Choosing and Using an FTP Program

Posted by Mgbenka at Friday, January 20, 2012 |

A File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program can basically be described as a tool that allows or helps you to transfer files from your computer to another computer. This is usually common with web servers that are used for hosting websites.
Web pages or files can be created and transferred or uploaded easily with the use of this program. There are free versions as well as premium versions of this program. The choice of which of the versions to use depends on the complexity of the work to be done and sometimes it may also depend on the choice of the user.

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After deciding on which of the versions of the program to use, the next thing will be to download and install it on your computer. Thereafter, it is then configured for use.


There are usually information fields that are to be completed before it can be used effectively. Some of this information includes username, password, and hostname. A typical htp hostname usually looks like this -ftp.hostname.com. The hostname or server name is normally derived from your website address used for your web hosting. When all these things are done properly, the FTP client is then ready for use and files can now be uploaded using it.

Using a FTP program can be very interesting as well easy to use. The FTP interface divides the screen vertically in the middle into two halves. One half usually the left represents or shows files on your own computer while the other half usually the right shows files on the server computer.

Whenever files are created and ready for uploads, all that needs to be done is to highlight the files and click on the designated icon for transfer, it is usually and arrow pointing towards the direction the file is to be moved to. When that is done, the files are transferred in a short time to the server. The same thing also happens when moving files in the opposite direction.

Several other things can also be done with an FTP program besides just moving files from one side to the other. Files can be edited, renamed, viewed and even deleted within the FTP program. Also, new file directories can also be created to arrange files in a tidy manner.

The way files are arranged in folders normally affects the manner in which web pages are named or located on the internet. In order not to place a file in the wrong folder on the server, it is always advised that files should be arranged on the server the same way they are arranged on the computer.