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beginner needs help (2 posts)

  • Started 16 years ago by hanzphotos
  • Latest reply 16 years ago from Scott McGuire
  • hanzphotos Member

    Hi there, i'm confused by this as it's all very new to me. Do I just need fetch to transfer files to another computer via the internet or fetch as well as some other FTP Client/site?

    And does the other computer uploading and downloading also need fetch. . and potentially the ftp client/site as well?

    Thanks for you help.

    Posted 16 years ago #

  • Scott McGuire Administrator

    Hi,

    To transfer files to another computer via the Internet, you need two things - a "client" program on your Macintosh, and a "server" program on the other computer. You use the client program to connect to the server program on the other computer, and the client communicates with the server, either transferring files to it (uploading), or requesting that files be transferred back to your Macintosh (downloading).

    The client and the server use a special language and set of rules - called a "protocol" - for communicating and transferring files between the two computers.
    For example, Safari is a webpage client that communicates with webpage servers using the HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) protocol.

    FTP, the file transfer protocol, is one of the oldest and most established ways of moving files between two computers on the Internet. Fetch is an FTP client for your Macintosh, that communicates with FTP servers. Unlike Safari, which generally just downloads files and webapges, Fetch can be used to both upload to and download from the other computer.

    (Fetch also supports SFTP and FTP with SSL, which are a couple of newer, more secure file transfer protocols.)

    Fetch is not an FTP server, and cannot set up an FTP server. In order for it to be useful, you must know of a server running an FTP server that Fetch can connect to, or set up an FTP server on another computer. Most web hosting servers are also FTP servers, so that you could use Fetch to move your webpage files from your Mac to the server. The server does not need a copy of Fetch, but instead needs to be running FTP server software. Mac OS X has a simple built-in FTP server, and there are several third party FTP servers with more features that the built-in one. There are many FTP server programs for Unix and Windows as well.

    Usually you use Fetch to transfer files with a special-purpose file server, such as a web server, a publishing or photo company's server, or your company's file server. If you are looking to transfer files between your Macintosh and another Macintosh, FTP (and Fetch) may not be your best choice, although it is sometimes used to do that. Fetch's goal is to be an easy-to-use, friendly, and reliable FTP client that you can use transferring your files with file servers on the Internet.

    I hope this helps clarify things.

    Thanks,

    Scott McGuire
    Fetch Softworks

    Posted 16 years ago #

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