XferIt
Macintosh FTP Client v1.3.1
©1991 by Steven Falkenburg
A GooCo/Cyberite Systems Product

This is version 1.4  New features are listed near the end of this document.

XferIt is a Macintosh-based FTP client.  It can be used to send and receive files from various network hosts which support the TCP/IP File Transfer Protocol.  XferIt requires Apple's MacTCP and a Macintosh connected to a TCP/IP network to run.  MacTCP is available from Apple Programmers' and Developers' Association (APDA).

To connect to a remote host using XferIt, choose "New Connection" from the "File" menu, or choose a frequently-used host from the "Hosts" menu.  XferIt will then ask for the host name, user name, and password to connect to the remote computer, and then will attempt to open a connection to this host.

Once the connection has been established, XferIt will display a browser window for the entry-level directory on that host.  XferIt has a multi-window browser interface for looking at files/folders on remote computers.  To browse another directory, simply double-click on the name of that directory.  Another window will be opened containing the files and folders in that directory.  To download a file, first choose the file transfer type from the "Transfer" menu.  Then simply double-click on the file to be downloaded and select the destination for the file, or choose "Get Selected File..." from the "Remote" menu.  The file will then be transferred.  The menu command "Send File..." under the "Remote" menu is used to send a file from the Mac to another computer.  XferIt supports text, binary, MacBinary, and BinHex transfers, except that BinHex send is not supported.

Many other options are available from the program's menus.  To view a text file without downloading it, select "View Selected File" from the remote menu.  Up to the first 32k of the file will be displayed in a text window, available for saving or printing.  To change to an arbitrary directory selected by pathname, choose "Change Directory..." from the "Remote" menu.  A directory may be viewed verbosely by selecting "Verbose Directory List" from the "Remote" menu.  This executes the FTP command "DIR" on the remote host and returns the result in a text window.  To send an entire directory, choose the "Send Directory..." command from the "Remote" menu.  Finally, directories can be created by the "New Directory..." command, and files can be erased with the "Remove Selected File" command.

Communications preferences are saved in a separate file, and can be changed via the "Preferences" menu.  To change the timeout in seconds for FTP commands, choose "Set Timeout Value...".  The directory delimiter character can be modified (i.e. from "/" to ":") by selecting "Set Directory Delimiter...".  To receive and send files without prompting for new names or destinations, the "Prompt for Filenames" option can be checked or unchecked.  If unchecked, "Set Receive Directory" changes the destination directory for FTP receives.

The "Hosts" menu can be used to store the names of frequently accessed hosts.  To add or remove hosts from this list, choose "Modify this Menu...".  This will display a scrolling list of the hosts currently in the list and allow the user to add or remove hosts by selecting "Add" or "Remove" from the dialog.  This host information is stored along with the other preferences in an "XferIt Prefs" file in the System Folder (or the Preferences Folder) under System 7.0.

Other Features
XferIt supports multiple connections to different hosts, although only one transfer may be active at a time.  Also, XferIt will work in the background, so once a transfer has started, you may switch out and do other work.

Known bugs/problems/anomalies:
VMS systems are compatible with XferIt, but you must set the directory delimiter character to an empty string for transfers to work properly.  Also, as mentioned above, BinHex send is not implemented.

New Features in version 1.2
There are several new features since the 1.1 release.  These include a log window, which stores the previous contents of the status window, type selecting for list windows, and ftp mount-point aliases.  These aliases are files which contain the hostname, and optionally the username, password and directory to connect to on a remote machine.  When an alias is opened from the Finder or from the Hosts menu command "Open Alias...", the connection is established with the proper machine.  To make an alias, log onto a host, select the ftp window the alias should point to, and select "Create Alias to This Host..." from the Hosts menu.  The program will then prompt for a user name and password, both of which can be left blank if desired.  Finally, the site license costs have been re-figured and adjusted.

New Features in version 1.3
Version 1.3 has several bug fixes and new features.  New features are Send Tree and Get Tree functions, which send or retrieve an entire sub-tree of files.  Also new is a scripting language which is similar to a standard UNIX command set.  The scripting language is described in more detail within the example script included in this package.  Bug fixes include VM/CMS support and file replacement on receives.  In addition, a filetype guessing option is now available.

New in 1.3.1
Yet another maintanence release...  This version finally adds real VMS support.  Also, the get tree command has been fixed (there was a major problem with it in 1.3) and better error handling (including notification manager support) has been added.

New In 1.4
This is a maintenence/bug fix release, but IÕm finding enough bugs that I went to a newer number so people were sure to upgragde.  Notable improvements are with the speed of command processing and much improved compatibilty with Mac Pluses.

XferIt is a copyrighted shareware product of GooCo (a division of Cyberite Systems).  Single copies are $10, and a site license costs $45/appletalk zone and $175/appletalk internet.  Please make checks payable to:

Steven Falkenburg
10270 Parkwood Drive, Apt 3
Cupertino, CA 95014

E-mail:
sfalken@apple.com
