File transfer for business: sending files over the Internet the right way is crucial

Black Enterprise, May, 1996 by Merlisa Lawrence Corbett

As technology has progressed, so have methods of transferring information. The Pony Express gave way to the U.S. Postal Service. Soon, airmail, express mail, fax machines and electronic mail were introduced. The latest, and one of the most effective ways to move information is by transferring files on the Internet.

"You spend a whole lot less time on the telephone," says Charles Denard, LAN specialist at Emory University in Atlanta. "Sometimes it's the only way to get the software you need. Companies don't want to talk to you anymore."

Two of the most popular ways to exchange files on the Internet are through FTP (file transfer protocol) and by attaching files to e-mail. FTP allows downloading or uploading of files, including software, from a remote computer to a host computer, or vice versa. It's helpful for people who want to find the latest research, product information, software upgrades or other useful applications on the Internet. If you're not in a hurry, you can attach files to e-mail, a user-to-user file transfer.

"Attaching files to e-mail instead of using FTP is the equivalent of using the postal service instead of a fax machine," says Daniel Dern, author of The Internet Guide for New Users (McGraw-Hill, 1994). "If you use the post office, a person doesn't have to be there waiting at the receiving end." In the same-fashion, attaching files to electronic mail allows the end-user to access the files at their convenience, unlike the FTP, where the host computer must be accessible.

Denard deals with several software companies and uses FTP on a daily basis. "I can just go online to get what I want," he says. "The rate of error using FTP is much smaller than when I used to get floppy disks in the mail."

Before Denard started using FTP, it could take more than a week to find a solution to a problem. If he discovered a bug in one of his software titles, he then had to get on the telephone with the software manufacturer, request a patch (a fix for the bug), and have that patch mailed. Using FTP, Denard gets on the Internet, accesses software companies' files and downloads them to his computer--saving time and increasing productivity.

Each individual Internet service provider determines how FTP is used by its subscribers. The popular online services--America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy--have easy-to-use FTP sites with instructions that walk you through the process. Most Web browsers support FTP.

When trying to locate a FTP file, go to the location window, type the FTP address and hit return. This will usually call up a directory page Click on each successive directory entry until the desired file is displayed. If you wish to save this file, go to "file" on the menu bar and click on "save as." The file will be downloaded to the place you specify, either your hard disk or floppy drive.

Remember, when downloading files from the Internet it's best to download them to a disk instead of your hard drive in the event that the file has a virus. There are several programs that scan files from the Internet as they are downloaded to your computer.

If you don't know the name of the FTP site you're looking for, you can use a searching tool called Archie. Several Archie gateways are available on the Internet. You can use http://hoohoo.ncsa. uiuc.edu/archie. html; or go to the Yahoo site on the World Wide Web and search for Archie gateways.

Attaching files to e-mail is even easier. For most services, you just create mail and click on "attach file." Make sure you specify which word processing format the attached file uses in your message. If you're sending a document created in WordPerfect to someone who uses another type of word processing program, they may not be able to read your file unless they know what the format is. However, most of the major word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word and Novell WordPerfect, recognize other programs.

The best way to avoid problems is to save your document in ASCII text. The same is true for downloading files. Make sure you download text files to your program. And don't forget the file name. That may sound simple, but many novice e-mail users forget file names and/or where they downloaded a file on their system.