
using the
File
Manager:
Access the EarthLink File Manager using the Hosting
Control Panel.
Click on the
/pub directory.
In the File Uploading section, click on
Browse.
Using the open file dialog, locate the file on your
drive that you wish to upload, and click on
Open.
Click on the
Upload button.
If you want to tell someone how to reach your FTP site, you
can give the address (URL):
ftp://ftp.yourcompany.com/
You
can use EarthLink's File Manager to make a directory available
for users to FTP files to your site anonymously.
To make an incoming directory:
Access EarthLink's File Manager using the
Hosting Control Panel.
Click on the
/pub folder to open it.
Click the
Edit link next to the incoming directory.
Change permissions to one of the following:
If you want visitors to have the
ability to upload a file, but not see a directory listing, check
the following boxes:
For
User, check both
Read and
Write.
For
Group, check
Write.
For
Global, check
Write.
Note: Note: When using these permissions, visitors will not
be able to overwrite any files.
To
allow visitors to view a listing of the files that have been uploaded,
as well as upload their own, use the following settings:
For
User, check both
Read, Write, and
Execute.
For
Group check both
Read, Write, and
Execute.
For
Global check both
Read, Write, and
Execute.
Click on the
Change button to save your changes.
You can also use an FTP client to make a directory available
for users to anonymously FTP files to your site.
To make a directory for anonymous
uploads:
Connect to your site with your Web Hosting User ID
and password.
Change to the
/pub directory.
Change the permissions of the incoming directory to
one of the following:
-
If you want visitors
to have the ability to upload a file but not see a directory listing
of what files have previously been uploaded (they also won't
be able to overwrite any files), issue the site command:
chmod
733 incoming
-
To allow visitors to view a listing of the files
that have been uploaded as well as upload their own, issue the
command:
chmod 777 incoming
This will allow a visitor to overwrite a previously uploaded
file with the same name as theirs.
You can retrieve these files by logging in with your Web Hosting User
ID and downloading the file.
When someone wants to connect to your site, they will need
to take the following steps:
To connect to your site
Connect to
ftp.yourcompany.com
using
the username anonymous and their email address as the password.
They will automatically be sent to the
/pub directory. Anonymous users cannot see any directory on
your FTP site outside of the
/pub directory.
Change directory to
incoming, or whichever directory within
/pubthey want to access.
Upload or download the files.
Depending
on how many people download your files and how many files you want
to make available on the Web, you may wish to place your files for
download on an FTP directory and link to them from your Web site. This
is generally considered a more elegant alternative to putting the
files directly on your Web site and having the Web server send them.
Not all FTP files need to be linked from a Web page, however.
So, if you have a substantial directory of files that are constantly
changing, then you may wish to just ask viewers to open your FTP
site and not bother with updating your Web links constantly. On
the other hand, if you want to give the user detailed information
about a file (installation requirements, etc.) then linking the
file from a Web page is ideal.
You can also create links to directories rather than links
to files. This can be a quick way of showing an index of the files
that are available for downloading.
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