Help Desk | FAQ's about ncftp for Unix

Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions

This area under constant construction as new questions come up

If you don't see your question here, please send technical support feedback or questions using our on-line form and get your question answered directly.

FAQ's about ncftp for Unix: What is FTP ?; What is ncftp ?; Connecting to the site ?; Finding files ?; Getting Files ?; Online help ?; Closing a connection ?; Exiting ncftp ?; Why we recommend ncftp over ftp ?

Q. What is FTP ?

A. FTP is a way of transferring files from one computer to another over the Internet. It is also the name of a UNIX program for FTP. For a more detailed description of what FTP is and for more general information about FTP, see the "ftp" help file.

This help file tells how to use ncftp, an FTP program for UNIX.

Q. What is ncftp ?

A. If you read the last paragraph you know the answer. ncftp is an FTP program for UNIX. It is an improved version of an older program which was simply called ftp.

Q. Connecting to the site ?

To start the program type "ncftp" and press Return. The prompt change to "ncftp>"
To connect to a site as an anonymous user, type "open sitename".
For example, to connect to Microsoft's anonymous FTP server, type "open ftp.microsoft.com".
To connect to a site where you have a login, type "open -u sitename" and press return.
For example, to connect to Access's FTP server as a Access subscriber, type "open -u ftp.accesscom.com" and login as usual.

Q. Finding files ?

A. Once you are connected to the site you need to find the file you want. The commands are mostly the same as those you use in Access's UNIX shell. If you do not know how to use these commands, see the help file. (For example, if you do not understand what "cd" does, see the "cd" help file.)

cd directory - Opens a directory inside the directory you are in.

cd pathname - Opens a directory with the given path.

cd .. - Goes up a directory level. Note: this is "cd" followed by a space, then two periods. The space is important.

dir - Displays the contents of the current directory. Note: we suggest dir instead of ls because ls and ls -l may or may not work at other sites. dir always works.

pwd - Shows the path for the current directory.

Descriptions of the files at a site are sometimes stored in a file called "00-INDEX.TXT".

Q. Getting files ?

A. Once you have found what you want there are two parts to getting files. First you have to set the transfer type to binary or ascii, then you can give the command to transfer the file.

All files are either text (ascii) files or binary files. Binary files are non-text files - this means files that contain programs, graphics, spreadsheets, sounds, and so on. A compressed text file is considered a binary file. Binary files and text files are transferred differently, so you need to tell the computer what kind of file it is moving.

To set the transfer mode for text, type "type ascii". Use this for ".txt" files and other text-only files.
To set the transfer mode for binary, type "type binary". Use this for ".zip" files, ".tar.z" files and other binary files.

Next, get the file or files:

page filename - Lets you read a text file before you transfer it.

get filename - Transfers the file to your directory on Access. The filename must be exact.

For example, "get beethoven" transfers the file named "beethoven".

mget filena* - Transfers a file using a "wildcard" with the filename. This is useful if you do not know the exact filename.

For example, "mget beeth*" transfers the "beethoven" file.

mget filename1 filename2 - Transfers more than one file.

For example, "mget beethoven vivaldi haydn" gets the files named "beethoven", "vivaldi", and "haydn". You can get many files at once this way.

When you transfer more than one file at a time, you are prompted for each file you want to transfer. This can get annoying. Use the command "prompt" to toggle this on and off.

Q. Online help ?

A. Type "help" for a list of commands. Type "help command" for information about a command. For example, for information about the "mget" command type "help mget".

Q. Closing a connection ?

A. To close a connection to a site without leaving ncftp, type "close".

Q. Exiting ncftp ?

A. To exit ncftp, type "exit".

Q. Why we recommend ncftp over ftp ?

A. We suggest ncftp instead of ftp. ncftp has some improvements:

- it puts a "fuel gauge" at the bottom of the screen that lets you see how much of the file has been transferred.

- you can use the page command to read a remote text file before you transfer it

- you can give a path to get a file, instead of having to go to the directory.

For example, if you know the location of the "about" file for Access you can type: ncftp ftp.accesscom.com:/home/users/t/tdj.