1) What is
FTP
The File Transfer
Protocol (FTP) is a set of rules that computers use to transfer files
from one computer to the next. It is by far the most common way for
people to get their files from their local computer (the one they
are working on) transferred to a remote computer (in this case our
the YVOD Web Server). In order to communicate between computers, just
like people, you need a common language. FTP is this common language.
2) What applications
do I need to manipulate it?
Depending on your
level of sophistication, you can use everything from a command line
interface to a point and click Graphical User Interface (GUI) application.
ALL FTP applications (called clients) must have the ability
to login to an FTP account and navigate around the directories. In
a pinch, you can even use your browser you are viewing this file with
as an ftp client. (Yes, you can transfer files directly through the
browser!)
3) Whis anonymous
FTP?
YVOD runs an anonymous
FTP server for the benefit of our clients and co-workers. This allows
for anyone, anywhere in the world to log into our servers WITHOUT
a password and exchange files. As you may have guessed... we severely
limit the amount of work you can do like this because, as the name
says, it is anonymous and we have no way to track who does what while
they are logged in this way.
YVOD runs secure
FTP for our clients. Secure FTP differs from anonymous in one substantial
way, you must login with a valid user account and password. Because
we know who has logged in and what they do while they are logged on,
we offer a lot more options when you use secure FTP.
4) Which FTP
is right for you?
Without question,
as a client of YVOD, you should ALWAYS use secure FTP. Everything
you can do with anonymous FTP you can do with secure FTP. The
reverse is NOT true. The ONLY time you might need to use anonymous
FTP is if you are away from your normal computer and forgot your password
or username and still would like to transfer files for later use.
You can store the files on the anonymous FTP server and later retrieve
them when you return to your normal workstation. Please do not make
a habit of this as we severely limit the amount of file transfers
on our anonymous servers. Please use our secure FTP servers
whenever possible.
5) When can
we start?
Right now! =)
Launch your FTP
client (I am using Fetch on the Macintosh). Create a "New"
connection ( 
-N).
Your FTP host is secure.yvod.com. (This may be different for you
so check with us if this does not work.) Put in your username and
password and hit "OK". (I left the password blank but you
can not.)
You should now
be connected to the webserver. You will now be presented with a directory
(file listing) that looks like this:
This
is a view of all the directories in your website area. Here are two
simple rules that are good to follow:
A)
Place all your html pages in a single html directory
B) Place all your media in a single media directory
Within
each of those directories you can place as many sub-directories as
you like. We find that it is much easier to administer your site if
you keep the html separate from the media (pictures, Quicktime movies,
sound files, etc.)
6) Now what?!?!
Quite simply,
you just drag and drop files where you want them. Or to be slightly
more technical... you "put" a file from your local machine
onto the remote machine. Or you can "get" a file from the
remote machine to your local machine. It is really as simple as that.
Any file you place
in your html directory will show up on your website. The file index.html
is the default file for your website. If I placed a file in the html
directory for yvod.com called ftp1.html it would be viewable at http://www.yvod.com/ftp1.html
(That just happens to be the file you are looking at now by the way
;)
7) A few rules
for UNIX
A) Do not use
spaces of "funny" characters in your filenames. We suggest
you use the letters a-z and the underscore _ only. Spaces are dangerous!
Stay Away!
B) Filenames are
case sensitive. We suggest you only use lowercase.
C) Filenames can
be as long as you wish. Use the underscore to separate words. Longer
filenames are better if they help clarify your site.
Please contact
us if you experience any problems.
