Starting FTP

[davidam]

I am trying to get a file uploaded to a server with FTP. There are lots of discussions about it but I seem to be stuck on the basics. It seems that ftp.exe is a program that is part of the Windows operating system...correct? It also seems that, to write code that will use FTP, ftp.exe must somehow be invoked...correct? I have seen references to using a shell file like this: Shell("ftp.exe -s:" & FtpFilePath & "ftpfile.bat", vbHide)
I wonder if anyone could shed some light on what this means.

 

[xenou]

The short answer is that you want to do in a batch file (simply a text file listing ftp commands) exactly what you would do at the dos prompt (you can use/test ftp at the command line by typing ftp at the dos prompt - you may like to type the commands in this way just to see how they work).

A fairly good walkthrough is here (the author first writes and saves the script itself in code, then executes the script in code):
http://www.tfcwpa.com/msaccess/ftpscript.htm

My successful attempt at this is described here:
http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=488454&highlight=shell

Be forewarned that ftp is not a secure protocol and passwords are sent in plain text without encryption. Also, for what it's worth, you can use windows explorer as a gui ftp client, and by opening another window on your pc you can just drag and drop files for transfer:
http://www.learnwebdesignonline.com/misc-tutorials/explorer-ftp-client.htm
I typically use Filezilla for secure connections, if possible. There are many good ftp clients available.

 

[davidam]

Plenty to work with. Thank you!