Webwork
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File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol
Though Web sites are developed off-line, eventually the files wind up on a public server somewhere so they can be accessed by a wide audience.
The File Transfer Protocol was created to provide a standardized way of moving files from one computer to another and it is usually the method used to publish a Web site's files to a publicly accessible computer. An FTP client, such as FileZilla, is a front-end tool for using the File Transfer Protocol.
Though there are many FTP clients available, FileZilla is discussed here because:
- It's free.
- It's available for both Mac and Windows computers.
To use FileZilla, launch it and log in using your hosting credentials:
- Host: somewhere.com
- Username: yourusername
- Password: yourpassword
You should wind up with a window that looks like the one below.
- At the top, where it says Response and Command, is a log of the communications with the remote machine.
- Below that on the left is a two-part window that lists the contents of the computer your are using, the Local site.
- On the right is another two-part window that lists the contents of the server, the Remote site.
- You navigate through the hierarchies by clicking the listed items.
- You can add items to the remote server either by dragging them from your computer desktop to the remote site window or by dragging them from the left/local window to the right/remote window.
