hands on 2002

Go Fetch! FTP on the Mac

by Phillip Towndrow

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the official set of rules for transferring files on a network like the Internet. There are two main reasons for using FTP.

First, computer users want to put their files on another machine so that others can access them. Most commonly, this happens on the World Wide Web where site developers share HTML and image files that are located on remote servers. Second, specially formatted files are often stored on remote machines for retrieval at a later date.

There are two sides in the file transfer process: the ‘client’ and the ‘server.’ Each side ‘talks’ to the other once the computers are connected.

Fetch 4.0.1 is an easy-to-use Macintosh OS X.1 compatible program that implements the client’s part of FTP in putting files on, and getting files from, a server.

Getting Connected
Find and launch Fetch by double-clicking on its application icon.
Begin the connection process by choosing ‘New Connection’ from the ‘File’ menu.
Once the ‘New Connection’ dialog box appears ,

three pieces of information need to be entered into the fields to get your Mac hooked up:
(1) the name of the Host computer,
(2) the name of your account on the Host (User ID) and
(3) the password for your account.

Click the ‘OK’ button when you are done. If used repeatedly, this information can be added to ‘Shortcuts’ by using the pull-down menu in the bottom left-hand corner of the box. There is no need to check the ‘Add to Keychain’ option.


Figure 1: New connection

Once you are connected, all the main Fetch commands are executed from a single-window interface.

Figure 2: Fetch interface

Putting Files
Get ready to transfer files from your Mac to a server by locating them in the folders on your Hard Disk first; this will save valuable connection time later. You should also know in advance the location of the destination folders on the Host computer.
When you are ready, click the ‘Put Files’ button in the Fetch window and you will be prompted to select the file(s) and their formats to send. Tips: when transferring multiple files, hold down the ‘Shift’ key to select more than one file at a time. As for file format, choose ‘Automatic’ from the pop-up menu and let Fetch pick an appropriate name and format. Click OK when you are done.

Check the status of your transfers in the status panel on the right-hand side of the Fetch window. If you have made a mistake, click the ‘Stop’ button at any time. Finally, when putting HTML files and images on the Web, you should check them in a browser after transfer to make sure that they are in the correct folders on the Host computer.

Getting Files
Transferring files from a server to your Mac is simple once you know where they are. The contents of the active folder on the Host are shown in the main Fetch window by file Name, Size and Date created.
There are two ways to get files: either select what you want and click on the ‘Get’ button; this action will download the files to your Mac’s Desktop. Or OS 7.5 users and above can drag-and-drop selections to the Desktop or any other folder on the Mac. This saves time in renaming files and specifying the download location.

Fetch 4.0.1 is shareware. The single-user license fee is US$25 and can be purchased either within the trial version of the program or at http://fetchsoftworks.com.

Phillip Towndrow is from the Mac Users Group of Singapore. Its website is at www.macuser.org.sg