About FTP
FTP is short for File Transfer Protocol, this page contains additional information about the FTP command and help using that command in Unix and MS-DOS (Windows). See our FTP section in our dictionary for a complete definition on FTP.
Windows FTP
From the MS-DOS prompt or shell type in FTP, once typed in you will have access to the FTP command line. In this command line type:
open ftp.address.domain
Where address is the name of the server and the domain is the domain such as .COM, .NET… In addition, the IP address can be typed in, such as 255.255.255.0.
Once connected you will be asked for a username and password; if done successfully, you will have access to transfer files between computers.
Unix FTP
Unix FTP is used much like Windows; from a command prompt or shell, type in FTP, from FTP you should be able to log into a server, providing you have the proper access.
FTP Commands
Depending upon the version of FTP and the operating system being used, each of the below commands may or may not work. Generally typing -help or a ? will list the commands available to you.
Command Information
! Using this command you will have the capability of toggling back and forth between the operating system and ftp. Once back in the operating system generally typing exit will take you back to the FTP command line.
? Access the Help screen.
abor Abort Transfer
append Append text to a local file.
ascii Switch to ASCII transfer mode
bell Turns bell mode on / off.
binary Switches to binary transfer mode.
bye Exits from FTP.
cd Changes directory.
cdup Change to parent directory on remote system
close Exits from FTP.
cwd Change working directory on remote system
dele Delete file on remote system
delete Deletes a file.
debug Sets debugging on / off.
dir Lists files if connected.
dir -C = Will list the files in wide format.
dir -1 = Lists the files in bare format in alphabetic order
dir -r = Lists directory in reverse alphabetic order.
dir -R = Lists all files in current directory and sub directories.
dir -S = Lists files in bare format in alphabetic order.
disconnect Exits from FTP.
get Get file from the computer connected to.
glob Sets globbing on / off.
hash Sets hash mark printing on / off
help Access the Help screen and displays information about command if command typed after help.
lcd Displays local directory or if path typed after lcd will change local directory.
list Send a list of file names in the current directory on the remote system on the data connection.
literal Sends command line
ls Lists files if connected.
mdelete Multiple delete
mdir Lists contents of multiple remote directories
mget Get multiple files
mkd Make directory.
mkdir Make directory.
mls Lists contents of multiple remote directories.
mode Specifies the transfer mode. Available parameters are generally S, B or C.
mput Sent multiple files
nlst Send a full directory listing of the current directory on the remote system on the data connection.
open Opens address.
pass Supplies a user password.
port Specify the client port number.
prompt Enables/disables prompt.
put Send one file
pwd Print working directory
quit Exits from FTP.
quote Send arbitrary ftp command
recv Receive file
retr Get file from remote system.
remotehelp Get help from remote server
rename Renames a file
rmdir Removes a directory
send Send single file
status Shows status of currently enabled / disabled options
trace Toggles packet tracing
type Set file transfer type
user Send new user information
verbose Sets verbose on / off.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
How do I send and receive files once connected in MS-DOS FTP?
To get files from the server and place them in your current working directory, on the machine you are working, type:
get myfile.htm
Where myfile.htm is the name of the file you wish to get from the computer connected to.
To send a file from your computer to the computer you are connected to (providing you have proper rights and the file exists in the current working directory), type:
send myfile.htm
Where myfile.htm is the name of the file that exists in the current directory; if you cannot recall the name of the file, use the ! command to temporally get back to a MS-DOS prompt; once you have located the file name, type exit to get back to the location you left in FTP.
In MS-DOS FTP I am only able to send files in the directory that I typed FTP in.
Set the LCD, for example, if you want to send files that are in the C:\Windows directory, type:
LCD c:\windows
How do I download multiple files from an FTP server?
Use the mget command, which is short for multiple get. Using the mget command you can get multiple files by using wildcards. For example, ” mget *.* ” would get all files in the current directory.
By default, prompting would be enabled; if you wish to get all files without being prompted, use the “prompt” command to disable/enable prompting.
When attempting to connect to an FTP address, receiving “10061″ error
This error is caused when the server is refusing the connection.
Attempt to connect to an alternate FTP address.
If you are able to connect to other FTP addresses, it is likely the site generating the error 10061 is refusing to accept your connection because of security privileges or because it is not an FTP server.
If you are unable to connect to any address, it is likely an issue with the network or computer configuration.
1. Ensure that the network configuration settings are properly setup as well as FTP rights.
2. Verify that the firewall is properly setup to accept FTP access.
How to create a Windows FTP script
Create a text document with commands used when in FTP. Below is an example of what such a script may look like:
open ftp.domain.com
username
password
cd public_html
dir
get file.txt
bye
The above script will log into the ftp site ftp.domain.com. Once connected, it will enter the username and then the password (substitute username for your username and password for your password). Once logged in, the script then goes into the public_html directory, gets a directory listing and then uses the get command to get the file called file.txt. Once the file is received, it logs off using the bye command.
Once the script file has been created, for example, if it was called script.txt, to execute this script with ftp you would type:
ftp -s:script.txt
If Windows FTP does not offer enough scripting options for you you may also want to consider WinSCP.
