HOW TO USE FTP
                    by Michael Strangelove
                     Online Access Sept 1993


   To some ten million users, The Internet means not simply Global E-Mail
capability, but an unimaginable wealth of documents, picture files and
programs. There are an estimated three million files and programs that are
FREE to Internet users, if you know how to access them.

   Those priviledged with an Internet account use FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) to retrieve documents and programs.For those not on the Internet
many FTP archives are also have a mail server that will process E-Mail
Commands.

   FTP can retrieve an electronic copy of the complete works of Shakespere
from the other side of the Globe in a matter of minutes.

   If you imagine the Net as a building full of filing cabinets, then
using FTP is like going to a particular filing cabinet (a Node), opening
one drawer (Directory) at a time, searching through the files in the
drawer and taking home one or more of these files (Documents, Programs,
sound recordings, Photographs, Graphic Images, Entire Books, Almost
Anything.)

                           USING FTP

   FTP sessions have three basic stages: Connecting to a remote host
(computer), changing to the desired directory and retrieving files. Note
that FTP software varies slightly throughout the Net. If the following
instructions prove unhelpful, enter the command HELP or ? for more
information once you have started your FTP session.

   I cannot give precise details on how to start your FTP session, because
of the wide variation in systems through out the NET. In most cases you
start a session by simply entering    ftp node.address     at your system
prompt.


                  CONNECTING TO A HOST (NODE)

   A host or node generally refers to any computer that can be accessed
from either a local terminat or a remote computer. Note addresses take the
form of a series of numbers or letters, seperated by periods, such as
ds.internic.net. Here is a sample session of FTPing to the AT&T Directory
and Database Services archive.

   Start your session by entering: ftp ds.internic.net.  You will be asked
to indentify yourself. To do this, simply type anonymous (always lower
case). You will then be asked for a password. For anonymous FTP sessions,
the password is almost always your e-mail address-simply enter your full
address.

   To see a list of available directories, type the command Is. To change
to a directory, simply type cd directory name, in this case, cd resources.
Again, to see what is available, enter the command Is, which this time
returns you to another list of subdirectories. To change to a desired
subdirectory, type cd directory name. To see a list of available files,
type Is.

   Now you get ready to FTP any low ASCII text files using the  get file.
name command. ASCII files usually have the extension .txt or .text and if
there is no extension, then the file is probably a low ASCII file. ASCII
files include texts, programs source codes, electronic mail messages,UNIX
shell archives, unencoded files and Postscript files. Note that binhexed
Macintosh files will have the extension .hqx and must be treated as ASCII
files.

   When the transfer is complete, simply type QUIT, CLOSE or BYE to return
to your own site and e-mail account.


                    FTP   BY  E-MAIL COMMANDS

   It is possible to retrieve files from an FTP archieve by using mail
commands. If you send the command HELP to nis-info@nic.merit.edu you will
receive complete instruction on how to access the Merit Network Informa-
tion Center (NIC) Services host computer, which is also accessible via
anonymous FTP, Gopher and WAIS.

   This archive contains a wide array of information about the Internet,
NSFNET and MichNet.

   To find out what files are available at this site, send the command
index to nis-info@nic.merit.edu. Remember to always send these commands
in the body of the mail message, not in the subject. Another mail-server
can be accessed by sending the commands (on seperate lines:)

  request:info
  topic:help

to info@virginia.edu. this will return a help file about the server.

   Members of commercial networks should keep in mind that their Internet
gateway probably limits the size of incoming files. Compuserve, for
example limits incoming files to 50,000 characters. Some mail-servers
provide the option of having files split into smaller segments.

   For complete information on how to use FTP, including how to handle
binary programs nad graphics, feel free to contact me at 441495@acadvm1.
uottawa.ca and request the FTP Info file. Remember to tell me a bit
about yourself and what you would like to see in the Internet Column. I
enjoy reading the many letters sent by readers.

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                Some Helpful FTP Commands


     pwd   Reveals the full name of the current directory and sub-
           directory(s).

     cd or chdirup   Will move you one subdirectory up the directory
                     chain.

     mget*.*         Will retrieve all of the files in the current
                     directory into your e-mail account. Use this
                     command with caution as it may result in exceeding
                     your available disk space.

     binary          Will switch your session to binary mode. Use this
                     command before retrieving binary programs (.exe),
                     zipped files (.zip), or compressed files (.Z)

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