This article assumes you are using the latest version of Internet Explorer on Mac OS-X.
I. Getting the link in your browser
You'll receive a link from ProComm in your email. When you click that link, your e-mail client should hand off requests for either http or ftp links to the default Internet browser on your Mac. Your link will look something like this:
ftp://sample:123456789@144.228.88.106
Note: Quite a few email clients display your messages in a window with two panes. The upper pane shows the list of messages in your Inbox and the lower pane is a preview of the message selected. If you double click a message in the upper pane, it will open in its own window. Some email clients will only let you launch links from this view and not from the preview pane. Likewise, these same clients will also prohibit selection of text or copying of test in the preview pane.
If clicking on the link fails, try highlighting the entire link, copying it and pasting it into the URL address field in your browser. Make sure you copy the link as it appears above without any > or < symbols your email client may have added. Again, if you are unable to highlight the text in order to copy it, you might not have opened the email in its own window. Double click the email to open it.
II. Internet Explorer set up
The default setup of Internet Explorer may not work for you. From Apple, your Mac is set to use either the Network Browser or most recently, the Finder, for links that call on the ftp protocol. The very latest settings using the Finder seems to work well but if your preferences still call on the Network Browser, you should change this to make Internet Explorer handle the transfer. To make this change, follow the directions below:
1. Open Interet Explorer
2. From the Explorer Menu, select Preferences...
3. In the Internet Explorer Preferences left pane, scroll down to the Network disclosure triangle and highlight Protocol Helpers
4. In the right pane you should see a list of protocols and their associated Applications. Click the word Protocol above the list to sort the list of protocols alphabetically. Highlight ftp (about 7 or 8 down.)
5. If it says Internet Explorer, you can cancel this operation. If it says Network Browser, click the CHANGE button.
6. In the resultant window,
click CHOOSE HELPER and locate the application (either Internet Explorer or a ftp client like Fetch or Vicom FTP Client) on your hard drive.
III. Internet Explorer, ftp and firewall settings
Depending on how your computer or network connects to the Internet and which firewalls --- either software or hardware --- are used to protect that connection, an ftp connection might fail in Internet Explorer. If your browser fails to connect or it gets stuck "Getting File List, you might want to toggle the FTP mode in which it operates. In most cases, Passive Mode is best but if you're having problems:
1. Go to APPLE MENU:SYSTEM PREFERENCES
2. Click on the Network icon.
3. Make sure you have the proper Location selected
4. Click the Proxies Tab and toggle the "Use Passive FTP Mode (PASV) check box from its current setting.
5. Click Apply Now and Quit the System Preferences Application.
IV. Downloading your Files
Once you have sucessfully connected to the ProComm ftp site, you should see the files uploaded for you listed in your browser.
The most common problem users have downloading files happens when they double-click the file. Since the files ProComm provides are usually audio (media) files, your browser might start "playing" the file when you really want to download it or save it. To download a file instead of play it:
1. Select the file to download and control+click it
2. Select "Download Link to Disk"
3. Locate the place on your Mac HD to save the file and click OK.
