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Article ID: 240727 - Last Review: July 7, 2008 - Revision: 4.1

How to Use the FTP Utility in a Typical Session

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This article was previously published under Q240727
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SUMMARY

This article explains how to use the FTP utility, which is included with Windows NT 4.0, in a typical FTP session. This article covers the following topics:
  • Opening an FTP site
  • Browsing the list of files and folders
  • Changing folders
  • Copying a file from the FTP site to your local computer
  • Copying a file from your local computer to the FTP site
  • Ending an FTP session
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MORE INFORMATION

NOTES:
  • The FTP utility is run from the command prompt.
  • After each description of how to perform a step in the typical FTP session is sample screen output from that part of the session.
  • All FTP commands are case sensitive.
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Opening an FTP Site

To open an FTP site, perform the following:
  1. At the command prompt, type the following:
    ftp ServerName
    Note that the prompt changes to ftp>.
  2. Type anonymous when prompted for the user.
  3. Type any password.
Note: The "anonymous" user name is typically used to log on to FTP sites, particularly those that are not set up for users to copy files to. Usually, any text can be supplied for the password, including no text (just press the ENTER key when prompted for the password). 

C:\>ftp <ServerName>
Connected to <ServerName>.
220 <ServerName> Microsoft FTP Service (Version 4.0).
User (<ServerName>:(none)): anonymous
331 Anonymous access allowed, send identity (e-mail name) as password.
Password:
230 Anonymous user logged in.
ftp>
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Browsing the List of Files and Folders

To view the list of files and folders, type dir at the ftp prompt. 
ftp> dir
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls.
08-29-99  08:11PM                   35 File1.txt
08-29-99  08:11PM       <DIR>          Folder1
226 Transfer complete.
98 bytes received in 0.00 seconds (98000.00 Kbytes/sec)
ftp>
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Changing Folders

To change to a different folder (also known as the working directory), use the cd command.

Note: To change to the root folder, type either cd / or cd \. To change to the parent folder, use two periods (cd ..). 
ftp> cd folder1
250 CWD command successful.
ftp>
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Copying a File From the FTP Site to Your Local Computer

To copy a file from the FTP site to your local computer, use the get command. 
ftp> get file1.txt
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file1.txt(35 bytes).
226 Transfer complete.
35 bytes received in 0.16 seconds (0.22 Kbytes/sec)
ftp>
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Copying a File from your Local Computer to the FTP Site

To copy a file from your local computer to the FTP site, use the put command.

Note: Most sites only allow users to do this if they have logged on using a specific, preassigned user name, NOT the "anonymous" user. 
ftp> put myfile.txt
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for MyFile.txt.
226 Transfer complete.
36 bytes sent in 0.00 seconds (36000.00 Kbytes/sec)
ftp>
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Ending an FTP session

To end the FTP session, use the bye command. 
ftp> bye
221

C:\>
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Additional References

For a full list of the commands and parameters that can be used with the FTP utility, perform the following:
  1. From the Start menu, click Help.
  2. Click the Index tab, and then type ftp utility.
  3. In the list box, double-click the ftp utility entry.
  4. For a list of all FTP commands, double-click the (untitled #0) entry. For a list of parameters available when starting the ftp utility, double-click the (untitled #0) entry.
(c) Microsoft Corporation 2000, All Rights Reserved. Contributions by Kevin Zollman, Microsoft Corporation.

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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Internet Information Services 5.0
  • Microsoft Internet Information Services 6.0
  • Microsoft Internet Information Services 7.0
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Keywords: 
kbhowto KB240727
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