Use FTP Software to Automate File Upload / Download
Maintaining a website is challenging and time
consuming.
File transfer in
Auto FTP
Manager is not only about uploads and downloads, it's also about
executing them in combination with other useful tasks to keep web sites clean.
These tasks, which Auto FTP Manager does for you, help in dealing with the
dynamics of file transfer procedures.
There are different situations that might arise
during a file transfer. The key to proper site maintenance lies in managing
these contingencies and dealing with them immediately. This is accomplished
using a set of pre-defined rules called
'Action
Rules'. Action Rules are simply a set of rules that help define the task to be carried out by Auto FTP
Manager in addition to file transfers, for example, deletion of a file
after transfer. Action
Rules can be specified
only for
Automated Transfer Profiles.
With Action Rules in place, you're able to act
quickly and prevent your site from becoming cluttered with a lot of redundant
or unnecessary files in either remote or local folders.
Let's look at a few common scenarios that occur
during file transfers, and how
Action Rules helps manage them.
- When local file/folder is not present on the remote folder
It's a good idea to keep the contents of remote and local folders identical for easy maintenance.
Consider this hypothetical situation:
A web site with tens of pages changes its content daily. New pages are constantly created and saved in the local folder, to be subsequently uploaded to the remote folder. A few, new pages might not be
uploaded in time, even though they're ready for transfer. This could severely hamper the efficiency and productivity of the site.
The solution is to use an Action Rule in Auto FTP Manager that states "Transfer file from
(Folder 1) to (Folder 2)", to automate
the task of transferring the file from your local folder to the remote folder which is the destination. This same step can also be initiated for entire folders.
It is important to note that everywhere in the application, Folder 1 would be the name of your local folder. This could be a PC Folder or Network
Drive location. The name of the remote folder or in this case, the FTP Server would appear in place of Folder 2.
If you want to upload the local file and delete it after upload for better space management on the local side, then you can set an Action Rule that states
"Delete file from (Folder 1) After Transfer".
- File/folder is not present on the local folder
In certain situations, the file that is present in the remote folder might not exist in the local source folder. In such a case
you can check the action rule "Transfer file from (Folder 2) to (Folder 1)", Folder 2 being the remote folder and Folder 1 being your local folder.
If you want to delete the file from the remote folder after it has been transferred to the local folder, opt for the Action Rule "Delete file from (Folder 2)
after Transfer".
- Conflict Resolution
A conflict occurs when a file to be transferred is present in both, the source as well as the destination folder. This can be overcome with the
help of conflict resolution ptions that save you of the trouble of actually comparing both file versions and deciding which file to keep and which one to replace. You
have to select a folder. The files from the selected folder will be transferred to other
folder
incase they
are present
in both.
The 5
conflict
resolution
options are:
- Overwrite: With this option
the file on the other folder will be overwritten with the one present on the
folder you have selected.
- Append
date and
time: Here the file will be transferred
from the selected folder to the other folder. It will be renamed in the
other folder by appending the current date and time.
- Skip: The file will not be transferred
i.e. no action will take place.
- Overwrite
with
newer: If the newer file
(with reference to
the date and time of the files) is present in the selected folder, the older
file in the other folder will be overwritten with this newer file.
- Overwrite
with
larger: If the file that
is larger in size is present on the selected folder, the smaller one in the
other folder will be overwritten by this larger file.
- Filters
By default,
all files
are included
in the
automated
transfer
process. If
you want to
include only
certain type
of files in
the transfer
process or
exclude some
file types,
you can put
a filter on
them. Simply
select the Include or Exclude option and
specify the File Type you want.
You have
other
advanced
filtering
options like Modification
Date and File Size.
- Specifying Action Rules
Action Rules can be
defined while creating
an Automated Transfer
Profile. A profile
consists of information regarding the connection details, folders to
synchronize, files to be included or excluded during transfers and other
customizable options.
You can edit Action Rules in the following way:
- Start Auto FTP Manager.
- From the profiles list, right-click on the
Automated
Transfer Profile
whose
Action Rules
you want to
edit. Click on Edit Profile.
- Click on Transfer tab on
the Edit
Profile
Properties dialog.
- Make
changes to
the Action
Rules by
selecting
the options
you want.
- Click on OK
With well-configured Action Rules in place, you can
concentrate on the core business of running the web site instead of getting
bogged down by manual maintenance tasks.