eftp505.zip

Note: This review pertains to version 5.0.4. See addendum below.

Installation is a straight forward approach and installs simply by unzipping the archived file into a temporary directory and then unzipping the eftp.zip and execute install. The installation allows you to specify the drive and directory for the program. A folder containing the executable, online ordering object and basic information will be created on the desktop. There is no uninstall program. Just delete the desktop object and directory or drag to the Shredder, but I can't imagine you wanting to uninstall this client No changes to the CONFIG.SYS, no need to reboot and there were no entries added to the OS2.INI.

Configuration is easily understood. Several options are offered and are pretty much self explanatory. The "Help" is compresensive and covers all areas of configuration. F1 will initiate help in any window.

EmTec FTP is very easy to use. Upon starting the program you will be presented with the Control Panel and the Server list window. The Server list window allows you to add, edit, and remove and connect to servers. Adding new servers is a breeze. Selecting the "Add" button brings up a new window where you can enable firewall login, server name, address and type of server that you are connecting to. Normally, the "Auto Detect" is sufficient, but in some cases you may be required to select a specific type of server. There are seventeen server options listed.

If configured properly, a RMB click in the "Username" field will automatically insert "anonymous" and your email address as the "Password".

Leaving the "Remote Directory" field empty will connect to the root of the ftp site or the directory that the adminstrator has provided for public access. You may indicate the remote server directory example: /pub. The default "Local Directory" is automatically inserted as indicated in the configuration. This can be changed if need be and once connected it's also very easy to change directories. A simple C: will take you to the root of C\:.

Selecting "Show Login dialog for the server" will bring up a window when connecting to the server which allows you to enter login and password or right mouse click for default. Also, it let's you select the account, local and remote directories and offers the option of using the passive mode which is useful if you're behind a firewall and works with some sock servers instead of having to use bind.

Time to "Connect". This can be achieved by either pressing the "Connect" button or left mouse double click on the server in the server list. (Single RMB click with bring up the selected server for editing.) A new connection split window will appear and contain the local and remote transfer windows and a toolbar.

The bottom of the server window contains the percent complete indicator for file transfers, status line which tells what processess are active, a transfer rate indicator and an ETA in hh:mm:ss.

There is a console window that can be toggled on/off and will appear at the bottom of the window. This can be extremely helpful if you are having difficulty connecting. It displays the activity between the ftp client and the ftp daemon. If the site is too busy and refuses connection, a message window will be displayed and you can select the option to have it continue to log in until it is successful or abandon the connection. While waiting for the connection, you may want to start a connection to a different or the same server simultaneously. Mulitple sessions is a nice feature. You have to love multi-threading.

Once connection has been established, you will see the remote directory/file listing in the right, Remote, split window. There are three methods that can be used to issue commands. The "File" drop down menu, the buttons on the toolbar or right mouse clicking in the appropriate window will display a menu of options.

For uploading, "Put", or downloading, "Get", either individual or multiple files may be selected by holding down the LMB to highlight the files. You may also select the first file then hold down 'ctl' and select the last file in the sequence. This will highlight all files from the first to last file selected. You may then use the put or get option or drag and drop the files to the destination window.

Last but not least, a feature which I especially like is the the "Download List". This allows you to select files from various directories and upload or download them all at once rather than one-by-one. Once you have selected all files and added them to the download list, you may edit the list should you change your mind. This also shows the total byte count of the files in the download list.

Well worth taking a close look at.

Addendum: Version 5.0.5 has been released and contains quite a few bug fixes and the following "New" features.

Option to upgrade existing program.
Option to install default bookmarks.
Options to not to show Server Phonebook when EmTec FTP starts.
Tree-like Server Phonebook and Bookmarks menu.
Window submenu in Control Panel includes all opened connections.

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ftpbr171.zip

The latest release is version 1.7.1. Here are some additional comments since the review of version 1.6.1.

The desktop folder now contains an Install object which allows you to upgrade, uninstall or "Move", which will relocate the program to a different path. There is also an option to "Clean" your data files. This feature is used after an upgrade to remove all unused data and reorganize the data files for efficiency when FTP Browser accesses them.

Installation adds an entry in the OS2.INI and uninstalling cleaning removes this entry.

The default grey colored window didn't appeal to me, so I found that you can drag and drop from the font and color palette and the changes are saved.

There's an option in site properties notebook for converting uploaded file names to FAT (8.3) format. Not useful to me since I use HPFS, but thought I'd throw it in for those of you that might use a FAT file system.

Another handy feature is the tile and cascade ftp window option. I opened five different ftp sessions, not to mention the other active windows, and the windows were placed at random on the desktop. Selecting the cascade option organized the windows and brought them to the foreground. I then selected "Close all" and was left with the Site Manager window.

Dragging and dropping files into the queue window and then closing the connnection to the remote server displayed a dialog, "There are items in the queue. Would you like to save the queue to a file?" Selecting yes and then reopening the same server connection displayed a dialog, "A transfer list for this site has been found. Would you like to load this list into the queue?

There is a "Filter site directories" option that filters certain files that are generally of no use to the average user from the remote file listing. I went to several sites and saw no difference in the directory listings. Checked the online help and it said you should be able to specify a filter. Well, I found nowhere to specify a filter. Then I stumbled upon the "Features that may not be obvious". They sure were right...it wasn't obvious. So before you go looking, append the filter to the end of the directory such as /pub/incoming/*.zip. This will display only the files with the zip extension. To remove the filter, refresh the directory.

The two "Cons" listed in the OS/2 eZine review were the inability to skip or replace existing files without using the confirmation dialog for each file and the inability to drag and drop ftp objects from the FTPBrowser window to the desktop.

I selected files that were already present in my local directory from the ftp site then dragged and dropped them into the queue window. Once I chose to download all of the files, I was presented with a dialog box that also had the option to "Apply action to all existing files". I selected this and "Overwrite" and it transferred all files that were already present on the target drive without further confirmation.

The drag and drop from the FTPBrowser to the desktop feature has been added but not the ability to drag and drop from the desktop to FTPBrowser.

This was my first look at this program and I must say, it's impressive.
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ftpit23.exe

This program is fully functional but will not run after 28 days if not registered.

If you already have VROBJ.DLL in a directory in your LIBPATH statement in the config.sys, you may delete this file from the FTPIT directory.

Installation is simple but there are a couple of missing features. Copy the self extracing file into a temporary directory and execute ftpit23.exe. Then run install and a window appears with a readme file and an "Actions" menu that offers the options of "Install Product", "Remove Products", remove will be discussed later, "Exit" and "Update" options, which were greyed out. Selecting install gave me a choice of where I wanted the program installed and then created a desktop folder that contained "Online Registration", "FTP-It!" "Users Guide" and another "Read Me", which explains how to install, a bit after the fact. Hmmm... where's the object for install/uninstall/update???? Nope, it's not even available in the new destination install directory. Oh well, I'll check that out after evaluating the program.

Initiating the program brings up a window which is resizable, font and color palette aware and the changes are saved automatically. Selecting "Settings..." from the "Option" menu presents the configuration notebook. One of the options is setting a default logon for new hosts. This will appear in each host that you create.

"Logon" opens the Logon Information window, this window is positioned on top of the parent "Local Host" window, but once you logon to a site, the window is relocated and both windows are accessible. Selecting "Window" from either menu bar and then "Arrange" will place the two windows side by side.

One feature that I found a bit clumsy was the "Browse" option on the pop-up menu. This is used to read a remote ascii file, but it actually downloads the file to your local harddrive and then opens the File Browser which contains the text. You're offered the option to "Delete", but once deleted the filename remains in the local "Files" list. In order to remove the filename, you need to select "Refresh" from the "Option" menu.

Downloading is as easy as dragging and dropping the file from the remote window to the local window and this applies for uploading. If you select "Send to local" from the pop-up menu or the "File" menu, you are asked to confirm transfer. This can be disabled in the host settings notebook. Multiple files may be selected consecutively by holding LMB down and dragging over the file names. Random files may be selected by pressing Ctl+LMB click on the random file to be transferred.

In order to remove the program, you either need to unzip the original archive into a temp directory and run the install again. I didn't delete the temporary directory, so I returned and ran the "Remove Products" option. A dialog stated "Note: Because it is not possible to remove a running program, you should start the removal procedure from the installation media and not from the installed version of this intallation program." So removing from the temporary directory removed everything except the FTPIT directory and the FTPIT.INI. Well, I found this inconvenient so I decided to try move the install.exe from the temp direcotry to the FTPIT program directory and ran it from there. This produced the same results except that the install.exe was also present in the FPTIT directory along with the FTPIT.INI after removal.

I was unable to evaluate the "Update" feature. I contacted the author for an older version, but haven't received as yet.
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get105.zip

Started from a OS/2 window or fullscreen command line. Easy to understand readme lists command line parameters. Example batch files are included.

According to the readme "The intent of the project is to provide ftp capability as an add on to applications that people develop."
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gcpftp10.zip

Unzip in temporary and run install program. Self explanatory with quite a few options. A folder containing the application, help file, registration, Gibbon Brand, document and a help viewer will be created on the desktop. Gibbon Brand is used to register the program.

The first time the program is started, it presents the "General Settings" notebook. Settings are to be verified or changed as these will be used as the default settings. This is very handy and quite configurable.

Once the General Settings notebook is closed, a server entry for Gibbons ftp site is presented for review of settings. After this window is closed, a dialog states that server entries will be created for some of the common OS/2 and IBM ftp sites.

I didn't set a default password and attempted to set it through the "General Settings" notebook once the application started. If you have any servers already created, any changes made for default settings will only apply for newly created servers. In order for it to be global, the GIBBON.INI has to be deleted and you go through the verification process again.

The program window has two panels with the FTP groups displayed as folders in the left panel and the contents of the selected folder is displayed in the right panel. The split bar allows you to resize the panels. A **Generic** object is always displayed in the FTP Servers panel for manual connections or you can "Copy" and create a new server.

This initial window does not provide a help menu. In order to initiate help, you have to go back to the application folder and select the "Gibbon FTP Help File". This opens a window that looks like an .inf file window. It's resizable, but doesn't save the size/position when reopened. When this window is opened a small dialog also opens with the copyright information about the help viewer. This has to be closed seperately. You'd think it would close when you close the help file window.

Once a connection is selected a window is displayed with a top panel which contains the remote directories and files and the bottom panel which contains the local drives and default or customized directory that was selected for download.

Downloading or uploading is made easy by either dragging and dropping, RMB click for menu or selecting the appropriate arrow on the toolbar.

In order to see the transfer status, you must select "Transfer Status" from the "Windows" menu. There is no place that you can stipulate that it be activated upon transfer of files. This is not ideal.

Time to uninstall. This has to be done manually. There is no uninstall program. I didn't select to have the install update my config.sys, so I won't need to delete any entries from that, but the install did put two entries in the OS2.INI. I used an ini editor and deleted these entries.

This *could* have been a decent ftp client if it was still in development, but..........
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iftp114.zip

Starting the program opens a split screen window that displays the local drives and directory tree in the left window and remote active FTP connections in the right window. There is also a "FXP Queue [0]" in the remote window which will be discussed later in the review. Below the local window is the field "Shredder" which accepts drag and drop for deleting files. Or you may select a file and RMB click and select "Delete" from the pop-up menu. Below the left remote window is a field that will display the active ftp site address.

The "File" menu offers the following options:

"Configuration" consists of entering your email address. Once this is entered, you can just double click on the "Login" field and Login: "anonymous" and Password: "your email address" is automatically entered.

"Address Book" holds all of the ftp sites. The folders, subfolders and contents are displayed in a tree view. Ftp sites are easily added and can be customized for each site or the default logon anonymous and email password can be easily entered by double clicking in the "Logon" or "Password" field. There is also an option for scripting which is useful for automating repetive tasks. The "Help" menu lists the commands that are accepted.

"Manual Connect" permits you to do just that. You type in the ftp site address and either your logon and password or double click in the logon or password field for the default logon. These are a one-time-only type connection. If you find that you're frequently going to the same site, add it to your address book for convenience.

Selecting a site from the address book, displays the remote site in a tree view in the left side of the split window. For details to be displayed, the option has to be selected in the address book or RMB click on the folder and make the selection from the menu. The default is without any details.

The field directly below the remote window displays the site address. RMB click on this field displays the ftp address. When connected to more than one site, a RMB click on the field lists all sites that have active connections. Selecting one of these sites will jump to that directory tree in the remote window. You may also scroll through the list of connections.

The bottom of the program window looks like a spiral notebook and once connected a tab is displayed for each active ftp connection. Switching from one tab to the other did nothing, so I finally checked out the help and found that it displays an activity log. After resizing the area, I was able to view the log. This is great if you're having difficulty connecting to a server, but it would be nice if you could toggle it off/on. I just resized so that it wasn't visible.

To transfer a file, you may either drag and drop, RMB on the file and select the option from the menu to put, get, queue, delete or view. View can only be used to view text files.

I had three active connections and one broke connection. I attempted to get it out of the remote window but could find no way to do so. RMB click only gave the option to "Logout" and selecting this did nothing. I had to leave it until the program was shutdown.

At the very top of the remote window is the FXP QUEUE [0] which I mentioned earlier in the review. This is used to transfer files from server to server without them going through your personal machine. The purpose of this is to upload these files to a server that is closer to you and will provide a faster download. You need to be connected to two sites then either drag and drop the files that you want to send to the FXP Queue or RMB click on the file and make your selection from the menu.

Uninstalling is a matter of deleting the desktop object and the directory where you installed IFTP. No entry was placed in the OS2.INI or additions to the CONFIG.SYS.
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javaftp.zip

The program can be started from command line by entering "java JavaFTP" or create an object on the desktop with "Path and filename" java.exe "Parameters" JavaFTP. Remember that Java is case sensitive.

Documentation is poor. There are no help files except a readme that tells you how to run the program.

Starting the program presents a split panel window. the left panel for local system and right panel for remote system.

Well so much for this review. The program starts but that's about it. I was unable to do anything without it throwing a java exception. So I went back and put every subdirectory in the CLASSPATH and still no go.

I'm running Warp 4.0 with fixpack 8 and Java 1.1.7. If anyone has been able to get this program to work in this environment, just drop me a line at bri@gt-online.com and I'll be glad to do a review.
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lwpftp11.zip

ncftp2r1.zip

Installation is manual. Unzip into a permanant directory. Add NcFTP.exe to the PATH statement in the config.sys. Add NcFTP.inf to the BOOKSHELF statement. The following environment variables are required for NcFTP to run properly: HOME, HOSTNAME and DOMAIN. I created a desktop object and run it from there. It has a nice icon of a monitor with a bolt of lightning going through it to represent the speed

NcFTP runs in three modes, visual mode, line mode and colon mode. The visual mode is the most commonly used and will be reviewed. The line mode is a command line interface and the colon mode can be used to quickly retrieve a file from command line without going into NcFTP's shell.

The visual mode allows you to configure the program using a screen instead of typing commands.

Visual mode is the default. The first time you start NcFtp, a splash screen appears and the subdirectory .ncftp is created in the HOME directory. This is where saved settings, bookmarks, macros and log files are stored. At the bottom of the screen is a command line with a blinking cursor. Entering "pref" brings up the "Preferences" screen with several items that can be customized. Entering "colors" displays the color configuration screen with several options for customizing background and foreground colors.

Entering "open" displays the bookmark editor. This has a list of every site that I've visited and the last directory that I was in when I closed the ftp session. These are saved in alphabetical order. Let's say I go to hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming. Once I end the ftp session this information is saved. In order to save keystrokes, NcFTP saves each site with a name in addition to the ftp address. So the above example was saved as hobbes. By reopening NcFTP and typing "open hobbes" an ftp session to the hobbes is initiated. Well, hobbes is too much to type , so I type "open" and scroll down to the hobbes entry. Type /ed for edit and change the name to "hob". Now I just need to type "open hob" to start an ftp session to the hobbes ftp site. The bookmark file is easily customized for sites that require a specific login and password.

I have one complaint about the bookmark file. It saves the address of every site visited unless you set the "Max bookmarks to save" in preferences. If a max limit is set, once this limit is reached, NcFTP uses the log file to delete the site with the oldest date. So let's say the oldest site was a site that you visited 9 months ago, it would be deleted automatically. If no limit is set and you ftp to alot of different sites, the bookmark file can grow to a very large size. Ideally, an option to save or not save as a bookmark would be useful.

The user also has the option of creating a Macro file. This is *very* handy. My default local startup directory is k:\\download, but when I ftp to my homepage site to upload, I want my local directory to be the one that contains my html files. I have a macro setup to change to this directory. I type "gt" instead of typing "lcd k:\www\html\" and it's done.

Once connected to an ftp server, all of the normal ftp commands can be used. Type help for a list of the commands and help for the explanation.

Need to quickly grab a file? Use the "colon mode" by going to a command line and typing ncftp hobbes.nmsu.edu:/pub/incoming/readme.txt. This will d/l the readme.txt from hobbes and place it in the current directory.

The NcFTP information file is very well written and has all the answers to any question you may have about the program.

This is such a dynamic ftp client, that I won't even attempt to cover all of the features. I highly recommend NcFTP.
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wget153.zip

As you all know, Communicator/2 does not support drag and drop so the Netscape/2 browser is required.

This review is worth checking out. The author's homepage which has instructions for installation is in Russian but Nenad's review provides complete instructions for installation - .
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