After installing FastTrackFTP, the icon with the program name appears on the desktop. When you run the program, you will see the list of local disks (on the left) and the list of FTP-servers to which you can connect (on the right). Above the lists, there is the main toolbar. Working with FastTrackFTP is as easy as working with common disk windows. To add a new server connection profile, please click on the "New Server" button. You can click "Properties" to edit existing FTP server profiles.
You also need to specify a username, password, protocol type (FTP, TLS/SSL Implicit or Explicit, SFTP/SSH2) and a connection port. The default settings are: FTP, port 21. In some cases you might need to choose a corresponding FTP-server response type. FastTrackFTP allows you to create as many connections as desired. To connect to an FTP-server, just click the "Connect" button.
Now you will see that the screen is divided into three parts: the bottom window displays all the actions, on the left you will see the current FTP-server content, and on the right, you will see your local hard drive. By sight, an FTP-server looks exactly like your local hard drive looks in windows explorer. Generally, working with an FTP-server is just like working with a network drive.
At the bottom of the screen, the status bar includes status information, such as successful connection to an FTP-server, file transfer progress and sessions established.
Your access to network drives can often be limited or restricted.
To create a profile, please fill out the fields described below.
Profile Name: enter a desired profile name, "My Web Site", for example. Using profiles, you won't need to enter the same server settings each time you'd like to connect to the server.
Host Name/Address: enter a remote computer address, ftp.microsoft.com, for example. Usually it will be your domain name.
Response Type: for most servers you can use "Default". If file size, date and file names are displayed incorrectly, please try another type, say, Microsoft FTP v.5.0.
User ID: a login name for this server. "anonymous", for example.
Password: a password, which is used with the login name specified in the "User ID" field. For the "anonymous" username, this should be text which contains "@".
Account Comment: these fields are usually blank.
After everything is configured, click "Save".
If FastTrackFTP failed to connect to a server (nothing is displayed in the right window), you can try to connect to one of the test-servers, which are initially present in the program. If FastTrackFTP failed to connect to a test FTP-server, please check if the program has not been blocked by a built-in firewall. Please check if you have Zone Alarm, Internet Security, anti-virus
utilities (etc.) running. If one or more of the these are running, you need to configure them. By default, such applications block FTP-ports and do not allow any applications to connect to the Internet until added to their white list.
Please also check the "Properties", "Preferences/General" and "Preferences/Proxy" tabs.
Please set up the following:
1. Remote Port: specify a remote server port. By default, it
is port 21. If a server uses some other port, this is usually mentioned
in the server's info. For example, if you need to connect to ftp.yoursite.com:22,
please specify "22" in the "Remote Port" field.
2. Passive Transfers: please try both options. Usually, if you
are behind a firewall, the passive mode is required.
3. Connection Retry: the number of tries to connect to an FTP-server.
4. Default Time out: the time FastTrackFTP waits for a reply
from an FTP-server.
If you use a proxy-server, please specify the corresponding proxy-server settings. If you do not use a proxy-server, please select "Direct Connection" on the "Firewall" tab. If a connection to the FTP-server has not been established, please check your Internet connection or contact your system administrator.
OK, FastTrackFTP is now connected to the FTP-server. In the right window, the contents of the remote computer should be displayed. You can open directories by clicking on them. Generally, the toolbar on the left relates to the local computer, the toolbar on the right, to the remote computer (FTP-server). To transfer a file from an FTP-server to the local computer, please select it with the mouse cursor and click the corresponding arrow (Shift and Ctrl can be used to select multiple files). You can use the "View" and "Run" buttons to view the selected file in a text editor or launch it if it is an .exe or .com file. Use the "Delete", "Refresh" or "Disconnect" buttons to delete selected files, refresh the file list or disconnect from the server.
NOTE: files and HTML-documents should be transferred in the binary mode. To create a new directory, please click MakeDir.
After files are uploaded to a web server, your visitors can access them using a web browser. If a file was uploaded to the server and it is not visible in a browser, please try clicking on the browser's "Refresh" or "Reload" buttons. If this didn't help, try clearing the browser cache.
If FTP is unavailable for some reasons, please check your firewall settings. Perhaps your firewall is configured in such a way that you can only use your web browser.
Other connection profile settings
List Options:
- Show Hidden Files
- Force Long Format
- Recursive
- Resolve Links
- Complete Time
- Use "|" as the Option Delimiter
- Use Relative Names
Initial folders
Here you can set a starting directory which will be automatically opened when connected to a local or remote computer server.
Time Zone
To make file comparison easier, you can set up a time zone (since your FTP-server can be located in other country or on other continent).
Secure Channels
By default, the FTP-protocol is used, however FastTrackFTP also supports other protocols. Please contact your system administrator to check which other protocols are supported by your server.