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File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (screen 11 of 20)
You've been told about a great website that has sound and movies on it. You go there, only to be told that you need a plug-in(1) to view the site. You don't have it. End of story?
No way! The smart surfer would simply link to the site where the plug-in can be obtained (usually this is indicated on any screen where it is needed) and download it. The plug-in will then allow your browser application to view the website in all its glory.
You need an upgrade of some software? Or you want a copy of a policy statement on the Arts from the Government? Or some clip art that you need to incorporate into a brochure?
No problem. They can all be downloaded from the Internet, thanks to file transfer.
Eventually you may want to put your own documents on the Internet for others to download - a report which may be of interest to other cultural organisations, guidelines for submissions, application forms, tender documents and so on. The Web is a fast and efficient transmission system for documents you want to make accessible to the public.
File Transfer Protocol: FTP
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) enables you to transfer files from one computer to another. It's one of the more commonly used elements of the Internet.
When you are browsing the Web and discover a file you want to download, the transfer process is not much more complicated than clicking on a button or hypertext link on the screen. This starts the download process, and you can choose not to know any more about it than that.
File format and compatibility issues
There are some file format and compatibility issues you should bear in mind when downloading files.
Usually any downloaded file is in a compressed form which needs to be decompressed before it can be used. Some files expand automatically after downloading, while others require special decompressing software which must be on your computer. Often this is supplied with your browser application. If you don't have it, you can download compression/decompression shareware for 
Macintosh(2) and for Windows solutions do a search on compression utilities at the Tucows website(3).
Most files require some type of encoding before they can be transmitted over the Internet. Names like UUEncode and BinHex(4) are commonly encountered here. Often encoding and decoding are done automatically.
You should remember that different types of computers are used on the Internet. Therefore, before you download a file you should try to make sure that it is compatible with the hardware and software on your computer. If you are downloading a Macintosh Microsoft Word document onto your PC, for example, you will probably need Word for Windows to open the file.
Portable Document Format (PDF)
One way around this is to use a multi-platform file format. Portable Document Format (PDF) format is one solution. It is becoming simpler to convert documents from Word, Pagemaker and HTML into a PDF format. The documents can then be FTP-ed to your server and downloaded by users. To read a PDF document, users need a PDF document reader, known as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is available free from the Adobe website(5).
Really all you have done in FTPing or downloading a file in this manner is copy it from a disk on a server to your computer.
Remember when downloading files that this carries the risk of infecting your computer with a virus. Make sure you have good anti-viral software.
FTPing: software
In most cases file transfer of this type can occur in only one direction. It is not possible for you to upload a file to the FTP site. But that's OK, since the greatest use you will have for FTP is to obtain a file for yourself.
However, if you create a website or Web pages you will need to FTP them to the server you are using for the website. And if you want to load documents onto your website for others to download you will also need to FTP them to your host server.
When you FTP a file yourself you need to use FTP software - some common ones for Macintosh are Interarchy(6) and FETCH(7). There are others suitable for PCs like cuteFTP.
The most common uses you may have for FTP is to obtain software you need, to download files that contain information you need or tutorials such as this, and downloading such things as clip art.
Incidentally, FTP can be used as a verb, a noun, or an adjective. There are FTP sites. You can FTP a file. And the procedure for sending the file across the Internet, also called a protocol, is called FTP.
FTP software resources
Specialist software for FTP is more powerful in some ways than a Web browser application for file transfers. However, this software is also more complicated to use than a browser application.
In any case, the chances are that the files you need are accessible by your browser application, and can be downloaded satisfactorily by it.
But if you do want to get some specialist FTP software, there are sites on the Net that provide free versions, such as those at Jumbo(8), Tucows(9), Shareware.com(10) and Download.com(11).
Ask yourself this...
- What would FTP do for my organisation?
- What services could I provide using FTP?
- Why would my audience/clients want to use FTP?
- Would I FTP files to, or from, other cultural websites?
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References
- Guide 7 screen 4 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g7/s4.htm
- Compression software for Macintosh http://www.haase-online.de/dirk/maczip/
- Compression software for Windows http://www.tucows.com/
- BinHex information http://www.natural-innovations.com/boo/binhex.html
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html - Interarchy http://www.interarchyt.com/
- FETCH http://fetchsoftworks.com
- Jumbo http://www.jumbo.com/
- Tucows http://www.tucows.com/
- Shareware.com http://shareware.cnet.com/
- Download.com http://download.com.com/2001-20-0.html?legacy=cnet
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