A Brief Introduction to FTP - Transferring Files with IE
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Transferring files from your computer to your web site on your web host takes a little bit of set up if you want to do it efficiently. Now that you've connected to the web host via IE, minimize your browser and open up Windows Explorer. Go to the place on your hard drive where you have the files that you want to transfer to your web site. You can do this either by clicking the My Computer icon or by navigating to Windows Explorer in your Start menu (try Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Explorer).
Now you'll want to resize and reposition the Windows Explorer window so that it takes up roughly half your display. Maximize your Internet Explorer browser with its FTP connection to your web host, and resize it so that it takes up, roughly, the other half of your display. In other words, you want to position the two windows so that they are side by side.
At this point, all you need to do is drag and drop the files you want to transfer. You can copy and paste if you're more comfortable doing that. Either way, you need to keep in mind that as soon as you transfer a file to your web site, it is "live." You will immediately be able to navigate to your site (using http:// this time) and see that file. So it's a good idea to make sure you've thoroughly tested any files before you transfer them!
The transfer process works the other way, as well; you can transfer files from your web site to your computer. Keep in mind that "transferring" files doesn't actually transfer the file; it copies it. So if you want take down a file to work on it, you'll first have to "transfer" it to your own computer, and then delete it from the web site. You do the latter in the same way you'd do it on your own computer: by selecting the file and pressing the Delete key. You can also use the Delete command on the menu that pops up when you right click on the file name. You can also create folders on the FTP site, simply by right-clicking and choosing New|Folder from the pop-up menu. If you want to see all the files in a folder, just double click the icon, exactly as you would in Windows Explorer.
Next: Using FTP Client Programs >>
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