Using FTP and FileZilla
Quick Guide
This
guide gives you a short overview on how to use FileZilla client. By
default you don't have to configure FileZilla, so you can start
directly working with the program.
Connecting to an FTP server
Using the Quick Connect bar
To
connect to an FTP server, enter the address of the server into the
host field of the Quickconnect bar (e.g. example.com - see image
below). If it is a special server type like an SFTP server, add the
protocol in front of the address. In case of an SFTP server, start
the address with 'sftp://' (e.g. sftp://example.com). Enter the port
of the server into the port field if it is not the
default port (21 for FTP, 22 for SFTP). If a username / password is
required, enter it in the corresponding fields, otherwise the
default anonymous logon will be used. Click on
Quickconnect or press Enter to connect to the server.
Please
notice that the Quick Connect is for... quick connections - so there
is no way to edit the quick connections list which stores the last 10
entries. To store FTP server names you should use the Site Manager,
instead.
Quick
Connect is good for testing the login info before making a site
manager entry. Once you connect, you can choose File -> "Copy
current connection to Site Manager..." to make a permanent
entry. It is usually best to check your login info with Quick Connect
before making a permanent entry.
Using Site Manager
You
can use the FileZilla Site
Manager to
specify specific site parameters and connect to the targeted FTP
site. The Site
Manager allows
you to store entries and configure more parameters than the Quick
Connect allows.
Special case: Servers in LAN
If
the server you are connecting to is in your home LAN, then there is
not an address (domain name) as you may know from the Internet. In
LAN, you simply use the internal IP address of the server PC. In most
cases the network name (computer name) will do, too. If the server is
on the same PC as Filezilla, you can even use localhost or 127.0.0.1
as hostname.
NOTE:
If you connect from the outside of your LAN this does not apply, you
have to use the external (WAN) IP instead.
Navigating on the server
After
a successful connection attempt, a list of files and directories
appears on the right side of the main window. The
name of the current remote directory is listed in the edit field on
the top. Below that you will see the remote directory tree. Under the
remote directory is a list of the contents of the current remote
directory.
To
change the current remote directory:
- Type a directory name into the edit field and press enter, or
- Click a directory in the directory tree, or
- Double-click a directory in the list of the current directory contents
You
will notice a directory called ".." listed in virtually all
directories. Selecting this directory allows you to go up to the
parent directory of the current directory.
Question
marks ("?") appear on directories you haven't accessed yet,
indicating that the FileZilla Client can't tell if there are
subdirectories within those directories. If you access the directory
the question mark will vanish.
Navigating on your machine
Navigating
on your machine works almost like navigating on the server. The
current local directory and the local directory tree are displayed on
the left side of the main window by default.
Synchronized Browsing
If
you have an identical directory structure on the local machine and
the server, you can enable synchronized browsing. This means that any
directory navigation on one machine is duplicated on the other.
To
enable synchronized browsing, create an entry in the Site Manager,
and on the Advanced tab, ensure that the Default local directory and
the Default remote directory have the same structure. Then check "use
synchronized browsing," save your settings, and connect.
Directory Comparison
To
quickly see differences between files on the local machine and the
server, choose View > Directory Comparison, and choose either
"compare file size" or "compare modification time."
(You also hide identical files by checking that option.) Then choose
"Enable."
You
will now see color-coded differences between copies of the same file
on the different machines. See their meanings here.
Transferring files
You
can upload or download a file by double-clicking on it. It will be
added to the transfer queue and the transfer starts automatically. To
transfer directories and/or multiple files, select them and
right-click the selection. Then you can click on Upload/Download in
the popup menu.
You can also drag the files from one side and drop them on the other side. To add files to the queue so that they will be transferred later, select them and click Add to Queue from the popup menu. You may also drag the files directly into the queue. Click on the
button
on the toolbar to start the transfer.
Or,
you can click on a file, then drag the file (a box is added to the
arrow cursor) to the directory where you want to move it. The
directory will be highlighted when you are over it. Let go of the
mouse button and the file will be moved to the directory.
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