The acronym FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. What this means is that FTP is a common way to publish (or transfer) files from one place to another. In our case at Tarleton, we use FTP to send our website files to the www.tarleton.edu webserver.

Generally speaking, all FTP programs or methods are going to require the same basic information. They are going to need:

• Username (or Login Name)
• Password (or Passphrase or Passcode.)
• Remote Server (or Remote Host, or Web Server) - Where to upload files
• Remote Directory (or Remote Folder)* - Where to put the files ON the Remote Server
• Local Folder - Where you currently store and maintain your files on your local computer.

* Remote Directory may not always be required information. At Tarleton, only students are required to specify a remote directory (studenst/st_username).

Not all FTP programs will use this exact terminology or wording, but they all require the same basic information.

Knowing these principles will let you adapt to any FTP program, and figure out what you need to tell it so that you can use it to publish. If you would like more specific examples, for specific methods between various software check out some of our FTP walkthroughs.

File Management Tips & Guidelines

You are about to use software to educate your computer as to where you store and maintain your website files, documents, and graphics -- and how to transfer those files onto a web server to be seen on the internet.

If you haven't already, it may be a good idea to create a new folder on your computer where you will intend to keep your files that you'll work on before publishing them to your web space.

If you have access, Web Services highly recommends that you store your local files on your (H:) Home Drive. This will allow you to access them from any Tarleton network computer and even from home over VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Now that you've created a folder to store your web files in, you are ready to set upt FTP and begin transferring those files to the web.