The Relationship Between FTP and Browsers

File Transfer Protocol, more commonly known as FTP, is a protocol that allows you to transfer files from one computer to another. The most common way to establish an FTP connection is with software programs known as FTP clients. Though it might all sound complex, FTP is pretty straightforward. In fact, if you have ever used Fetch on the Mac or FTP in Windows, you already have a basic knowledge of how FTP clients work. Although FTP clients are specifically designed to transfer files, there are other methods you can you use as well.

Web Browsers

Web browsers such as Mozilla FireFox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Apple Safari are very powerful tools that give you the ability to perform almost any task related to the internet. Aside from browsing the internet’s counterpart the World Wide Web, browsers also allow you to use email, read news articles, load Shell or Telnet and much more. The typical browser can even be used to work with FTP.

FTP and the Web Browser

While many people are not aware of it, modern web browsers allow you to access websites via FTP. For example, if you want to connect to an FTP site on a Windows operating system, you can simply type the name of the website into the browser bar and replace HTTP with FTP. For example: ftp://www.ftpsite.com From there, a login window would appear asking for a username and password to connect you to the host. You can then transfer files using the simple drag-and-drop method almost every internet user is familiar with. What this means is that virtually anyone can work in the user-friendly confinement of the operating system without knowing much about mysterious FTP commands. Now what can be more convenient than that?

FTP Client Software

Leveraging your web browser to transfer files is great, yet there are some limitations. For this reason, you should invest in a good FTP client if you intend to use FTP on a regular basis. After all, these programs are designed for FTP while browsers are multipurpose clients. There are a number of FTP clients on the market with programs ranging from free to commercial solutions. While the interface of each client varies, the overall procedure of transferring files is generally the same. If the site isn’t utilizing anonymous FTP, all you need to use the client is a username, password and the server or IP address.

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