File syncing

by Mark Gibbs

April 4, 2001 —

Keeping Web pages on your server in sync with the changes made to the pages on your local drive is supposedly easy if you run Microsoft FrontPage extensions. On the other hand, many of us have found FrontPage extensions a pain in the neck and would rather have our ear nailed to the keyboard than rely on such labyrinthine, eccentric software.

For those who eschew Front Page extensions and its like, might I suggest a terrific FTP client with a good graphical user interface, scheduling and macros that has certainly made my life easier at a very low cost: The FTP client is called CuteFTP - published by GlobalSCAPE (http://www.globalscape.com).

The problem I had was that I didn’t want to run Front Page extensions on my server (I have enough trouble with Windows NT), but I didn’t want to have think about uploading changes every time I made a modification to my Web site.

I installed CuteFTP as a scheduled task. You can invoke CuteFTP with a command-line argument, so that a macro is automatically run. Now, I edit a Web site, and at 4 in the morning CuteFTP updates the site while I sleep.

CuteFTP is pretty sophisticated, with a smart " keep-alive " feature, a terrific site-manager (a directory of sites and logon details) and optional browser-integration (click on an FTP URL and CuteFTP is launched).

This is a great FTP client implementation, and at $40, worth every cent.

GlobalSCAPE

6000 Northwest Parkway, Suite 100

San Antonio, Texas 78249

210-308-8267 / 800-290-5054

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