Downloading files from our ftp site.

I upload files to our ftp site through Windows explorer (not internet explorer) How do I access these files from a web browser? When I type the address, example: ftp://mydomain.com/ba.txt, I get a message the file doesn't exist when in fact it does. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

you would need to access it via http://mydomain/ba.txt. You would need to set up anonymous ftp to access the ftp the way you are trying.

you can access the ftp server via a web browser by using ftp://username:password@domain.com. This however would mean having to give out your ftp username and password if you wanted the files publically available via ftp but this would not be advisable.

The only way you can use anonymous ftp is to also get a static IP address.

see http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Anonymous_FTP and http://wiki.dreamhost.com/FTP

I couldn't access the file either way. ftp:// or http://. My goal here is to have a software program we develop download updates in the background using ftp for speed. Any password or user name would be coded into the software so it would not be visible to our users. Is this possible?

I am able to access folders via "ftp://mydom.com/folder" but not files.

Edited by rsilacci on 10/09/07 12:16 PM (server time).

In reply to:

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Any password or user name would be coded into the software so it would not be visible to our users.

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Trust me, it is still very visible.

For what you are describing, anonymous ftp is a much better solution.

Regards,
Rudy

Would anonymous ftp allow me to use the "ftp://mydomain.com/file" format?

I have not set this up myself here at DH (I have built and deployed wuftp at other sites), but I think it will work here with a URL of the format you describe.

When you set up the permissions, make sure you create a read-only server. If you want to permit uploading of files, I suggest you follow the guidelines in the wiki (an upload only directory, and you move files to public areas). Monkeyboy included a link to the article a few posts back.

An "open" anonymous ftp server can become a warez site before you can say "Why is my account disabled?" ;-)

Regards,
Rudy

I haven't seen that many people concerned with the efficiency of ftp vs. http for a long time (at least several years). A question for the OP: How wedded are you to the idea of ftp for download?