Helpful hints for using FTP

If you want to use FTP from a Unix shell account, try NCFTP, an implementation of FTP that is superior to the standard FTP found on most systems. NCFTP supports up/down arrows for history, caches, and directories, and has many more features.

To use NCFTP, at the Unix prompt, enter:

Replace host with the name of the site to which you wish to connect. To connect to a site that requires a username and password, enter:

For a complete listing of NCFTP's features, at the Unix prompt, enter:

At Indiana University, NCFTP is available on most Unix central systems.

Instead of a command-line FTP program, you can use a desktop client like Transmit for Mac OS X. You can also use most web browsers; Mozilla's Firefox and SeaMonkey are both good options. Desktop clients and browsers are both much easier to use than command-line based FTP programs and allow you to transfer items directly to your hard disk. To access an FTP site via a web browser (and some FTP clients), use a URL such as:

You can also download many files via anonymous FTP from web sites. Obtaining files via the web is usually easier than FTP and rarely involves usernames and passwords.

At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

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