Hydrogold's FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Site
You will need a Username, Password (see below) and the Host (ftp://www.hydrogold.com).
Click here for the quickest (not the best) access to ftp://www.hydrogold.com
Username and Password are both case-sensitive. Also the filenames.
See below for instructions on this and other (better) access methods.
How to Get Access - Your Username and Password
Since the general public is restricted from FTP access, you will need to have a username and password. To retain a degree of confidentiality between projects, a separate username and password is issued to each project (or Client).
Important Note:
Please note that both the Username and Password are case-senstive. For your Username/Password combination, please email admin@hydrogold.com. Include:
- Your name, your Position in the Company
- Your Company's name and their role on the project (Eg., Consultant, Contractor...)
- Contact Phone Number(s), Company Web Site
- The Project Name - There is often more than one name for a project, so include Country and City
How to Access FTP Using Windows Explorer (Simplest Method)
Open Windows Explorer (NOT Internet Explorer). You can (typically) get to Windows Explorer quickly by pressing the "Windows" key in conjuction with the "E" key. Once in Windows Explorer, type the address for the FTP site in the "Address" bar ( ftp://www.hydrogold.com ) and press the "Enter" key.
You will then be prompted for a Username and Password (see above).
After you enter those, you can then cut, copy, past, drag and drop with the FTP Site as you would normally (albeit a bit slower). If you are planning to come back, then it may be an idea to save the location to your "Favorites".
The main advantages of this method are the familiar interface and not having to install any new software.
How Access FTP Using Internet Explorer 7.0 (OK)
Once you click on the link to the FTP site (ftp://www.hydrogold.com), you will be prompted for a Username and Password (see above). This is not a very useful view. To get a more useful view, click on the "Page" (alternatively use "View" from the drop down menu) and select "Open FTP Site in Windows Explorer" instead of Internet Explorer. You will (most likely) be prompted again for the Username and Password (sorry - out of my control - take it up with Microsoft).
You can then cut, copy, past, drag and drop with the FTP Site as you would normally (albeit a bit slower). If you are planning to come back, then it may be an idea to save the location to your "Favorites".
FTP Software (Best if you are using FTP more than a couple of times)
FTP software takes a little longer to set up but is more efficient and (ultimately) easier than the above methods.
After you download and install the software, you will need to setup the software to access our FTP site. Typically, you will need to enter the host (www.hydrogold.com ), your username, password (see above - remember they are both case-sensitive) and possibly the port number (nearly always the standard 21). If you have problems then one thing to try is setting the mode to "Passive" instead of "Active".
I find FileZilla to be a good Freeware FTP program. It is available from www.filezilla-project.org. You will need to "Download the FileZilla Client". The rest is a stardard installation. And if you are happy with it, you could support the project and the good people providing such freeware by making a donation at their site :<)
Perhaps the leader in FTP sofware is "CuteFTP". It is available from www.globalscape.com. Currently the pricing starts from USD$ 40. Not sure why you would want to pay that much when FileZilla does (in my opinion) a perfectly good job for free.
A Few Technicalities...
- Please keep a copy (on your computer) of all the files you upload since they may be deleted (even modified) by others who have access to the system. Carefully check the version and dates of the file to ensure they are the correct revision.
- Clearly name your files (preferably with dates included). Delete your old and obsolete files.
- Let people know you have uploaded files. The FTP system does not automatically inform anyone.
- Remember that filenames are case-senstive (Help.txt, HElp.txt and HELP.TXT are all different files)! This is common with FTP sites, a legacy of the native Linux operating system underlying most FTP sites (including this one). Welcome to a real operating system Windows users :<)
- Typically there is a quota of 2 GigaBtyes (2,000 Megabtyes) on the total size of the FTP site.
- You may create sub-folders (sub-directories) within the site to help organise the data - for example, your company name.
- Two (2) months before we delete the FTP site for a project (typically at the end of our involvement with the project), we will change the password. This denies access to the site without deleting the data. If you still want the site to remain live or want files from the site, please contact us within that 2 month period.
Why FTP?
The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site facilitates the exchange of documents (files) between Clients, Consultants, Contractors and Manufacturers (not general public access) working on our projects. You may either download (from our FTP server to your computer) or upload (from your computer to our FTP server).
The prime advantage of FTP is a more secure and efficient mechanism for transferring (and sharing) files than HTTP (web pages). It will also handle larger files than email (which is generally restricted to 7.5 MegaByte files).
Potential Problems with FTP
The main problem encountered (with all the above methods) is access to the FTP port (typically) 21. It is beyond the scope of this site to go into detail but the main thing to check is port blocking by your firewall, virus/spyware software, router or your server (if you are operating on a Local Area Network).
One of the settings that may get FTP working is setting the mode to "Passive" - seems to be more agreeable with virus/spyware programs.
Refer to your system administrator, if you have one :<) If you are the system administrator... :<(
GMAIL - A (poor) alternative to FTP
Perhaps an alternative worth mentioning is Gmail. It is a free offer from Google. Its key feature is that it can send and receive large (we tested it to 20 MegaBytes) files. Furthermore, it has unlimited storage so you do not need to delete emails. While it is a web based utility, it also can be setup up with the traditional POP server software such as Outlook and Outlook Express. It is available from www.google.com (in the text menu bar at the top of the Google web page).
The main drawback with this method is the inability to provide a common access point for sharing.