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What Is FTP?
There are several ways depending on your computer system, that you can
transfer files to your account directory. The process by which files are
transferred to the Web server is called "FTP" (File Transfer
Protocol). You have unlimited access via FTP 24 hours a day. As such,
you can create and maintain your Web pages on your own computer and upload
files to your Web site at your leisure. To upload your files to your account,
you need an FTP client/program.
Downloading FTP Software
For PC users WS_FTP is the recommended FTP client.
PC users, please download WS_FTP(LE) here and then proceed to the WS_FTP
LE tutorial .
For Macintosh users Fetch is the recommended FTP client.
Macintosh users, please download Fetch here and then proceed to the Fetch
tutorial.
Uploading With WS_FTP LE (PC Users)
Let's start by opening WS_FTP LE. This is done by clicking on the Start
button and then selecting Programs, then WS_FTP LE, and then WS_FTP LE.
When you open WS_FTP LE, you're taken directly to the Session Properties
Window. This is where you select which FTP site you'd like to connect
to. For this tutorial, we're going to connect to a new FTP site so please
click on the New button located near the top right-hand side of the Session
Properties Window.
When you click the New button, all the fields will go blank. To connect
to your account, you'll need to fill in the following information:
Profile Name: This is a nickname of sorts,
used for storing all the connection information for your FTP site. It
can be anything you like, but for this tutorial we'll use the Profile
Name my_website
Host Name/ Address: Put your domain name
here. If your domain name is not pointing to your account use your account’s
hostname. See note below.
User ID: Your Account Username
Password: Your Account Password
Note: Your account hostname and username can be found
in the Account Setup Confirmation Email that was sent
to you when your account was initially setup. Your account
hostname is usually "catisp.com”. If you did
not receive the Account Setup Confirmation Email please
contact our Support Department at (757) 313-7100 and
we will send it to the email address that you used when
you signed up.
Click the OK button and WS_FTP LE will connect you to your account. 
Special Note: If you are having trouble connecting try disabling Passive
Transfer in order to connect. This can be done by clicking on Options,
then selecting the Session tab and removing the check from "Use Passive
Transfer Mode".
Congratulations, if you’ve successfully connected to your account,
your WS_FTP LE screen should now look like this: 
The left side (or left pane) is a view of the files on your computer,
or your Local System. The right side is a view of the folders in your
account (the remote site). You’ll notice that there are several folders
in your account on the remote site. You should see a mail directory, a
public_ftp directory, a public_html directory, and a funny looking www
directory (actually a symbolic link).
Double click on the public_html directory on the remote site. Your screen
will look like the one below. 
- Navigate through your hard drive using the finder in the left window
of WS_FTP until you find your files. You can navigate your hard drive
to locate where your files are by double clicking on the green arrow
to move up to a different directory, and by double clicking on a folder
to go inside that specific directory.
- Locate your index page. Make sure it’s named index.html. (Important:
Your Web site’s initial page must be named index.html otherwise
visitors will not reach your domain when typing in www.yourdomain.com.)
- Highlight the index.html file by clicking it once as in the example
above.
- Make sure the “ASCII” radio button at the bottom is selected
since the file that you are transferring is a text file. If you are
transferring image files such as files with the .gif extension or .jpg
extension you should have the “Binary” radio button selected
instead of the “ASCII” button. Selecting the right transfer
mode is very important. If you are transferring a whole directory at
a once, select the “Auto” button and the program will try
to figure out the right mode for you. Generally the rule is this: If
you open the file up and it is human readable meaning that you see characters
that you recognize then it is ASCII. If you open it up and it looks
like a mess, then it should be transferred in “Binary”. HTML
files are human readable and so we transfer them in ASCII mode.
- To transfer the file from the left side of the screen to the right
side, click the right transfer arrow located between the right and left
panes. WS_FTP LE will then transfer the index.html file from your Local
System to your Remote Site. WS_FTP LE will inform you that there is
already a file on your Remote Site named index.html, and ask you if
sure you'd like to overwrite it.
Click the Yes button, which will overwrite the existing index.html file
that is already on your Remote Site with the index.html file you're uploading
from your Local System.
Congratulations, you’ve now successfully uploaded a file to your
account using WS_FTP LE.
Viewing Your Newly Uploaded Web Pages
If your domain name is not yet live on our servers either because it
hasn’t been registered yet or because the transfer
hasn’t been completed, you can view your pages
by using the hostname of the server as follows (replace
<username> with your account username):
http://www.catisp.com/~<username>
Note: Your account username can be found in the Account
Setup Confirmation Email that was sent to you when your
account was initially setup. If you did not receive
the Account Setup Confirmation Email please contact
our Support Department at (757) 313-7100 and we will
send it to the email address that you used when you
signed up.
If your domain name is live on our servers, you can view your pages within
any browser by typing any of the following in your browser (replace <yourdomain.com>
with your actual domain name):
http://www.<yourdomain.com>
http://<yourdomain.com>
www.<yourdomain.com>
http://www.<yourdomain.com>/index.html
http://<yourdomain.com>/index.html
www.<yourdomain.com>/index.html
As soon as a file is uploaded to the Web server, it is available for
all to see. If, after uploading a file, you are still unable to see the
updated file via Netscape, try hitting the "Refresh" or "Reload"
button. If that fails, you need to clear both disk and browser cache.
This function can be found by selecting Options>Network Preferences
in Netscape. Remember that you must first be connected to the Internet
through your local Internet service provider in order to connect to the
Web server.
Uploading With Fetch (Macintosh Users)
Each time you run Fetch, the New Connection window will be displayed.
A profile contains the information needed to connect to your Web site.
Creating a profile now will eliminate the need for you to configure the
software each time you wish to connect to the Web server via FTP. To create
a new profile, select "New Connection..." from the File menu.
Next, enter the Host, User ID, and password for your web site.
Host Name/ Address: Put your domain name here. If your domain name
is not pointing to your account use your account’s hostname. See
note below.
User ID: Your Account Username
Password: Your Account Password
Note: Your account hostname and username can be found in the Account
Setup Confirmation Email that was sent to you when your
account was initially setup. If you did not receive
the Account Setup Confirmation Email please contact
our Support Department at (757) 313-7100 and we will
send it to the email address that you used when you
signed up.
Don't worry about the Directory option right now. When you have your
Host, User ID, and Password entered, click on the OK button.
Bookmarking The Connection (Macintosh Users)
You should take the time, now that you have established your connection,
to make it easier for you to get here next time. Under the Customize menu,
select New Shortcut. A window will pop up called Bookmark Editor. It will
already have your name, Host, and User ID filled in. Under Type, choose
File from the pop-up menu. If you would like Fetch to remember your password
so you won't have to type it in each time, type in your password in the
Password field. Now, under the same Customize menu, choose Preferences,
and under the General tab, make sure the connection you just entered is
selected as the default shortcut. Next time you open up Fetch, your shortcut
will be opened automatically and all you'll have to do is click the OK
button.
Transferring Files (Macintosh Users)
You need to double-click on the public_html directory to get to your
Web directory. This is where all your files will be uploaded, and/or you
will create sub-directories. To make your home page load automatically,
name the HTML document "index.html" in lowercase and upload
it to the public_html directory of your account. To upload a file or files,
simply drag them from your hard drive onto the Fetch window when you are
in the appropriate directory or subdirectory. Be sure to upload HTML documents
and scripts in Text mode and images in BINARY mode. Or to make life easier,
click on the Automatic button, and Fetch will decide the proper format.
To transfer a file to a subdirectory, double-click the appropriate subdirectory
to open it before transferring the desired file(s).
As soon as a file is uploaded to the Web server, it is available for
all to see. If, after uploading a file, you are still unable to see the
updated file via Netscape, you need to hit the Reload button in the Netscape
button bar. Remember that you must first be connected to the Internet
through your local Internet Service Provider in order to connect to the
Web server.
Viewing Your Newly Uploaded Web Pages
If your domain name is not yet live on our servers
either because it hasn’t been registered yet or
because the transfer hasn’t been completed, you
can view your pages by using the hostname of the server
as follows (replace <username> with your account
username):
http://www.catisp.com/~<username>/
Note: Your account username can be found in the Account
Setup Confirmation Email that was sent to you when your
account was initially setup. If you did not receive
the Account Setup Confirmation Email please contact
our Support Department at (757) 313-7100 and we will
send it to the email address that you used when you
signed up.
If your domain is live on our servers, you can view your pages within
any browser by typing any of the following in your browser (replace <yourdomain.com>
with your actual domain name):
http://www.<yourdomain.com>
http://<yourdomain.com>
www.<yourdomain.com>
http://www.<yourdomain.com>/index.html
http://<yourdomain.com>/index.html
www.<yourdomain.com>/index.html
As soon as a file is uploaded to the Web server, it is available for
all to see. If, after uploading a file, you are still unable to see the
updated file via Netscape, try hitting the "Refresh" or "Reload"
button. If that fails, you need to clear both disk and browser cache.
This function can be found by selecting Options>Network Preferences
in Netscape. Remember that you must first be connected to the Internet
through your local Internet service provider in order to connect to the
Web server.
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