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FTP
Common
Questions
What
is FTP?
What programs do you recommend?
How do I configure my FTP software to
access your servers?
Can I FTP from my browser?
Can I FTP through the IP address?
Is my FTP password the same as my
client password?
Can I change my password?
Can anonymous users ftp (upload or
download) from my site?
Is FTP secure?
When I’m using FTP, can I edit on the
server?
I want my clients to be able to
download files from my web site. Do I have to have anonymous
FTP access?
Common
Problems
I
tried a couple of times to log in unsuccessfully (cap locks
on, wrong password, wrong username, etc.) and now nothing I
do seems to work. What’s wrong?
I can see my website and I can ping my
website, but I cannot FTP to my website. What’s wrong?
I just uploaded my files but they
aren’t appearing when I type in my domain? Do I need to
reload?
I can’t see my home page. I
can just see your pale blue welcome screen. What’s
wrong?
I lost my connection while I was
uploading my site. Can I begin where I left off?
My site is so confusing - I'm not sure
what's new and what's old. Can you just delete it so I
can reload it?
What
is FTP?
FTP
stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is a special
protocol used to upload and download files. It is
different from the regular Internet for a number of reasons.
Most of the rest of the Internet is based on HTTP – or
HyperText Transfer Protocol. FTP is a different
protocol altogether. It is also connected through a
different port on the computers than HTTP, which is why
sometimes you can access your website and not be able to
FTP. (answer below)
What
programs do you recommend?
There are number of excellent programs that will do
the trick. Some have better features than
others. Here are a few of our favorites. (We use
FTP Pro because it is so easy to set up and transfer files.)
-
WS-FTP
- for Windows – This excellent program is an Internet
standard. It is very easy to use.
-
FTP
Voyager - A little more complex than WS-FTP, but
also excellent. More features.
-
BulletProof
FTP - Excellent shareware program.
-
Internet
Neighborhood - for Windows
-
Fetch
- for Macintosh
-
Internet
Explorer - Yes, you can use your browser to FTP into
your site. See below for details.
Also
note: Most high-end text editors have built-in FTP
programs. ScriptWorx
is a free HTML and Script editor that also allows FTP.
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How
do I configure my FTP software to access your servers?
The actual name of the fields varies from program to program, but generally,
if your domain is www.mydomain.com and your password is
abcd-1234, then
The
username can vary if you have one of those +15 character domain names.
Make sure to check if you have any questions. The e-mail we send out
when the domain is signed up will offer this information.
Can
I FTP from my browser?
Yes,
you can use Internet Explorer on Windows as an FTP client. In the address window,
type in ftp://ftp.yourdomain.com/your_username.
The directory structure for your site will appear in the browser. Right
now it is simply read only. Right click in the window and click on
"Login As." When the dialogue box appears, key in your
username and password. The screen will appear to flicker. To make
uploading and downloading easier, you can click on "Folders" located
on Internet Explorer's toolbar.
Can
I FTP through the IP address?
Yes, you can put the IP address of the server your site is on instead of
the ftp.yourdomain.com in the host field. This can be
useful if your domain hasn't moved yet and you want to put the site up ASAP.
However, it is important to remember that you cannot see the website through
the IP address. If you need to be able to few the site for fine tuning
or are using FrontPage, please contact support and we can make alternate
arrangments.
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Is
my FTP password the same as my client password?
Not necessarily, especially if you have more than one website. Check the
e-mail that Coastline originally sent you and see of the Client Password and
the FTP passwords listed separately.
Can
I change my password?
Yes. Go into the control
panel, log in with your Client ID and password. You can change the FTP
password from there. You have to know the old password, however, to do
that. If you have forgotten the FTP password, contact support@coastline.com.
Wait 15 minutes before trying. The servers have a 15 minute refresh time
coupled with a 3-strikes security policy. It can be frustrating to
change your password and get locked out for 30 minutes at the same time.
To be safe, wait.
Can
anonymous users ftp (upload or download) from my site?
No. As a security precaution, we do not allow anonymous ftp access to
your site.
Is
FTP secure?
That depends on the FTP software you are using. FTP is not itself
encrypted but some software will encrypt it. WS FTP Pro is secure.
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When
I’m using FTP, can I edit on the server?
Generally
not, but some FTP software allows it, such as FTPEditor
or ftpNetDrive.
I
tried a couple of times to log in unsuccessfully (cap locks on,
wrong password, wrong username, etc.) and now nothing I do seems to work.
What’s wrong?
After
three unsuccessful login attempts, our servers automatically disable your FTP
account for 30 minutes. This is a security precaution to limit hacking
attempts. It can be frustrating for designers, however.
I
can see my website and I can ping my website, but I cannot FTP to my website.
What’s wrong?
You
are probably trying to go through a Proxy Server. Contact the
administrator for your network or ISP to see if they have any restrictions on
Port 21.
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I
just uploaded my files but they aren’t appearing when I type in my domain?
Do I need to reload?
Not
necessarily. IIS is our web server and it operates out of cache, which
means it keeps all the websites in its memory. It refreshes that memory
every fifteen minutes. If you have waited 15 minutes and you still can't
see the changes, access the site in FTP and see if the new files and folders
are there.
I
can’t see my home page. I can just see your pale blue welcome screen.
What’s wrong?
Double check to make sure you named your home page default.htm, default.asp,
index.htm or index.asp. These files will be recognized by our server as
the ‘home’ page for the site. If didn’t name your home page one of
these names, then they will not appear.
I
lost my connection while I was uploading my site. Can I begin where I
left off?
It depends on the FTP software you
are using. Most free versions of popular FTP software don’t have this
feature but the shareware version does. If you are trying to FTP through
a dialup connection, it is often worth the $35 to purchase the full version
and get this extra protection.
My
site is so confusing - I'm not sure what's new and what's old.
Can you just delete it so I can reload it?
Coastline charges a one-time fee of $25 to delete a folder and
reinstall the basic site set up including FrontPage
extensions, default.htm page and the sample form.htm.
I
want my
clients to be able to download files from my website. Do
I have to have anonymous FTP access?
Downloading from a website is actually a function of the
browser. If the browser doesn't recognize the file
extension (.htm, .asp, .jpg, .gif) and there isn't a
corresponding program on your computer, the browser will
automatically pop up a dialogue box requesting the download
location. If you are going to download, make sure the
file is zipped. The browser will not recognize a Word
file (.doc file extension) but if you have Word (or
WordPerfect) on your computer IT will open the
file.
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