FTP – Step by Step

RELAX, you are not going to break anything, nor are you going to mess anything up. Just make sure to read thoroughly. It takes about two times, common sense, and you’ll be a pro. First, you want to download Cute FTP at their web site.

This program is Shareware, which means you can download and use it, but you are expected to purchase it if you continue to use it after 30 days. You can purchase it from their web site if you choose to buy it. If you want to use another FTP program, that is okay, but the step by step instructions are meant for this FTP client.

1. Install

I assume you know how to install, and I am assuming you have WinZip ( also Shareware) This allows you to open large files that have been compressed to shrink download time. Cute FTP is a “zipped” file, so you will need to “un-zip” it with WinZip.

Go to CuteFTP’s site, enter your email address, and download the program. When it is finished, right click on the zipped file, and choose “EXTRACT to FOLDER…” This will put Cute FTP in your folder with the zipped file. Once you go through the WinZip questions, click I AGREE, etc. Go to the new folder and install. Restart your computer.

2. Start it up

Start Cute FTP by going to your Start button. You will see this screen.

You want to create a new folder and call it what you want to, we called it Eclipse. Then, inside that folder you want to set up host information. Click ADD-SITE

Give it a name…like I did above. Find out what the domain (or IP number) you will be FTP’ing to. You can ask you ISP if you are not sure. You should be able to just put your domain name in the field. Enter your name and password. CuteFTP will save this information for me, so from now on I can just double click on “Eclipse E-zine” to connect. If you want to edit the information, you simply click on the name “Eclipse E-zine” and click on “Edit Site”.

3. Browser

If everything is correct…you will be placed inside your web folder. On the left side is a list of the files on my hard drive. The right side is what is displayed in my folder on the server. Make sure you are not uploading over something that you can’t replace. It is always a good idea to rename the file on the server to something like “~index.htm” or “index2.htm” in case you really screw up. I have been doing this for five years, and about a month ago, I accidentally uploaded a client’s index page over my own index page for MY web site. I was in a hotel in California at the time, and didn’t have all of my files on the laptop, but luckily, I had a older version on the server of my index page. It was a bit outdated, but better than a file that was completely wrong! So BACKUP! You can organize your files how you like, just be consistent, or you will have a messy folder.

4. Upload

Once you have navigated to the appropriate folder on your computer(you do this by using the “up a directory” icon to navigate just as you would with your Windows browser. You simply click once on the file you want to upload and drag to the other side of the window. It will prompt you with a “Upload File” and you click YES/NO. If you are overwriting something, you will get a prompt, and you can click what you want to do from that window(cancel, proceed, etc) If you overwrite multiple files, you simply click in the “all” box, so you don’t have to keep getting that screen. Eventually, you can turn that feature off, but you probably should keep that on, just in case of an accidental mistake.

5. Troubleshooting

You can find documentation at Cute FTP’s web site or Ask Us, and we will answer anything we can, and add any troubleshooting answers to this page.

Author: Gina Hutchings
Copyright Lunar Media Inc
Chicago Web Design