File Transfer Protocol

Introduction

File Transfer Protocol, more commonly known as FTP, is the Internet standard for transferring files from one computer to another. FTP is not only the name of the protocol used but is also the method used to transfer files. This documentation will explain how to create a web directory and use the file transfer program.

Creating a Web Directory

If you do not have a web account established you need to create one using the Power Term Telnet program. This involves logging into the Academic server (tiger) and following the steps below to create your web directory.

Select Academic in the Connect dialog box and then click on the Connect button.
Enter your username (E-mail username) and password (default setting is the last six digits of your SSN).
At the $ prompt, type WEBPAGE and then press the Enter key.
At the next prompt, create directory only type the letter Y for yes.

Depending on your status, your web folder will be added under one of the main directories.

NY:[WEB.STUDENT.USERNAME]
NY:[WEB.FACULTY.USERNAME]
NY:[WEB.STAFF.USERNAME]

After your directory has been created you will need to modify your login.com file so that the web pages you publish are transferred to your web directory and not your Academic root directory.

To modify the file:

Log back into the Academic server using the Telent program. Repeating the first two steps used to create your directory. Remember you may have been prompted in the prior log in to reset your password.
At the $ prompt, enter: SETUP_LOGIN and then press the Enter key.
At the prompt Enter Product> type WEBFTP and then press the Enter key.
Type LO to log out.

PowerTerm FTP

Power Term FTP is the campus program used to copy and transfer web pages from your computer (the client) to the Academic web server (remote). It is also used to copy and transfer files from the remote server to your local computer.

The key words to remember are Local and Remote, which are detailed under the heading Navigating Remote and Local Files.

Connecting to the Server

Start the PowerTerm FTP program.
Click on the menus Settings | Options, to open the FTP Preferences dialog box. Under the label General remove the checkmark for the preference Keep Version No of VMS File Names. Click on the button OK. Removing the checkmark transfers only the file name and extension, which assists in making hypertext markup documents recognizable to html editors.
Enter academic.scranton.edu for the Host Name.
Enter your User Name (E-mail name) and Password (default UIS pin).
Under the label Directory enter the location of where your web folder is located on your hard drive in the box titled Local . For example: C:/Wml
In the box labeled Remote type the web folder's location on the server. For example: NY:[WEB.DEPARTMENT.WML], NY:[WEB.ORGANIZATION.AJCU], or NY:[WEB.STAFF.USERNAME].
Click on the button Connect and PowerTerm FTP will open the navigation window displayed below.

Navigating Remote and Local Files

The keywords Remote and Local refer to the Client/Server relationship between your computer (client) and the remote server.

Located on the right is the Remote Directory, which displays all web folders and files residing on the web server.
Located on the left is the Local Directory, which displays all web folders and files residing in the web folder created on your computer.

There are only three-color settings; Importance Level, Attendance Status, and Entry Ownership used in Corporate Time. The selections are located under the menu Tools | Options | Agenda | Colors. Each settings color scheme is displayed in the legend and only one setting is allowed as a preference.

File Transfer Mode

Before transferring any files between your computer and the server you need to specify the transfer mode. To transfer data you must choose either the ASCII or Binary transfer mode.

ASCII files are comprised of alphanumeric characters (letters, numbers, punctuation marks and other symbols). All text and html files should be transferred as ASCII files.
Binary files are consist of compiled data (zeros and ones). They include numerous extensions such as graphics images (gif, bmp, jpeg, png), movies (mov, mpg), and multimedia files (flash, swf).

How to download files from the server:

Locate the file, graphic, or web page in the Remote Directory window.
Determine the proper transfer format and then select it.
Click on the transfer arrow pointing to the Local Directory on your computer's hard drive.
To upload files to the server reverse the steps.

Note: You must switch between ASCII or Binary mode to transfer a file that uses the opposite mode's extension.

Table 1 File Transfer Extensions

Extension	Type/Subtype	Desciption	ASCII/BINARY
.ai	application/postscript	PostScript Viewer	A
.avi	video/avi	AVI video file	B
.bmp	image/x-MS-bmp	Microsoft Bitmap file	B
.doc	application/msword	Microsoft Word document	B
.gif	image/gif	Graphic in gif format	B
.htm	text/htm	HTML document without the L	A
.html	text/html	HTML document	A
.jpg, .jpeg	image/jpeg	Graphic in JPEG format	B
.pdf	application/pdf	Portable Document Format (Acrobat file)	B
.pl	application/x-perl	Perl source file	A
.rtx	application/richtext	Rich Text Format (Microsoft Word)	A
.rtf	application/rtf	Rich Text Format (Microsoft Word)	A
.tif, .tiif	image/tiff	TIFF image (requires an external viewer)	B
.txt	text/plain	ASCII text file	A
.zip	application.x-zip-compressed	Compressed file (decompressed using WinZip or PKUnZip)	B

Things to Remember

In the PowerTerm FTP program you can select View to reveal the code used to design the web page, which is turn can be copied and then pasted into a HTML editor (FrontPage).
To delete a web page on the server first select it and then click on Delete in the PowerTerm FTP program.
If you are uploading a personal web page to the server, the first page must be named default.html in order for the server to recognize it as the start file.
The server will display the most current file uploaded and assign a number at the end of the file. The latest three versions will remain on the server displaying only the last transfer. The former are overwritten as new files are uploaded.

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