Using FTP to Browse and Download Files

This section describes how to see a listing of directories and files at an FTP site, and how to change directories and download files. Most FTP servers contain text files that describe the layout of their entire directory structure to help you find what you need. For example, the text file on DIRMAP.TXT/ describes that server's directory structure.

To list the directories and folders at an FTP site

At the ftp> prompt, type ls

To view more details about the current directory

At the ftp> prompt, type ls -l

This command provides a detailed listing similar to the following:

dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 23	16:23	advsys
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	5:37	deskapps
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	10:52	developer
-r-	1	owner	group	4161	Sep 19	7:43	dirmap.txt
-r-	1	owner	group	712	Aug 25	15:07	disclaimer.txt
-r-	1	owner	group	860	Sep 1	8:40	index.txt
-r-	1	owner	group	522031	Sep 21	0:17	LS-LR.ZIP
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	12:36	MSEDCert
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 22	16:24	MSFT
-r-	1	owner	group	28160	Nov 29	1993	MSNBRO.DOC
-r-	1	owner	group	22641	Feb 8	9:58	MSNBRO.TXT
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	15:09	peropsys
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Sep 19	16:01	Softlib
-r-	1	owner	group	5095	Oct 20	1993	support-phone#.txt
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 22	16:38	TechNet
-r-	1	owner	group	802	Aug 25	8:09	WhatHappened.txt

In this listing:

The left column indicates whether the item is a file (r) or a directory (dr).
The fifth column indicates the byte size of each file.
The last column describes the name of the file, directory, or link.
A link to a file or directory somewhere else on the FTP site (similar to a shortcut to a folder or file in Windows 95).

To change directories

At the ftp> prompt, type cd directory_name
For example, to get more information about desktop applications, type cd deskapps

To go back to the previous directory

At the ftp> prompt, type cd
If you have navigated through many directories and want to go back to the beginning, instead of typing cd .. again and again, you can type cd / to return to the root directory of this host.

Tip Notice that the forward slash "/ " is used (as opposed to the backslash " \" that MS-DOS and Windows users are accustomed to) On most UNIX computers, the way to change directories is with the forward slash. Currently, most FTP servers you access only understand that particular command, so the forward slash will always work. However, if you dial into a computer running Windows NT, such as ftp.microsoft.com, it understands both the forward slash and the backslash.