Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Support Info > FireFTP
FireFTP is a free add-on (plugin) for the Firefox web browser that lets you transfer files between your computer and another computer on which you have a login account. It works under Windows, Mac OS and Linux.
These instructions and screenshots are for FireFTP 2.0.4 and Firefox 11.0 for Mac OS 10.7 (Lion) and Windows 7. If you're using a different version of any of these, "your mileage may vary."
Go to the FireFTP home page on the Firefox add-ons web site, click the "Download" link, and follow the instructions. You'll have to re-start Firefox in order to be able to use the new add-on.
Mac OS: In Firefox, go to the Tools menu, then the Web Developer sub-menu. You'll find FireFTP there.
Windows: In Firefox, go to the Firefox menu, then the Web Developer sub-menu. You'll find FireFTP there.
After starting FireFTP, you should see something like this in your browser window. This is for Mac OS. The layout is the same in Windows, but the cosmetic appearance is different.
At the left is a folder navigator showing the folders on your computer, and a list of all the files and folders in the currently-selected folder. At the right is a similar navigator for files on the server (a.k.a. the remote computer) which is empty because you're not connected to the server yet. Along the top are buttons and menus for various actions, and above those are your usual web browser toolbars, menus, etc.
You need the following information:
To set up your connection, click the Create an account button at the top left of the window. This gives you the Account Manager dialog box. On the Main tab, enter the host name, login name (username), and password. The "Account Name" is just for labeling this set of connection parameters in FireFTP; you can put anything you like here.
Click over to the Connection tab. In the Security menu, choose SFTP. Under Initial Directories, for Local enter the path to the folder on your computer that has your "local" copies of your web pages. You can select that folder in the local file navigator, and then click the Use Current button. For Remote enter the path to your folder on the server, as described earlier.
You probably don't need to do anything with the Advanced tab. When you're finished with your account settings, click OK. The Create an Account menu should now show whatever you entered as the account name.
To connect to the server, click the word Connect next to the accounts menu. You should now see on the right side of the window, a list of files in the initial directory (folder) that you specified on the server.
The first time you connect to the server, assuming you specified the SFTP option under Security above, you may see the following message:
It's probably OK to answer "Yes" to this question, except perhaps if you're in a very insecure environment such as a public wireless access point. For more information, see this page.
You can transfer files in either direction: from your computer to the server (uploading) or from the server to your computer (downloading). Select the files that you want to transfer on one side, select the folder where you want them to go on the othe r side, and click the green button in the middle that points in the appropriate direction. If you select a folder on the "from" side, the folder and all its contents are transferred. You can select multiple files and folders (e.g. by command-clicking on a Mac) and transfer them with a single click.
When you right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac OS) on a file or folder, either on your computer or on the server, a menu pops up that lets you do things like delete, rename, up/download, etc.
When you're done working with the server, click the word Disconnect next to the accounts menu, where the word "Connect" was before you connected.
For more information about using FireFTP, see the official support page, which has links to a couple of other sites with instructions and tips.
This page was last updated by Jon Bell on 7 May 2012.
Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Support Info > FireFTP