FTP-Macintosh

How to Ftp in the Macintosh

The following pages contain basic information for configuring and using the ftp program, Fetch, with your Channel 1 account. The core of this tutorial was written by the creator of the Fetch program, Jim Matthews of Dartmouth University. If you do not have Fetch, you can download it from the Channel 1 FTP site. Download fetch212.hqx or fetch301.hqx.

Connecting With Fetch

Understanding The Fetch Window

General File Types

Getting A File

Putting A File

Disconnecting With Fetch

Connecting With Fetch

Double clicking the Fetch icon will bring up the New Connection window. This window can also be accessed from the Fetch menu by going to File | New Connection.

Host Name is the unique machine name where your 10MB (or 20MB for Business Value or Virtual Server accounts) of file space resides. For Channel 1 customers, the host name is user1.channel1.com which is equivalent to host name 199.1.13.9
User ID is the same user/login name used to connect (through ConfigPPP or FreePPP for example) to Channel 1. For example, tester or username
Password is the same password used to connect to Channel 1.

All other entries can be left blank for now. Click OK.

If the connection is successful, the main Fetch window will appear. If you receive a "login failure" message, check your information and try again.

Understanding The Fetch window

Once the connection is made you will be in your home directory ( /usr/homes/tester ) at Channel 1. Fetch will display the name of the current directory, on the top left hand side of the window. The main Fetch window displays a list of the contents of your home directory which generally consist of files and sub-directories (which look like Mac folders).

You can move into any subdirectory by double-clicking on the name in the list. Again, the main window will display the files and subdirectories(if any) of the new directory. To move back "up" the directory tree go to Directories from the Fetch menu. This will show you where you are and where you have been. Select from the menu to go back to any previous directories.

General Macintosh File Types

Raw Data - Raw Data is one of the formats available for putting files on another computer. If this format is chosen the data part of the Macintosh file will be sent without any interpretation or conversion. Some Macintosh programs create files with all their info in the data part (for example, Stuffit, Microsoft Word). Likewise, file formats such as .gif or .jpg use only the data part. In these cases using the Raw Data format is the easiest way to transfer them.

MacBinary II - Mac Binary II (sometimes simply called MacBinary) is a format for representing all the information in a Macintosh file in one binary file. It is useful for storing a Macintosh file on a non-Macintosh system for later retrieval. Unlike BinHex, MacBinary II is a compact format that cannot be passed through most e-mail systems. MacBinary II files usually have names ending in ".bin".
Fetch can get and put files in MacBinary II format. Fetch can also get files in MacBinary I format (an earlier vesion of the MacBinary standard). Automatic conversion of MacBinary I and MacBinary II files can be turned on and off in the Preferences dialog box.

BinHex - BinHex (often called BinHex4) is a format for representing a Macintosh file in text form. The Macintosh file is converted into a series of lines, each made up of letters, numbers, and punctuation. Because BinHex files are simply text they can be sent through most e-mail systems and stored on most computers. However, the conversion to text makes the file larger so it takes longer to transmit a file in BinHex format than if it was represented some other way. The extension ".hqx" usually indicates a file in BinHex format. Fetch can get or put files in the BinHex format. Again, conversion of BinHex format files can be turned on and off in the Preferences dialog box.

Wrapped Text - Wrapped Text is a format that can be chosen when putting text files on another computer. Most Macintosh editors store text files with line-ending characters only at the end of each paragraph. That way line-endings can be recalculated whenever the user changes the margins or resized the window. However this yields files that appear to have very long lines, too long for many other computers. In order to make these files readable on other systems, Fetch offers the option of word-wrapping text files as they are sent. If this format is chosen no line will be allowed to exceed a certain margin(set in the Preferences dialong). If a line is initially longer than this limit it will be broken on a word boundary so that individual words are kept intact.

Putting A File

The Put File button in Fetch allows you to take a file from your Macintosh system and copy it to the Channel 1 server(where your 10MB of file space resides). You will be asked to pick a file and be prompted for a name and format to give the file you are putting. If the Automatic radio button is chosen then Fetch will try to figure out what kind of file it is from it's name. If Fetch recognizes the format of your file the format type will already be set and you can just click OK. If the Text button is selected the file will be treated as text, and you will have the option of converting any BinHex files embedded in the text file. If the Binary button is selected Fetch will check to see if the file is in MacBinary II or MacBinary I format, and otherwise save it without any formatting or conversion. If you know what kind of file you are getting you should select the appropriate button. Most of the time, however, the Automatic setting will do the right thing. Otherwise you have the option of selecting MacBinary II, BinHex,...etc. To transfer multiple files, or folders, choose Remote | Put Files or Folders from the Fetch menu.

Getting a File

The Get File button in Fetch allows you to take a file from a remote server (e.g. the Channel 1 server) and copy it to your Macintosh. To get a file, click on the file from the Fetch window and click the Get File button. If the Automatic radio button is chosen then Fetch will try to figure out what kind of file it is from it's name. If the Text button is selected the file will be treated as text, and you will have the option of converting any BinHex files embedded in the text file. If the Binary button is selected Fetch will check to see if the file is in MacBinary II or MacBinary I format, and otherwise save it without any formatting or conversion. If you know what kind of file you are getting you should select the appropriate button. Most of the time, however, the Automatic setting will do the right thing. To Get multiple files or directories, click on them while holding the Command key and then click the Get button.

Disconnecting

You can cancel any on-going operation by pressing the Stop button. Some host computers do not recognize the cancel command and will therefore continue the current operation until it is completed. In that case your only options are to close the connection(by closing the transfer window) or quitting from Fetch by chosing the Quit command from the File menu.

Fetch also allows you to do other things such as deleting files, renaming files, and creating directories. You are encouraged to experiment with these features as necessary. If you have any further questions,or comments, write us at support@channel1.com. For more complete information on the Fetch program, including an online manual, take a look at the Macintosh Helper Programs web page.