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FTP: How To

The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) file transfer system is a method of transferring files between computers over the Internet, and has been in use for just about as long as the Internet has been in existence. Using FTP to transfer files between your personal computer and other computers on the Internet has become very simple in recent years, due to the wide availability of graphical, user-friendly FTP programs (or 'FTP clients' as they are often referred to).

FTP is versatile as well as extremely useful. You can rename your files, upload, download, and manage most aspects of your Netsouth account via FTP. If you are using a Web authoring software package that handles the uploading of files to the server then the correct configuration may be somewhat different. The following instructions assume that you are dialed up to your Internet Service Provider as you normally are when browsing the Web.

To upload your HTML documents follow these steps:
1. Acquiring FTP Software
Make sure that you have an FTP client, usually supplied by your Internet Service Provider, or obtain one from the IPSwitch FTP Site.
2. Connecting and logging in via FTP
Different graphical FTP programs will vary somewhat in their interfaces and menu layouts, but are generally similar enough that the following instructions will apply. Every FTP client will have a place (a dialog box which automatically appears, or a menu selection which brings up such a box) where you enter information regarding which server on the Internet you want to hook up to. You may have to hit a buttin labeled "Connect" in order to get this box to come up. When you have found this box in your particular client, there are three crucial pieces of information needed to log you in to your account as the account owner. They are:
Host Name = 207.116.44.22(example IP address)
Username = your_Netsouth_userid
Password = your_Netsouth_password
3. Other settings to watch out for:
"Anonymous Login" checkbox - Some FTP programs have a checkbox labeled "Anonymous Login", or something similar. You want to be sure that this box is unchecked. Having this box inadvertantly checked will cause your client to log in as an anonymous user instead of the account owner, even if you have entered your Netsouth userid and password in the appropriate places.

Initial Directories - Sometimes having values in boxes which specify Initial Directories can cause your connection attempt to fail. It is best to leave these boxes blank, or delete any default values which you may find there.

Host Type - Generally "Auto-detect" is a safe value to have as the Host Type, but if it doesn't work use UNIX.

With these settings in place, click the Ok or Connect button to connect Netsouth.

4. Changing to your directory:
Once you are logged in to the Netsouth FTP server you will see a listing of all of the files and directories in your /www/htdocs/your_directory home directory , usually in a list box on the right. Click on the www directory, then click on the htdocs directory. Next click on the your_directory directory listed in the box with the other directories (most FTP clients have 4 lists boxes, these are usually the 2 top ones) and click on Change, or double click the directory.

5. Moving files back and forth Now you should be in your your_directory directory under the Netsouth home directory. The next step is to locate your files on your computer in the left set of list boxes. Select the files you wish to upload in the local machine list boxes on the left portion of your screen. Next, click the Copy, Transfer or arrow button to upload your files.

The procedure for retrieving files from your account is the same as downloading, you just select the source and destinations in different list boxes.