FTP

Common Questions
What is FTP?
What programs do you recommend?
How do I configure my FTP software to access your servers?
Can I FTP from my browser?
Can I FTP through the IP address?
Is my FTP password the same as my client password?
Can I change my password?
Can anonymous users ftp (upload or download) from my site?
Is FTP secure?
When I’m using FTP, can I edit on the server?
I want my clients to be able to download files from my web site. Do I have to have anonymous FTP access?

Common Problems
I tried a couple of times to log in unsuccessfully (cap locks on, wrong password, wrong username, etc.) and now nothing I do seems to work.  What’s wrong?
I can see my website and I can ping my website, but I cannot FTP to my website. What’s wrong?
I just uploaded my files but they aren’t appearing when I type in my domain? Do I need to reload?
I can’t see my home page.  I can just see your pale blue welcome screen.  What’s wrong?
I lost my connection while I was uploading my site.  Can I begin where I left off?
My site is so confusing - I'm not sure what's new and what's old.  Can you just delete it so I can reload it?

What is FTP?
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol.  It is a special protocol used to upload and download files.  It is different from the regular Internet for a number of reasons.  Most of the rest of the Internet is based on HTTP – or HyperText Transfer Protocol.  FTP is a different protocol altogether.  It is also connected through a different port on the computers than HTTP, which is why sometimes you can access your website and not be able to FTP. (answer below)

What programs do you recommend?
There are number of excellent programs that will do the trick.  Some have better features than others.  Here are a few of our favorites.  (We use FTP Pro because it is so easy to set up and transfer files.)

• WS-FTP - for Windows – This excellent program is an Internet standard.  It is very easy to use.

• FTP Voyager - A little more complex than WS-FTP, but also excellent.  More features.

• BulletProof FTP - Excellent shareware program.

• Internet Neighborhood - for Windows

• Fetch - for Macintosh

• Internet Explorer - Yes, you can use your browser to FTP into your site.  See below for details.

Also note:  Most high-end text editors have built-in FTP programs.  ScriptWorx is a free HTML and Script editor that also allows FTP. 

How do I configure my FTP software to access your servers?
The actual name of the fields varies from program to program, but generally, if your domain is www.mydomain.com and your password is abcd-1234, then

• Username – mydomain

• Password = abcd-1234

• Host = ftp.mydomain.com  (Note:  You can put the IP address of the server here, as well.)

The username can vary if you have one of those +15 character domain names.  Make sure to check if you have any questions.  The e-mail we send out when the domain is signed up will offer this information.

Can I FTP from my browser?
Yes, you can use Internet Explorer on Windows as an FTP client.  In the address window, type in ftp://ftp.yourdomain.com/your_username.  The directory structure for your site will appear in the browser.  Right now it is simply read only.  Right click in the window and click on "Login As."   When the dialogue box appears, key in your username and password.  The screen will appear to flicker.  To make uploading and downloading easier, you can click on "Folders" located on Internet Explorer's toolbar.

Can I FTP through the IP address?
Yes, you can put the IP address  of the server your site is on instead of the ftp.yourdomain.com in the host field.  This can be useful if your domain hasn't moved yet and you want to put the site up ASAP.  However, it is important to remember that you cannot see the website through the IP address.  If you need to be able to few the site for fine tuning or are using FrontPage, please contact support and we can make alternate arrangments.

Is my FTP password the same as my client password?
Not necessarily, especially if you have more than one website.  Check the e-mail that Coastline originally sent you and see of the Client Password and the FTP passwords listed separately.

Can I change my password?
Yes. Go into the control panel, log in with your Client ID and password. You can change the FTP password from there.  You have to know the old password, however, to do that.  If you have forgotten the FTP password, contact support@coastline.com.  Wait 15 minutes before trying.  The servers have a 15 minute refresh time coupled with a 3-strikes security policy.  It can be frustrating to change your password and get locked out for 30 minutes at the same time.  To be safe, wait.

Can anonymous users ftp (upload or download) from my site?
No.  As a security precaution, we do not allow anonymous ftp access to your site.

Is FTP secure?
That depends on the FTP software you are using.  FTP is not itself encrypted but some software will encrypt it.  WS FTP Pro is secure.

When I’m using FTP, can I edit on the server?
Generally not, but some FTP software allows it, such as FTPEditor or ftpNetDrive.

I tried a couple of times to log in unsuccessfully (cap locks on, wrong password, wrong username, etc.) and now nothing I do seems to work.  What’s wrong?
After three unsuccessful login attempts, our servers automatically disable your FTP account for 30 minutes.  This is a security precaution to limit hacking attempts.  It can be frustrating for designers, however. 

I can see my website and I can ping my website, but I cannot FTP to my website. What’s wrong?
You are probably trying to go through a Proxy Server.  Contact the administrator for your network or ISP to see if they have any restrictions on Port 21.

I just uploaded my files but they aren’t appearing when I type in my domain? Do I need to reload?
Not necessarily.  IIS is our web server and it operates out of cache, which means it keeps all the websites in its memory.  It refreshes that memory every fifteen minutes.  If you have waited 15 minutes and you still can't see the changes, access the site in FTP and see if the new files and folders are there. 

I can’t see my home page.  I can just see your pale blue welcome screen.  What’s wrong? 
Double check to make sure you named your home page default.htm, default.asp, index.htm or index.asp.  These files will be recognized by our server as the ‘home’ page for the site.  If didn’t name your home page one of these names, then they will not appear.

I lost my connection while I was uploading my site.  Can I begin where I left off?
It depends on the FTP software you are using.  Most free versions of popular FTP software don’t have this feature but the shareware version does.  If you are trying to FTP through a dialup connection, it is often worth the $35 to purchase the full version and get this extra protection.