FTP

Introduction
File Transfer Protocol, a method of moving files between your computer and our servers. Unless you are using a program like Microsoft FrontPage or Dreamweaver (which have their own in built version) you will need a stand alone program.

What Settings do I need to enter into an FTP program?
Before you can start using one of these programs to move files onto our servers you will have to set it up. Although each program is slightly different they all require very similar information. In General:

Site Name : Just a name so you can save the settings and load them again next time.
Host Name / address : your should just use ftp.mysite.com ... just replace with whatever your domain name is.
Host Type : Usually just leave on Automatic or you can set it to UNIX
User ID : The Username we sent you
Password : The password we sent you
Remote Start Up Folder : just enter /web

Although your FTP program might use slightly different terms than these they will be very similar, just read through the manual or help file that came with it.

I uploaded the files but they do not show up on the web?
There are really two possibilities to look at:

The first page of your site should be called index.htm or index.html or index.shtml. This lets the server know which page is to be served when someone surfs to your domain.
All files should be uploaded to the /web folder .... This is probably the most common cause of requests for help :o)

If you are sure you have both of these correct then it could be that you browser has cached the old page of your site and so is loading that from your hard drive rather than loading from the server. When you go to a website your browser caches ( stores on your computer ) most of the files you view. This is designed to speed up your browsing as next time you go back to the site the browser loads the files off your computer rather than the internet. The problem comes if you have uploaded new pages to the servers and your browser is still pulling the old ones out your cache. What you need to do is tell the browser to ignore the cache and fetch the new files from the server. You do this by hitting Ctrl on your keyboard and click on Refresh on your browser. If this still does not work you might need to delete the cached files.

When I upload files they show as 0Kb on the server?
This can happen when you exceed your storage limit on the server, either delete some files or contact us to have your quota increased.

The server rejects my Username/Password?
Please contact us and we will reset it for you ... the same applies if you have changed them and forgotten the new combination

The FTP program can not find my site?
If it is a new domain ( or you have just changed the DNS information for a domain you already own ) it can take up to 72 hours to propagate round the net before you will be able to access the site.

I can not delete some folders/directories?
Two things could be happening here.

Most FTP programs are automatically set not to delete directories that are not empty, if you check the manual / help files they should tell you how to over ride this
If you have created more users ( or changed the user we set up ) you will find that one user can not delete anothers files even if they have administrators permissions. To solve this use the same username to log in as you did to upload the files in the first place.

How do I view hidden files like .htaccess?
Not all FTP programs can do this so if you need to use files like this upgrade to another program. In ones such as WS_FTP Pro there is a small box which you can use to add certain commands, just add -la and you will be able to view all files.

If you have any problems or need some help please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.