FTP Review

As a future Web Designer all the images you create will eventually be placed on the World Wide Web. All class assignments will also be placed on the WWW, so we can see how your images look on various Web Browsers. Placing your work on a web server also forces you to practice the process of FTP - File Transfer Protocol. For all class assignments you will be using the campus Web server "gracie".

Step 1 - Defining FTP

If you'd like to copy all your HTML files and images from your computer to a Web server, you will need to use a procedure known as "FTP"

FTP (short for File Transfer Protocol) is a way of transferring files from one computer to another over the Internet. This is the technique you will use to transfer HTML documents and images from your computer to the computer that will host your web pages (gracie).

Step 2 - obtain FTP software

Windows users should obtain and install a program called WS_FTP found at:
http://www.ipswitch.com/Products/WS_FTP/index.html

Mac users should download and install FETCH, from this URL:
MacUpdate Fetch version 3.03

NOTE: Some Web servers provide an "ftp for dummies" page which allows you to load pages without FTP software. A popular examples is America Online's "my place". If you wish to pursue a career in web development you need to become familiar with FTP client programs for both the Windows and Macintosh operating systems and avoid using these "helpful" pages.

Step 3 - access your gracie account

As students enrolled at SRJC you are provided with an account on the web server "gracie". You will use this server during class. The account is free to you for the current semester. At semester break your gracie account will be removed. There is a 5MB limit on the account, however you should have plenty of room to store the files required for this class.

The instructors and lab staff only provide technical support for the Web server "gracie". If you have an account on a commercial ISP you may want to move your pages there AFTER the class ends. Contact your ISP for technical assistance.

Step #4 - using the FTP software

At this point the instructions branch into instructions for "ws_ftp" for Windows or "Fetch" for the Macintosh users. I recommend you begin by following the instructions for the platform you use at home. After you have mastered that software, I encourage you to review the materials for the "other" platform, so you can expand your knowledge of the FTP process.