This article assumes you are using the lastest version of WS-FTP.

I. Getting the link in WS-FTP

Links for your finished product arrive in your email in the following syntax:

ftp:// [user name] : [password] @ [hostname] / [directory] / [ job number directory]

In WS-FTP, to connect to a new ftp site, you have to enter this data in separate fields. So, for example, if you received this link:

ftp://samples:123456789@144.228.88.106/samplefiles/

1. Open WS-FTP
2. The "Session Properties" window opens with the last session opened. If it does not open, click the Connect button on the lower left.
3. To make a new connection for ProComm, click the "New" button and enter the information from your link.
4. Profile Name can be simply ProComm
5. On the General Tab, enter the hostname - 144.228.88.106
6. Enter the User Name in User ID
7. Enter the password and check "Save Password"
8. Go to the Startup tab and enter the directory in the Initial Remote Host Directory. You do not need to enter the job number dirctory.

9. Click Apply to save the Profile and OK to connect.

II . WS-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 WS-FTP.

In most cases, the default setup will work. If, however, you experience problems with WS-FTP displaying an empty file list or it gets stuck "Getting File List" you might want to toggle the mode in which WS-FTP operates. In most cases, Passive Mode is best but if you're having problems:

1. Open WS-FTP
2. The "Session Properties" window opens with the last session opened. If it does not open, click the Connect button on the lower left.
3. If you haven't already made a Connection Profile for ProComm, do so following these steps. Then return to the steps below.
4. Click the Connect button to open the ProComm profile.
5. On the Advanced Tab, toggle the "Passive transfers" option from its current setting.
6. Click Apply to save the Profile and OK to connect.



III. Using WS-FTP

The WS-FTP interface presents the user with a double pane window. The left window is a folder on your local computer. You specify this location in the Session Properties setup on the Startup tab. If nothing is specified, you start in the WS-FTP program files folder. The pane on the right is your folder on the ProComm ftp site.

A few things to know:

1.) New files might not show up in either window on an ftp client like WS-FTP unless you refresh the view. This is especially applicable in cases where you don't see files that ProComm has supposedly uploaded. Use the REFRESH button on the extreme right hand side to get an updated view of your ProComm ftp folder.
2.) If you are uploading a file to the ProComm server, don't use spaces or illegal characters like / \ * : ; . ? in the file names.
3.) Pertinent to the ProComm site, if you set up a ProComm session profile and connect only to see a massive count of numbered folders that all report Access is Denied when you attempt to open them, you probably entered the initial remote directory incorrectly in the Startup tab. Close the connection, click Connect, go to the startup tab and recheck the entry. If you notice an error, re-enter the directory and click Apply, the OK.
4.) If WS-FTP asks for your password again when you click OK, you probably forgot to check Save Password. This will happen continually until you enter the password in the Session profile, check save password and click Apply.
5.) The buttons on each side of the WS-FTP window are controls for their respective windows. For example, the DELETE button on the side of the right window deletes files for that folder. If you click the DELETE button while you have a file on the ProComm site selected, you will delete that file.
6.) The files you copy to your computer are not moved to your computer. They will reside on the ProComm server after you download them.

To download files:

1.) Once you connect to your folder on the ProComm ftp site, you should see any number of job folders within. Your job number is actually the last phrase of numbers in the link we email you. (See the syntax link above.) But if you want to find the latest upload, just look for the highest numbered folder and open it by double clicking it.
2.) Highlight all the files you wish to download to your drive by selecting them in the right window. If you want to select multiple files, click the first and last in the list while holding your SHIFT key. To select non-contiguous files, use the CNTL key while you click the files to download.