Having Trouble? Try this first:

• Hold down "Ctrl" and hit "F5" to refresh.
• Check the link for the login/password (ftp://username:password@baylor.reprographix.com).
• Instead of your web browser, try a real FTP client like FileZilla.
• Try our web-interface at http://www.reprographix.com/pages/ftp/.
• Call our office to speak with Steve Dowling at (317) 637-3377.

Further explanation for each of these is posted below.

Preface

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a way of moving files from one computer to another, and has been around even longer than webpages. It supports authentication (logins and passwords), anonymous access, file-resuming and more. More than you would ever want to know about FTP can be found on Wikipedia.

Why use FTP instead of something else?

• Because it is good at what it does. Moving lots of files quickly from point A to point B
• You can protect content and limit access
• It is fairly universal in that you can open FTP sites in just about any web browser
• Its good for downloading/uploading thousands of files where clicking each one would be a pain

• Web Browsers as FTP clients

  Almost all issues I've come across with FTP come from using a web browser as an FTP client. However, in most cases it works just fine, and every computer everywhere already has a web browser installed, so it is very convenient. Internet Explorer versions 6, 7 and even Firefox all deal with FTP differently.

  The best thing to do in the long-run is get a good FTP program (if you don't already have one). FileZilla is the best free one around, and I heartily recommend it. Most problems with FTP disappear when using a good FTP client. If you can't install software on your work computer, get the zip file version and put it on your desktop or USB stick.

• FTP links and authentication

  Because FTP sites can often be accessed with a web browser, people will often send web links to access FTP. The structure of such a link can be reversed into a login/password for use with your FTP program or vice versa.

  ftp://username:password@baylor.reprographix.com
  If the FTP site allows anonymous access, it may look more like this:
  ftp://example.com

  Sometimes you are presented with a little pop-up box asking for your username/password to the FTP. If you don't know what they are, look at the link you were given for the clues mentioned above.

• List vs Folder view

  Internet Explorer 6 by default would open an FTP link in a new folder window, with icons and normal directory browsing just like any other folder on your hard drive. This was changed in Explorer 7 (the one with tabs) to a bare list of links as a webpage. However, you can get to the old style folder view by clicking (Page->Open FTP Site in Windows Explorer). Firefox and most other web browsers only display FTP sites as a list of bare links.

• Caching (showing the old version if information)

  As a way of speeding up the showing of webpages, your browsers, your networks, and servers all generally do some kind of caching. Caching just means that the first time you load up a page, your browser remembers what that page looked like. Then, the next time you came back to the exact same page the browser asks the server "has your page updated?". FTP doesn't respond to this, so sometimes an older version of the page is shown, or even content from a different FTP site on the same host. To force a refresh, hold down the "Ctrl" button and hit "F5" at the top of your keyboard.

• Trouble Connecting

  FTP originally only worked by connecting to an open virtual port on the computer connecting, and then connecting to a second port to push the data over. These days, most computers and networks limit how the outside world connects to them with firewalls. To get around that FTP now supports passive connections. This means instead of the old way, your computer tells the server you want to connect and asks what port it can connect to, and the FTP server opens that up for you to send data over. Some corporate firewalls that limit outgoing traffic may block connecting even in this way. See your IT staff if you suspect this. By default Internet Explorer is set to work this way, but if it has changed you may have trouble. Check (Tools->Internet Options->Advanced->Use Passive FTP).

• Uploading

  In the webpage view of Internet Explorer, and also in Firefox and most other browsers, you cannot upload files to a FTP. This is by design, web browsers are not intended to be a complete replacement for an FTP client. You can get around this in Internet Explorer by opening the ftp as a folder. For Firefox users there is a 3rd party plugin available (FireFTP).

  Also, not all FTP's allow you to upload, even if they allow you to download. Others allow you to upload, but don't allow download or renaming. It all depends on how the site was configured, and what access restrictions are in place for the username/password you are given. If you are using a browser, it may not tell you whether access is allowed or why access was denied.

• Speed

  FTP is quite fast when actually transferring data, but starting up, logging in, and transferring lots of small files has a lot of overhead. This is even worse when using Internet Explorer Folder views to transfer files. IE transfers large groups of files over 3 times slower than an FTP client. Also, if you try to copy/paste or drag off large groups of files, if the connection is interrupted, you have start all over again to make sure you got all the files. Most FTP clients and servers allow picking up where you left off if that happens.

• Alternate Connection

  If nothing above is working for you, or you just want to browse around, and don't mind downloading things one-at-a-time, you can access our FTP server through a web interface here: http://www.reprographix.com/pages/ftp

• Repro Graphics Support

  If you are still having trouble; please call our office at (317) 637-3377 or (800) 718-0035 and ask to speak with Steve Dowling. I am glad to help in any way I can.