TechNote

FTP Troubleshooting and Resources

FTP (File Transfer Protocol), is a way of moving files from one machine to another. FTP is the most common way to update a web site with Contribute. This TechNote discusses the minimum requirements for making an FTP connection with Contribute, and provides tips on how to prevent connection issues and troubleshoot problematic connections.

This TechNote is focused towards helping website administrators with Contribute connections.

For general connection troubleshooting, see Troubleshooting Contribute connection problems (TechNote 16592).

Prerequisites for connecting to an FTP server with Contribute
Server Permissions
Server Compatibility
FTP Server Checker
Connection Issue TechNotes

Prerequisites for connecting to and FTP server with Contribute

To connect to an FTP server with Contribute, you must have the following basic information:

The site address: Example: http://www.macromedia.com. The site address is the URL which you use to navigate to a site in a browser. When you put a URL address into a browser, the browser looks to the HTTP server for that information.
The FTP server address: The FTP server address may have an ftp prefix, such as ftp.mywebserver.com, or it may look like a standard url, such as www.macromedia.com.
User name and password: FTP account information which may differ from other server login information
The location of the web files on the server. Contribute may be able to guess where the site is. However, if Contribute can not find the site, you must know the path to the directory where the site exists, or be able to browse to the directory using the "Browse button in the connection wizard. For example, /wwwfiles/ means that your website's files are contained in a folder called wwwfiles, which is in the root folder of the website.

Server Permissions

In order for Contribute users to edit and publish web pages, the folder storing the website's pages must have appropriate read, write, and modify privileges for the user. For example, a common issue is when permissions for new files are restricted so that the file can not be moved. Contribute may appear to function properly the first time a site is edited. However, if rollbacks have been enabled, Contribute will fail to update a page because this feature requires that files be moved.

The following article provides an overview of Contribute's requirements: Using Macromedia Contribute with websites.

Testing Server Permissions
The most accurate way to find out if the server permissions are correct is to test each individual FTP command using the command line. For a detailed description of tests you can perform to test your Server Permissions, see Testing FTP functions using command line (TechNote 19496)

Server compatibility

In order for Contribute to connect via FTP, the FTP client within Contribute has to work properly with the FTP server on the web site. To this end, it is important that both sides understand and respond to all commands properly. Connection errors may occur if both sides do not communicate properly.

For a list of servers that have been tested and verified compatible with Contribute please see Servers which are compatible with Contribute (TechNote19494).

FTP Server Checker

The Macromedia Contribute FTPServerChecker enables users to diagnose some problems when a connection cannot be established in Contribute using FTP. The application checks the compatibility between the FTP server and Contribute, then generates a report to help identify issues between the server and Contribute. To get more information and download the application, please see FTP Server Checker (TechNote 19012).

Note: Contribute 3 includes much of this functionality. Therefore, this will benefit customers using Contribute versions prior to version 3.