jackieho.net

I notice there is still lots of people do not understand what is FTP and how to put file into server.

Let me do a simple explanation on it before starting the tutorial of using Filezilla.

FTP, is File Transfer Protocol is short, means a tunnel to transfer files within the local PC to the server.
To push or pull files from the server, you will required a FTP client software (filezilla is one of it), to connect to your server with permission (username and password).
Filezilla, is one of the opensource freeware which widely used.

Before we start, please download the software here.

Download: Filezilla Client

Getting Connected

The first thing we need to do is to setup the program to connect to your hosting server. You required the following information to do so:-

1. Server Address (Host)
2. Username
3. Password

All these information can be retrieve from your hosting control panel or webhoster.

When you open the program for the first time you need to enter in all of your connection information to connect to the website. This can be done in one of two ways. If you have many FTP sites, you will want to keep them organized by using the ‘Site Manager’. If you’re only managing one site, use the ‘Quickconnect’.

Site Manager

1. Click File.
2. Select the first option; ‘Site Manager’.
3. A window will open called ‘Site Manager’. On the left you see a yellow folder that says ‘My FTP Sites’ and on the right you see ‘Site Details’. Make sure ‘My FTP Sites’ is highlighted.
4. Down in the lower left hand corner click the button that says ‘New Site’. A new FTP site connection will appear, give it a name that will help you to remember what website it is. You will now be able to enter all of your information into ‘Site Details’.
5. Enter all of your information into ‘Site Details’.
   Host: the Address
   Port: is always 21 and is usually pre-filled in most FTP programs.
   Server Type: Leave as FTP
   Logontype: Set to ‘Normal’
   User: enter the information from ‘User Name:’
   Password: Enter your password
6. Hit Save and Exit.

Once you have created your connection you can connect to it by going to File -> Site Manager. Under ‘My FTP Sites’ select your website and click ‘Connect’ down at the bottom this will then connect you to your website.

Quick Connection

You can also create a quick connection:
(I don’t encourage this if you are sharing computer, because the connection link will be saved under the quick connection)

1. At the top of the screen you will see four input boxes: Address, User, Password, and Port.
2. Enter your address in the Address Box.
3. Enter your user number in the User Box.
4. Enter your password in the Password box.
5. Leave the port as is.
6. Click ‘Quickconnect’. This will connect you to your website.

You can quickly and easily connect to your website – click on the arrow next to ‘Quickconnect’ for your list of quick connect sites.

After connecting; on the right hand side under ‘Remote Site’ you should see the folders at your web server. This is where you will save your files. But you will required to know which folder is your Public Web Access folder, for those files to be available to public viewing or access.

Usually the folder such as “wwwroot” or “public_html” or “www” is the public access folder, which store the website files. Check with your hoster if you don’t know.

Now you can begin uploading your web files.

Uploading Files

On the left side you will see a pane that says ‘Local Site’. There you can browse through all the files currently on your computer.

To upload a file to your site:

1. Navigate to the file(s) that you wish to upload on your computer.
2. If you want to upload the file(s) to a certain location on your website (e.g. a folder called ‘images’) make sure you have opened that folder by doubling clicking it in your ‘Remote Site’ pane.
3. Select the file(s) (click to highlight them).
4. Right Click your file(s) and select Upload.

This will upload the file(s) to your website.

If you need to create a folder in your website, do so by right clicking anywhere in your ‘Remote Site’ pane and selecting ‘Create Directory’. Enter a name for your folder and click ‘OK’.

TIP: You can upload more then one file at a time! To upload more than one file at a time SHIFT+CLICK all the files (as long as they are grouped together). If the files are not grouped together CTRL+CLICK all the files you wish to upload. Once you have all of the files selected, right click and select upload. You can also upload a folder and all of its contents by selecting the folder.

NOTE - Local Site is your computer and Remote Site is your hosting server!

Downloading Files

Downloading files is the exact opposite of uploading. Select your files in your ‘Remote Site’ pane and Right Click and select Download. You can copy entire folders, create new folders (Directory), and do everything just the same as when uploading.

Renaming Files

You can rename any file or folder by Right Clicking the file and selecting Rename.

Deleting Files

You can delete any file or folder. Right Click and select Delete. Or click to highlight the file and hit the ‘Delete’ button on your keyboard. It will ask you; ‘Really Delete “FileName”‘ make sure you have selected to delete the correct file, and if you are SURE you wanted it deleted select ‘OK’. Once you delete something it is GONE and can only be uploaded/downloaded again if you have a backup copy.