Fetch Softworks

These are some common problems when using Fetch and what to do about them.

1. The server says "Incorrect Password" but I know the password is correct.
2. Fetch connects, but the file list never appears and the Fetch dog runs and runs.
3. The Fetch dog runs and runs but never connects.
4. All of my file appears to transfer (the progress bar fills the entire circle), but at the end Fetch stalls and the transfer never finishes.
5. I uploaded an updated webpage but my browser still shows the old one.
6. The file list does not include a file that I know was just put there.
7. The server says "Invalid PORT Command" or "Can't build data connection. Connection refused."
8. Why isn't TextEdit listed as an option for editing HTML files (webpages)?
9. Get Info does not show the permissions of a file or folder I just uploaded.
10. Downloaded files have the wrong icon.
11. Why can't I make files open or edit in the correct application?
12. The filenames in the file list don't look right — there is size and date information in the name column, and the Get button doesn't work.
13. I can connect to a server on my local network, but not to Internet FTP or SFTP servers.
14. Why is uploading files slower than downloading files?
15. When I use the Mirror command to download a folder with the files "index.html" and "Index.html", why do I end up with only one of the files on my Mac?

1. The server says "Incorrect Password" but I know the password is correct.

Please see I received an error saying "login incorrect" or "rejected password" in the Solving Problems with Connecting help topic for suggestions.

2. Fetch connects, but the file list never appears and the Fetch dog runs and runs.

Toggle the setting of the Use passive mode transfers (PASV) checkbox in the General Preferences pane, and try connecting again. If toggling the Use passive mode transfers (PASV) checkbox didn't help, try disabling the OS X firewall in the Sharing pane of System Preferences, if it is enabled. You can configure the firewall to allow an exception for Fetch. For more information about Fetch, firewalls, and active vs. passive FTP, see the active and passive FTP topic.

3. The Fetch dog runs and runs but never connects.

Usually this means that the server you are trying to connect to is not currently operating. Another possibility is that there is a network outage or a firewall somewhere between your computer and the server. If the problem persists, confirm that you are connecting to the right hostname, and check with your network administrator about firewalls. You can use the ping and traceroute functions of the Network Utility application (which you can find by going to your Applications folder, and then the Utilities folder) to check the network route between your computer and the server.

4. All of my file appears to transfer (the progress bar fills the entire circle), but at the end Fetch stalls and the transfer never finishes.

The most common cause of this is that you are behind a NAT device (such as a router or wireless base station) and the transfer has really finished, but the NAT device has blocked the information telling Fetch that it's done. Your transfer is done, just choose the Stop command from the View menu to clear the progress indicator.

To resolve these problems, our recommendations are to:

1. Make sure the Use passive mode transfers (PASV) checkbox in the General Preferences pane is checked, and try again;
2. Download and try the latest version of Fetch and see if it fixes the problem for you;
3. If the problem still happens with the latest version of Fetch, try a different FTP client (such as Interarchy, Transmit, or Vicomsoft FTP Client) to check whether the problem is specific to Fetch or more general—if the problem only happens with Fetch, please contact us and let us know so we can investigate;
4. If the problem happens with all FTP clients, contact the server administrator or network administrator, and see if they can reproduce the problem under similar conditions.

5. I uploaded an updated webpage but my browser still shows the old one.

Please see the solving problems with websites help topic for suggestions and possible solutions.

6. The file list does not include a file that I know was just put there.

Choose the Refresh command in the View menu; that will usually fix this problem. Fetch reuses file lists when they have not changed in a long while, which makes loading them quicker but also makes it possible to miss new changes.

7. The server says "Invalid PORT Command" or "Can't build data connection. Connection refused."

These problems can usually be resolved by checking the Use passive mode transfers (PASV) checkbox in the General Preferences pane. See the active and passive FTP topic for more information about this checkbox.

9. Why isn't TextEdit listed as an option for editing HTML files (webpages)?

TextEdit, the text editor included with Mac OS X, is a very poor choice for editing webpages. While TextEdit appears to let you edit HTML files in a more natural manner because you don't have to edit the HTML code, it doesn't understand all HTML formatting. If you save your HTML file after editing it in TextEdit, it is nearly guaranteed that your webpage's links will be broken and you'll have lost some of the formatting.

Therefore, Fetch does not offer TextEdit directly as an editor choice for HTML files. If you are determined to use it for editing your HTML files, you can set it as the editor by choosing the Other menu item from the Edit files like this with pop-up menu in the Transfer Options pane of the info window. But we strongly recommend against it.

Instead, we recommend that you consider using TextWrangler, an excellent and free text editing program for the Macintosh. However, you do have to edit the HTML code directly with it. There are many other fine text editors for the Macintosh as well, such as BBEdit, TextMate, SubEthaEdit, or CSSEdit to name a few.

There are also several good low-cost webpage editors such as iWeb, RapidWeaver, or Sandvox.

TextEdit is a perfectly good application for editing plain text files, but it is simply not a good HTML editor.

10. Get Info does not show the permissions of a file or folder I just uploaded.

On some FTP servers, Fetch may not show the permissions checkboxes for newly uploaded files and folders. To see the permissions, you must click the Refresh button in the transfer window, and Get Info on the items again. On SFTP and most FTP connections, you will see the correct permissions immediately, but you must refresh to see the correct owner and group.

11. Downloaded files have the wrong icon.

If a certain kind of downloaded file does not have the icon you expect after downloading, try changing the application that kind of file is set to open with in the Transfer Options section of the info window. See the changing the application a file opens with help topic for step-by-step instructions.

12. Why can't I make files open or edit in the correct application?

First, make sure you have followed the instructions for setting which application opens or edits the desired kind of file in the changing the application a file opens with or changing the editor for a file help topics.

However, if the application you want to use to open or edit a kind of file is not listed even though it is installed, or you choose it and Fetch does not remember your choice, or you choose one application and the files still open in a different application, you may be being affected by a problem in Mac OS X. Follow the instructions in the fixing problems choosing editors and helper applications help topic to fix this problem.

13. The filenames in the file list don't look right — there is size and date information in the name column, and the Get button doesn't work.

If the Fetch file list is showing scrambled information, it may be that Fetch misunderstood the list of files the server sent to it. Choosing the Refresh command in the View menu will usually redraw the file list with the correct information. Otherwise, if you know the name of the file, you can hold down the Shift key and click the Get button and type in the file's name. If refreshing does not fix the problem, please send a transcript to Fetch Softworks so we can fix the problem in future versions of Fetch.

14. I can connect to a server on my local network, but not to Internet FTP or SFTP servers.

Check with your network or firewall administrator to see if you need to use a SOCKS gateway or proxy server to access Internet FTP or SFTP servers. If so, you can configure Fetch to work with the proxy server using the Proxy Preferences pane.

15. Why is uploading files slower than downloading files?

Usually this is normal, because most high-speed Internet connections, including cable modems and DSL, are asymmetric — they are designed to provide much better speed for downloading than uploading. For more information, see the Why is uploading slower than downloading? help topic.

16. When I use the Mirror command to download a folder with the files "index.html" and "Index.html", why do I end up with only one of the files on my Mac?

By default, Mac disks are case-insensitive: they treat the names "index.html" and "Index.html" as identical, and will not let you store two files with the same name in the same folder. As a result, Fetch only saves one of the files. You can work around this problem by mirroring to a disk that has been formatted to be case-sensitive.