Firefox

FireFTP

FireFTP is a Firefox add-on that gives you a free, open source, cross-platform FTP client. If you have access to a Web server and you have an FTP account on that server, then using FireFTP you can put all your HTML files, podcasts, media files, backup files, or anything you want online. It works on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux;  this is very useful if you ever find yourself on someone else's machine or if you travel and find yourself stranded in an Internet cafe in desperate need of an FTP application. It's free software, the download size is extremely small, and even better — the FireFTP installation process is simple. It's truly a wonderful thing.

Installing

FireFTP is a Firefox add-on.

  1. To install the add-on, you must visit the Firefox addons page: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/
  2. Next, search for fireftp. Type 'fireftp' in the search box within the addons page: search_3.jpg
  3. Click searchicon.jpg. You see something like this: install_1.jpg
  4. Now, click Add to Firefox and you see the Software Installation window. swinstallation.jpg
  5. Click Install Now. When the download and installation finishes, you see the Add-ons window. 
    add_on.jpg
  6. Press Restart Firefox, then confirm that you want to restart Firefox. After the browser restarts, the Add-ons window confirms that FireFTP is installed.add-on-confirm_1.jpg 

Now, you can start FireFTP.

Starting FireFTP

To start FireFTP, click Tools>FireFTP.

 tools_fireftp.jpg

FireFTP opens in a new window within Firefox:

ftppage.jpg

Although FireFTP opens in a browser as a web page, it is actually a full-featured FTP application. As you use FireFTP, you can appreciate the convenience of its browser-based interface. You can upload files to a website using FireFTP, and then simply click a browser tab and refresh to see the changes in your web page.

The first time you open FireFTP, you see the homepage of the FireFTP web site. From this site, you can access support and developer information. 

fftphome.jpg

Do not donate if you don't want to. FireFTP is absolutely free and a donation to this worthwhile cause is completely optional. 

Sending a file to your server

This section covers how to upload a file to a server, assuming the server does not impose security restrictions beyond authenticating your logon credentials. You need the following information to connect to the server:

  • Host: the domain name or IP address of your web server
  • Login: the user name for the account on the server
  • Password: the password for the account

To obtain the connection information, contact the person or organization, such as your Internet service provider, who created the account for you. You can store this information in FireFTP, so you can access the web server quickly. To store the connection information, click Create an account.

createAccount_1.jpg 

 You see the Account Manager window.

acctmgr.jpg

In Account Manager, enter the connection information. In Account Name and in Category, you can type any names you like. If you do not type an account name, FireFTP copies the information you type from the host field to the account name field. After you fill in the fields in Account Manager, the window looks something like this:

acctmgr_filled.jpg 
Click OK.

Connecting

After creating an account, click Connect. FireFTP connects to the server, as shown in the log messages in the lower part of the window. Files on the web server appear on the right side of the window. Files on your computer display on the left side of the window.

log.jpg

Transferring files 

You can transfer files from your computer to the server, or from the server to your computer.  Navigate to the files you want to transfer and select the folder on the other side of the window where you want to transfer the files.  

Click the arrow pointing to the right to transfer file from your computer to the server.

right.jpg

Click the arrow pointing to the left to transfer files from the server to your computer. You see that the status of the transfer in the log at the bottom  the window:

That's it. You have transferred your first files from your computer to a web server using FireFTP. You can also transfer entire directories and multiple files.