Fetch: How do I use it?

Purdue Engineering Computer Network

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Connecting | Finding Files and Directories | Getting a File|
Putting a File | Creating and Editing Shortcuts | Setting Preferences

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Connecting and Signing on:

When you first open Fetch you are presented with the sign-on dialog box; at other times you can choose New Connection... from the File menu in order to see that dialog. The sign-on dialog has fields for entering four pieces of information:

• the name of the machine you wish to transfer files with (or "host name")
• the name of your account on that machine (or "user id")
• the password for that account
• the name of the starting directory (optional)

The sign-on dialog also contains a shortcut mechanism for filling in some or all of these fields. To the right of the word "Shortcuts" there is an icon representing a pop-up menu.

Example:

Press on the icon to use the menu and select the item titled "Dartmouth Archives." When you release the mouse the machine name, user id, and starting directory fields will be filled in. The machine name is "ftp.dartmouth.edu," a Unix computer in Dartmouth's Kiewit Computation Center. Note that the user id is "anonymous." Many machines, including ftp.dartmouth.edu, allow any user to transfer files with it as a guest, without specifying a password. You may then click the OK button to initiate the connection.

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Finding Files and Directories

Most computers divide their files among directories, which are equivalent to folders on the Macintosh. In order to get a file you should first go to the proper directory. Fetch displays the name of the current directory above the list on the left side of the window. The list contains the names of the files and sub-directories in the current directory.

Example:

If you have signed on to ftp.dartmouth.edu your current directory should be "pub", and there should be some files and folders visible in the file list. However there are few interesting files in this directory, so you will have to change the current directory.

You can change directory in several ways. The simplest is to double-click on the name of a sub-directory in the list. You can try this by double-clicking on the name "mac" in the current file list. The current directory will change to "mac" and the file list will show the names in that sub-directory. If you click on the name of the current directory you will see a pop-up menu showing the current directory and its ancestors, in this case "mac," "pub," and "/." Choosing one of these takes us back to that directory.

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Getting a File

You should now be in the directory titled "mac" (its complete pathname is "/pub/mac"). This directory holds Macintosh-related files for downloading. One of the files should be a StuffIt archive containing this version of Fetch, Fetch_3.0.3.hqx. In order to move "Fetch_3.0.3.hqx" from ftp.dartmouth.edu to your Macintosh you should double-click its name. Alternatively you may select its name and press either Return, Enter, or the Get File... button. You will be prompted for a name to save these files under; if you click OK the files will quickly be saved on your disk. They will be complete with their own icons and ready to be used.

If you are running System 7.5 you can alternatively drag the selected name to a folder or hard disk icon that is visible on your desktop (or to your desktop itself). Using drag and drop lets you skip the dialog asking you where to save the file.

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Putting a File

In order to put a file on an FTP server you must have "write" permission (i.e. the permission to create, rename, and delete files). Most anonymous FTP sites do not give guests write permission, so you will probably want to use a personal account for this part of the tutorial. [Of course, if you do not have any place to put files you do not really need this part of the tutorial!]

To put a file into your account first connect to your machine (entering the hostname, your account name and password in the New Connection dialog). Then click on the Put File... button. You will be prompted to select the file you wish to send; since this is just a tutorial you can pick any file you wish, though you probably want to avoid very large files. You will then be asked to provide a name to give the file on the server. This dialog box also gives you a chance to pick a file format from a pop-up menu. Fetch will usually pick an appropriate name and format so you can simply press the OK button.

Alternatively, if you are running System 7.5 or later and you can see the Finder icon for the file you wish to upload, you can simply click the icon and drag it to the Fetch transfer window. In that case Fetch will use the default upload file format for that type of file, as specified in Preferences.

The file will be transferred to the server and you will be able to watch its progress in the status panel on the right side of the Fetch window. When the transfer is complete the name of the file you put will appear in the file name list. If you do not want to leave the file there you should select that name and choose Delete directory or file... from the Remote menu.

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Shortcuts

In order to define, edit, or delete shortcuts, the shortcut file residing in the preferences folder must be modified. This can be done one of two ways:

• Select Open Bookmark File... from the File menu.
• (With no windows open in Fetch) Select New Shortcut... from the Customize menu.

Since the second method only creates new shortcuts, the first method will be explained. This first method allows the user to accomplish more. Once you have selected Open Bookmark File... from the File menu, a dialogue box will appear. Go to System Folder:Preferences:Fetch Shortcuts. Then select Open. This will open the Fetch Shortcuts window. From here you can:

• Create a new shortcut.
• Edit a selected shortcut.
• Remove a selected shortcut.

In the Customize menu you can select the appropriate action and fill in the necessary information. In order to create a new shortcut you need to specify the following information:

• Name - The name you assign to the connection
• Type - Either File, Folder, or Unknown if you don't know
• Host - Where you want to connect
• User ID - Your login (if other than anonymous)
• Password - Your password (will prompt you at connection time if left blank)
• Directory - The default directory (is not necessary. It will log you into the default directory)

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Preferences:

In order to specify the default connection displayed upon opening Fetch 3.0.3, open the Preferences... in the Customize menu. In the General window of the preferences, you can select the appropriate shortcut for your default connection. Another useful setting to configure is the Upload section of the Preferences. If you are uploading graphics for a Web page or other reason, you will want to transfer the file formats as RAW. Otherwise the pictures will NOT be viewable. If you do not wish to set the preferences to automatically default to the RAW data when transfering non-text files, you can specify what kind of format when you send the files. If you are doing a lot of graphics transferring, it is recomended to set this preference to RAW data.

One last feature you should consider setting is the download folder select preference. This is an incredibly useful feature if you download many things. It enables you to specify a download folder allowing your desktop to remain clear of the downloaded files and eliminating clutter. By selecting the blank bar located next to "Download Folder" , you can specify a download folder.

You can learn more about Fetch by consulting the help topics under "Reference," or by choosing Show Balloons from the help menu and pointing in OS 8/9. For help under Mac OS X, look in the Help menu.