TechNote

Contribute FTP Server Checker

What's covered

• Downloading and installing the FTP Server Checker
• Running the FTP Server Checker
• Using the test report
• Locations of FTPServerCheckerLog.htm

The FTP Server Checker enables users to diagnose problems when a connection cannot be established in Adobe Contribute using FTP. The tool checks the compatibility between the FTP server and Contribute, then generates a report to help to identify issues between the server and Contribute. If the report does not clarify FTP compatibility problems, then submit a Adobe Support case and include the log with your request.

Note: The FTP Server Checker will most benefit customers using Contribute versions earlier than version 3, and it is only available to Contribute users on a Windows platform.

Downloading and installing the FTP Server Checker

The downloadable file is a zip archive, which must be extracted using a program such as Winzip.

1. Click on the download link below to download the Checker. Netscape users skip to step 3.
2. If you are using Internet Explorer, then a File Download box appears. Click on the "Save" button.
3. With the browse dialog box, browse to the location that you want to save the Checker. Keep a note of this location.
4. Once the download is complete, browse to where the zip file was saved and double click it.
5. Extract the installer (which is an MSI file) to the location of your choice (default location is
6. Double click the installer (the MSI file).
7. Follow the prompts to install the Checker.
8. To use the checker after it is installed, see the steps below.

Note: The Checker will not appear in the Windows Start Menu. You need to find the executable (FTPServerChecker.exe) in the folder you installed it to and run it from there. The default installation folder is C:\Program Files\FTPServerChecker.

Download FTPServerChecker.zip

Running the FTP Server Checker

To run the FTP Server Checker:

1. Browse to the folder on your hard disk where you installed the diagnostic tool, then open the FTP Server Checker folder.
   The default location for the folder is in the Program Files folder, which is usually stored in C:\Program Files\FTPServerChecker.
2. Double-click the FTPServerChecker.exe file.
   The FTP Diagnostic Tool dialog box appears.
3. Enter the following information about your FTP server:
   • FTP server is the FTP host name;that is, the full Internet name of a computer system, such as ftp.macromedia.com. Enter the full host name without any additional text. In particular, do not add a protocol name in front of the host name. This field is required.
     If the DNS server cannot resolve the host name, then enter the fully qualified domain name or an IP address.
   • FTP port is the port number for the FTP connection. If a port number is not specified, the FTP Server Checker uses the number 21. This is an optional field.
   • FTP path is the FTP home directory where the web site documents that are visible to the public are stored. Enter another valid FTP path in order to test against a path other than the home directory. This is an optional field.
   • Use Passive FTP to connect to the server enables Contribute to initiate the FTP connection, rather than relying on the remote server to set it up. To use passive FTP, you must configure your firewall to allow the FTP client to set up the FTP connection.
   • Use FTP proxy indicates that you connect to a host inside a firewall. If this option is selected, click the Proxy Settings button to enter information about the proxy host and port.
   • Timeout value for slow connection is the number of seconds that pass before the FTP connection times out. The default is 30 seconds. The value can be increased in increments of 20, up to 90 seconds.
   • Check 2.01 compatibility options provides access to two Contribute 2.x for Windows options. Click this button if an FTP Server Checker report has been run, and the report indicates that FTP performance optimization should be disabled, or the alternative publish method should be enabled.
   • FTP login is the login name used to connect to the FTP server. This field is required.
   • FTP password is the password used to connect to the FTP server. This field is required.
4. Click Diagnose.
   A Test Report appears.

Using the test report

The FTP Server Checker generates a report that is divided into two sections:

• Test Results displays the results of each test the FTP Server Checker runs.
  When a test fails, the FTP Server Checker does not run the rest of the test. In the case of a failure, try to fix the problem, then run the Checker again. For example, if the Checker reports a folder permissions problem, check the permissions for that directory, then run the Checker again.
• FTP Log displays a list of raw FTP commands when there is a failure.
  You or your administrator can use this log to further diagnose connection problems. If the problem is not resolved, send your report to Adobe for help.
• For a list of error codes generated by the FTP Server Checker, see "FTP server checker error codes" (TechNote tn_19050).

Locations of FTPServerCheckerLog.htm

The log files created by Contribute are located in the following file path locations.

For Contribute 3.x and earlier versions

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Macromedia\Contribute 1\Configuration\FTPServerCheckerLog.htm

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Macromedia\Contribute 2\Configuration\FTPServerCheckerLog.htm

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Macromedia\Contribute 3\Configuration\FTPServerCheckerLog.htm

For Contribute 4 and CS3

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Contribute 4\Configuration\FTPServerCheckerLog.htm

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Contribute CS3\Configuration\FTPServerCheckerLog.htm

Note: The Local Settings folder is by default a hidden folder and you will need to change the Folder Options View to show hidden files and folders.

Additional Information

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For more information about Contribute FTP issues, see the following TechNotes:

• "Testing FTP functions using command line" (TechNote tn_19496)
• "FTP Troubleshooting and Resources (TechNote tn_18932)
• "Servers that are compatible with Contribute" (TechNote tn_19494)
• "Using Network I/O logging to log operations and identify problems" (TechNote tn_19506)

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