README
JFTP - v4.0
Contents
JFTP is a graphical FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client software for transferring
files from one computer to another. JFTP can connect to any system that has
a valid Internet address and an FTP server program, allowing you to transfer
files between a wide variety of systems such as Windows, UNIX and iSeries (formerly
known as AS/400) systems.
JFTP integrates the most widely used and widely accepted security mechanism,
SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to securely transfer business critical and sensitive
data.
JFTP is written entirely in JavaTM, meaning, it can run on a wide variety of
platforms such as Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, OS/2, UNIX or any
other platform with a compatible JVM (Java Virtual Machine).
"The Universal FTP Client"
A "true" Universal FTP Client. JFTP can be installed
and run on a wide variety of platforms such as:
- Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003
- Mac OS X
- Linux
- Solaris
- HP-UX
- OS/2
- UNIX
- Any other platform with a Java Runtime Environment
Security
JFTP integrates the most widely used and widely accepted security mechanism,
SSL (Secured Sockets Layer), to securely transfer your business critical and
sensitive data.
- Support for SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0
- Supports several cryptographic algorithms such as RSA, RC4, DES, Triple
DES, Diffie-Hellman and DSA
- Support for both Explicit and Implicit SSL connections
- Option of using SSL if it is supported by the FTP server
File Filters
File filters give you the ability to decide what all files may be viewed, uploaded,
downloaded or deleted within JFTP. You can set up inclusion
or exclusion filters on local and/or remote files based on
a variety of criteria such as:
- File name pattern using regular expressions
- Modification date of the files
- Attributes of the files (if a file is hidden or not)
With the help of file filters, uploading all the files in your site that were
modified on a specific date is as easy as a click of a mouse. No more need to
spend time in picking up individual files in several directories of your web
site.
Certificate Manager
JFTP comes with a built-in certificate manager to manage all your trusted certificates.
Certificates are used to establish secured FTP connections. Using the certificate
manger, you can -
- Import certificates into your trusted certificates database
- View details of a certificate
- Delete certificates from your trusted certificates database
Connect Quickly and Easily
Well thought-out design allows you to connect to your FTP site quickly and
easily. You can configure both simple and advanced connection parameters, all
in one connection dialog.
Advanced Connection Options
JFTP allows you to specify several advanced connection parameters such as:
- Whether to use plain FTP connection or secured FTP connection
- Specify an "Account" name for login. Most FTP servers just use
user name and password for login, but, some require an account name to be
specified for login
- Option of encrypting just the command channel to securely transmit the password
over the network
- Specify initial local and remote working directories to set soon after login
- Option to use passive or active data transfers
- Option to execute raw FTP commands (standard or custom) soon after log in
Simultaneous FTP Sessions
JFTP allows you to work with multiple FTP sites simultaneously. Each session
will create a new tab making it easy to switch between sessions.
Transfers
- Download or Upload files and directories. Directories will be processed
recursively
- Download As option to download a single file or directory as a different
name
- Download and Unzip option to unzip a zip file soon after downloading
- Upload As option to upload a single file or directory as a different name
- Zip and Upload option to zip files and/or directories and then upload the
zip file
Proxy/Firewall
JFTP gives you the ability to connect through proxy servers and firewalls.
- Supports SOCKS proxy (both version 4 and version 5)
- Automatic detection of SOCKS version
- Supports SOCKS authentication
Manage your Favorite FTP Sites
- JFTP allows you to store the connection parameters for the FTP sites that
you frequently work with. With JFTP, connecting to your favorite FTP site
is just one click away!
- For added security, JFTP stores all your favorite FTP sites in encrypted
format
FTP Tasks
- Browse through the file system of your FTP site
- Open, Edit, Print or E-mail remote files using the associated applications.
This means, you can now directly edit files on your FTP server using your
favorite editor software 1
- Filter files based on their name pattern and/or modification date
- Create new directories
- Create new files
- Move/Rename files and/or directories
- Delete files and/or directories
- View or change permissions of a file or a directory
- Option to change the permissions recursively on a directory
- Execute standard or custom FTP commands
- Sort directory listing by name, type, size, or modification date
Local File Tasks
- Browse through the file system of your PC
- Open, Edit, Print or E-mail files using the associated applications 1
- Filter files based on their name pattern, modification date and/or attributes
- Create new directories
- Create new files
- Move/Rename files and directories
- Delete files and directories
- View attributes of a file or directory
- Sort directory listing by name, type, size, or modification date
Auto-Detection of Transfer Type
JFTP automatically detects the transfer type (ASCII or Binary) to use for a
specific file based on its extension. This feature is very useful when you are
transferring hundreds or thousands of files of different types, in which case
manually setting the transfer type is impossible.
Internationalization and Localization
Support for Internationalization and Localization. This means JFTP supports
multiple languages and Locale specific data such as dates and numbers. You can
install as many language packs as you wish and use the language of your choice.
The current version of JFTP bundles the following language packs:
- English
- Chinese (Traditional) 2
- German 2
Multiple Deployment Options
Choose from a variety of deployment options that best suits your needs and
environment.
Native Installation packages
Native installers are available for Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows
2000, Windows XP, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris and various UNIX like platforms.
Web Start JFTP
Use Java Web Start technology to install JFTP to any number of users
with no effort. Just provide the URL of the web start file to all your internal
users and relax!
JFTP Applet
The other option is to launch JFTP right in your favorite Internet
browser such as Internet Explorer, Netscape or Safari. Just host all the binaries
on your web server and relax!
1 Open, Edit, Print and E-mail local
and remote files is not supported on all platforms. As of version 4.0, this
is supported on Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac OS X.
2 The Help files are currently available
only in English.
Changes in Version 4.0
- Local File Tasks
- Open local files using associated applications.
- Edit local files using associated applications.
- Print local files using associated applications.
- E-mail local files using default e-mail application.
- Remote File Tasks
- Open remote files using associated applications.
- Edit remote files using associated applications.
- Print remote files using associated applications.
- E-mail remote files using default e-mail application.
- Drag & Drop
- Files and directories can now be downloaded or uploaded by dragging
the files from the source system and dropping them in to the target system.
- Upload As
- Ability to upload a single file or directory (and its contents) as a
different name.
- Zip and Upload
- Ability to zip one or more files and, upload the resulting zip file.
- Download As
- Ability to download a single file or directory (and its contents) as a
different name.
- Download and Unzip
- Ability to automatically unzip downloaded zip files.
- Enhanced File Filters
- Local file filters are enhanced to define either an inclusion filter
or an exclusion filter.
- Remote file filters are enhanced to define either an inclusion filter
or an exclusion filter.
- Language Packs
- The German language files are updated.
- The Chinese (Traditional) language files are updated.
- Removed the Chinese (Simplified) and Spanish language packs as they
are outdated.
- Miscellaneous
- Added Select All and Invert selection menu items to Local File and Remote
File menus
- The Action menu is renamed to FTP.
- The Local System menu is renamed to Local File.
- The Remote System menu is renamed to Remote File.
- Tool bar icons are updated.
- Title on the session tabs now uses the site's label (if a label exists)
instead of the host name. The host name is displayed when the mouse is
moved over the tab title.
- When the local pane has focus, pressing the Enter key opens the selected
local file or directory.
- When the remote pane has focus, pressing the Enter key opens the selected
remote file or directory.
- When the local pane has focus, pressing the Delete key deletes the selected
files and/or directories.
- When the remote pane has focus, pressing the Delete key deletes the
selected files and/or directories.
- When connecting to an FTP server using Implicit SSL mode, the status
message displayed has been corrected to show the right port number.
- Changed the default timeout to 5 minutes instead of 15 minutes.
Changes in Version 3.7
- The license request and installation process has been simplified. Licenses
can now be requested from with in JFTP. Installation of license is now much
easier. No more need to manually copy the license file to the JFTP's data
directory.
- Added a preference for software update notifications. You can now turn the
update notification option ON or OFF.
- Updated the German translation. The German translation is up to date as
of version 3.6. Thanks to Juergen Ulbts again for updating the German language
files.
Changes/Fixes in Version 3.6
- A start up issue on some UNIX configurations has been fixed. With version
3.6, JFTP starts with default look and feel (Metal/Ocean) on platforms other
than Windows and Mac OS X.
- Favorites manager is enhanced to save the favorites even if the favorites
encryption fails. If the encryption fails, the favorites will be stored in
regular serialized format.
- Local File sorting is fixed when the current directory contains drives.
All drives are now sorted based on their drive letter instead of their descriptions.
- UI themes are removed from the UI preferences. The themes were prohibiting
using the new Ocean look and Feel in JRE version 1.5 and hence are deleted.
Changes in Version 3.5
Starting with version 3.5, JFTP will be marketed and distributed by jMethods,
Inc., a Nebraska Corporation located in Omaha, NE, U.S.A. The Web address
of jMethods is http://www.jMethods.com.
The product is updated to reflect this change.
However, please be assured that as always JFTP
will still be available for FREE for non-commercial use.
New Features/Enhancements in Version 3.4
- File Filters
File filters give you the ability to decide what all files may be viewed,
uploaded, downloaded or deleted with in JFTP. You can filter both local and/or
remote files based on a variety of criteria such as:
- File name pattern using regular expressions
- Modification date of the files
- Attributes of the files (if a file is hidden or not)
Using file filters, uploading all the files in your site that were modified
on a specific date is as easy as a click of a mouse. No more need to spend
time in picking up individual files in several directories of your web site.
- Native File System Information
Enhanced the local file system view to display as much OS-specific file system
information as possible. This includes:
- File names are now shown as they appear in operating system's native
file manager. For e.g. a floppy drive on a Windows system now shows up
as "3 1/2 Floppy (A:)" as opposed
to just "A:\".
- File descriptions (or types) match the descriptions that show up in
platform's native file manager. For e.g. the description of a file with
extension ".txt" on a Windows system shows up as "Text
Document" as opposed to "TXT File".
- Support to browse and/or transfer files from network computers without
the need of mapped drives. This means that, on a Windows system, you can
now browse through "My Network Places -> Entire Network
-> Microsoft Windows Network" etc. and transfer
files directly from any computer on your network or workgroup.
- Change remote file attributes or permissions recursively
With version 3.4, you can now change attributes or permissions on a remote
directory recursively.
- Follows Symbolic Links
The remote file browser now allows you to double click on a symbolic link
to change the directory represented by that symbolic link. However, please
note that this operation may not succeed if the symbolic link is not pointing
to a directory.
Bug Fixes in Version 3.4
None reported and none fixed!
New Features/Enhancements in Version 3.3
- Update Notifications
A notification agent is built in to JFTP to notify you of latest releases
when they become available.
- Licensing
With version 3.3, you must obtain a valid license in order to use the software.
As always, it is free to get a Non-Commercial license.
Bug Fixes In Version 3.3
None reported and none fixed!
New Features/Enhancements In Version 3.2
- Chinese (Traditional) Edition
JFTP 3.2 now bundles Traditional Chinese language pack. Thanks to TM
Chen, tmchen[at]seed[dot]net[dot]tw for contributing the translation.
- All favorite FTP sites are now stored in encrypted format for added security.
Bug Fixes In Version 3.2
None reported and none fixed!
New Features/Enhancements In Version 3.1
-
Chinese (Simplified) Edition
JFTP 3.1 bundles a Chinese (Simplified) language pack. Thanks a ton to Jerry Tian,
jerrytianbupt[at]163[dot]com for his time and efforts in translating JFTP into
Chinese.
-
German Edition
JFTP 3.1 also bundles a German language pack. Thanks a ton to Juergen Ulbts,
magog001[at]web[dot]de, at
Java Movie Database
for translating JFTP into German.
-
OS/2 Install Script
Thanks again to Juergen Ulbts, magog001[at]web[dot]de for creating
the
eComStation
and
OS/2
install script/icon.
Bug Fixes In Version 3.1
- Fixed a bug related to displaying timestamp of remote files. Please note that depending on the time
zone the server is in, the dates/times shown may still be incorrect at times. This will be fixed in the
next version by adding a connection parameter to set the time zone of each FTP server.
New Features/Enhancements In Version 3.0
-
Complete Macintosh Experience
Even though the previous versions of JFTP worked quite well on Mac OS X, they never looked or behaved
like a native Mac OS application. As of version 3.0, JFTP is "Mac OS X ready" and looks and
behaves just like any other native Mac OS X application.
- Aqua Look and Feel
- Screen menu bar as opposed to window menu bar
- Application menu with functional "About", "Preferences" and
"Quit" menu items
- Correct mapping of menu short cut key (Command key as opposed to Ctrl key). .
- Ctrl + Click triggers the context menu as opposed to Command + Click.
- No mnemonics for menu items, buttons and other components
- Distributed as double clickable Mac OS X application bundle with a custom Dock Icon.
-
Tabbed FTP Sessions
As of version 3.0, the MDI (multiple Document Interface) has been converted to Tabbed FTP
sessions. Each FTP session you open will create a new tab in the main window similar to the way the
popular web browsers work. The reasons for this change are two-fold:
- Makes it easy to switch between FTP sessions
- MDI is not a recommended UI design pattern in Aqua look and feel (Mac OS X)
-
Proxy/Firewall Support
- JFTP v 3.0 can connect to your FTP sites using SOCKS proxy server
- Automatic detection of SOCKS version. Both version 4 and 5 of SOCKS are supported
-
Language Packs
-
A Spanish language pack is bundled with JFTP*. Thanks
to Alberto Molpeceres, al[at]javahispano[dot]org, at
javahispano.org
-
Miscellaneous
- Remembers the position and size of the main window when exiting and uses the same when you
re-open the application.
- Reorganized and improved the preferences dialog to have a tree like structure for various
categories.
- Added SOCKS proxy configuration to the preferences.
- Added preferences for secured FTP connections.
- Changed the data directory of JFTP to ".jftp" in user's home directory so that it
will be treated as a hidden file in many Unix like operating systems.
- Changed the default buffer size for to 64 KB to improve the over all transfer performance.
- Changed the default look and feel to target system's look and feel. It used to be Metal Look
and Feel.
- Added "Indeterminate" progress mode to display the progress of some operations such
as connecting to an FTP site, listing a directory etc.
* The Spanish language pack is not complete, but about 90% done. Some elements
may still display text in English.
Bug Fixes In Version 3.0
None reported and none fixed!
New Features/Enhancements In Version 2.1
-
Support for 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to secure sensitive information and files. The
following connection options are added:
- Explicit SSL
- Implicit SSL
- Use SSL if available
- Optionally, leave the data channel unencrypted
- Option to install certificates up on encountering an untrusted certificate chain
-
Certificate Manager to manage trusted certificates
- View a list all trusted certificates
- View Details of a certificate
- Import certificates from a DER/PEM encoded file
- Delete certificates from the trusted certificates database
-
User Interface Enhancements
- Platform specific icons when displaying local files, hard drives, removable disks etc.
- New tool bar buttons to gain quick access to favorite manager, certificate manager and
help
- Updated the status bar to visually differentiate regular and secured FTP sessions. A lock icon
is displayed in the status bar when you connect to a secured FTP server.
Bug Fixes In Version 2.1
- Fixed the bug with change remote file attributes (CHMOD)
If you already have a previous version of JFTP installed, and would like
to upgrade to the latest version, download the latest version of JFTP and overwrite
the current installation with the new one.
JFTP requires at least 32 MB of free RAM. Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.4.0
or higher must be installed on your system. JFTP installers for some of the operating
systems include a compatible JRE in them. If you have downloaded such a package,
you do not have to install any thing else before installing JFTP. For a list of
available download options for your operating system, please visit http://www.jMethods.com/downloads.
JFTP can be launched as a stand-alone application or as an Applet with in your internet browser.
To launch JFTP as a stand-alone application
To launch JFTP as a stand-alone application, you should run the main class named
com.myjavaworld.jftp.JFTPApplication
. To do this:
- open a shell and change the directory to JFTP's installation directory, for e.g.
cd
/jftp
.
-
Run the main class using the command below:
java -jar lib/jftp.jar
If your JRE is set up correctly, this will launch the JFTP's main window.
Please note that, in most cases, you do not have to type any commands to launch JFTP. The JFTP installer
for your platform might have created a shortcut (or alias) to launch JFTP. In this case, just run this
shortcut to launch JFTP. You can also use the batch file (jftp.bat) or the shell script (jftp.sh) located
in the JFTP's installation directory.
To launch JFTP as an Applet with in your browser
To launch JFTP as an applet with in your browser, locate the file named
jftpApplet.html
in the JFTP's installation directory and open this file in your Internet browser such as Internet Explorer,
Netscape Navigator or Safari on Mac OS X.
For obtaining technical support, please visit http://www.jMethods.com/support
. For sending feedback or, to report bugs, please send an e-mail to support@jMethods.com.
For latest information about JFTP, please visit, http://www.jMethods.com/products/jftp
.