This article contains frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding AppleShare IP 6 FTP Service, with answers to those questions.

1. How are 'put' files stored on the server?
2. Are files uploaded to the FTP Server automatically binhexed?
3. Are they also compressed?
4. Are files downloaded from the FTP Server automatically decoded?
5. How do I FTP from Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer if a name and password are required?
6. When I log into an AppleShare IP 6 Server via AppleTalk and the Chooser, I can 'upload' files in a drop folder. However, when I log in as the same user to the same Server via FTP, the FTP application says "Access Denied" when 'putting' files in the same drop folder.
7. Why can't I 'put' files in a folder with "Drop Box" permissions?
8. Does the FTP server resolve aliases that reside on it?
9. Why can't I use "mget" to get a list of files?
10. Can I do 'get' or 'put' to ASIP FTP server from BBEdit?
11. Is it normal to see folders listed that I do not have read- and/or write-access to?
12. Can I share graphic files with a PC/Windows client using FTP?

Question 1: How are 'put' files stored on the server?

Answer : Files are stored in their original format. You do not need to convert files to MacBinary or BinHex before uploading to the FTP server. The FTP server will do this automatically.

Question 2 : Are files uploaded to the FTP Server automatically binhexed?

Answer : The encoding of a file in any format is specific to the client used. The most common formats are MacBinary and Binhex. Many Macintosh FTP clients will automatically encode the file before posting it to the server in the format selected by their preference setting.

When a file is received by the AppleShare IP server, it will automatically decode any file in the MacBinary or Binhex format.

Question 3 : Are they also compressed?

Answer : The compression of a file is entirely dependent on the FTP client being used. Some Macintosh FTP clients have the ability to compress a file before sending it to the server, if that function is enabled by their preference setting.

The AppleShare IP FTP is not capable of decompressing files.

Question 4 : Are files downloaded from the FTP Server automatically decoded?

Answer : Not all transmitted files are encoded, so sometimes decoding is not necessary. If decoding is necessary, most of the FTP clients for the Macintosh are capable of decoding automatically. The behavior in this matter is entirely dependent on the FTP client.

Here are the rules the FTP server uses to determine what type of encoding is necessary:

If the transfer mode is "text" (ASCII) and the target file is a text file, then it is encoded in the text format. If the transfer mode is "text" (ASCII) and the target file is not a text file, then it is encoded in the Binhex format. If the transfer mode is "binary" (Image), then just the data fork of the file is transferred with no encoding. If the transfer mode is "binary" (Image) and a "MACB E" command has been issued, then the file is encoded in MacBinary format.

Fetch (3.0.2 and greater) has been modified to be AppleShare IP friendly. It will automatically take care of all encoding/decoding needs if left in the "Automatic" mode.

Question 5 : How do I FTP from Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer if a name and password are required?

Answer : Use this URL format: ftp://username:password@ftp.site.com/

Question 6 : When I log into an AppleShare IP 6 Server via AppleTalk and the Chooser, I can 'upload' files in a drop folder. However, when I log in as the same user to the same Server via FTP, the FTP application says "Access Denied" when 'putting' files in the same drop folder.

Answer : In order to use a common AppleShare IP dropbox, the FTP client needs to have the "store unique" option available. Currently, Fetch does not support this feature. Most Unix clients will support this "store unique" option. Macintosh FTP clients may or may not support the "store unique" option.

Store Unique supported:

• Vicom FTP Client 2.8.1 (under Preferences: Default Server Settings: Files, choose "Make Unique Files").

• Fetch 3.0.3
• Anarchie Pro 3.5
• NetFinder 2.0

Question 7 : Why can't I 'put' files in a folder with "Drop Box" permissions?

Answer : In order to maintain security and a consistent user experience across all services, the FTP client must use the "Store Unique" option in order to put files in a "Drop Box" folder. While most Mac clients currently do not support this feature, many Unix FTP clients do, as does NCSA Telnet when used as an FTP client.

Question 8 : Does the FTP server resolve aliases that reside on it?

Answer : AppleShare IP 5.0 does not resolve aliases to ensure server security. AppleShare IP 6 does resolve aliases. User privileges may have to be set to allow access to folders where the application or file is located.

Question 9 : Why can't I use "mget" to get a list of files?

Answer : You can use the "mget" command on some FTP clients to retrieve a list of files rather than one at a time. However, the list must consist of full filenames. Wildcarding filenames (e.g. *.jpg) are not supported in this release of the FTP server.

Question 10 : Can I do 'get' or 'put' to ASIP FTP server from BBEdit?

Answer : Yes.

Question 11 : Is it normal to see folders listed that I do not have read- and/or write-access to?

Answer : Yes. This is standard policy for all types of ftp servers.

Question 12 : Can I share graphic files with a PC/Windows client using FTP?

Answer : The AppleShare IP FTP server will place files in a shared folder, with a suffix of .bin is attached to the name. In other words, if I have a file called graphic1 and place it in a shared folder called graphicFiles, when viewed from an FTP client program, the files shows up as graphic1.bin. This is not a problem for the Mac clients but it turns out to be a problem for the PC/Windows clients. When the PC/Windows clients access the file and downloads it, the file is unreadable. However, if on a Mac client, I FTP the file using Fetch or ICQ directly to the PC/Windows clients computer, the problem with reading the file disappears.

The logic is as follows:

If a file contains a resource fork, it is automatically served up as a MacBinary file regardless of its file extension. It was necessary for us to implement this behavior in order to get the Netscape browsers to download files properly via FTP.

In the "AppleShare Web & File" extension, there is a 'pref' resource that can be changed to prevent the the above behavior. In the meantime, resource editor savvy users (with a resource editor such as ResEdit*) can change the value of the 'pref' resource ID 1755 from "0001" to "0000" to disable auto MacBinary encoding.

* Warning: The instructions in this article refer to using ResEdit to alter your system software. Apple Computer, Inc., is not liable for any damage done to your software through the use of ResEdit to alter the software.