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Help & Tips
How to Use FTP for Managing Your Server

by Astyanax

Welcome to the JediServers.com FTP tutorial. If you are new to the concept of FTP, you will find that this fast and simple little tool will give you the ability to manage all the files on your server.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is a simple and fast method for you to upload and download files (such as maps, mods, and configuration files) to and from your game server. Since there is no Web access to the files on your server, this "back door" method allows you access to those files. I know some people can find the prospect of an entirely new protocol to be a bit scary, but you will find it's as simple as surfing the Web.


PART I: Getting WS_FTP

My favorite program for using FTP is a little application called WS_FTP. While there is a paid Pro version, WS_FTP LE 5.0 is free, does not expire, and will give you all the features you need to keep your server uploaded.

Click here to download WS_FTP LE 5.0.

Do NOT install it yet!


PART II: Setting Up Your Storage Folder

Before you install WS_FTP, you should make a folder to store all the files you will be transferring back and forth:

figure 1
figure 1
  1. From your Desktop, double-click on "My Computer".

  2. On the "My Computer" screen, double-click on your "C:" drive.

  3. On the "C:" drive screen, go to the top menu and choose "File" >> "New" >> "Folder".

  4. The new folder will appear in the "C:" drive screen, and it will expect you to give it a name. Call it "FTP" and press ENTER. See figure 1.
Now you're ready to install.


PART III: Installing WS_FTP

It is very important that you follow these installation instructions carefully, or the program will not allow you to install it. WS_FTP LE is intended for students, so you must tell the program that you are a student. Follow these simple instructions:

figure 2
figure 2

figure 3
figure 3

figure 4
figure 4

  1. Double-click on the "ws_ftple.exe" file you just downloaded.

  2. On the first screen, choose "Install WS_FTP LE" and click the "Continue" button.

  3. On the next screen, choose "A student, faculty member, or staff member of an educational institution (k-12, junior college, college, or university)" and then click the "Next" button. See figure 2.

  4. On the next screen, choose "At home" AND "For personal use" and then click the "Next" button. See figure 3.

  5. On the next screen, click the "Accept" button, if you agree to the License Agreement.

  6. On the next screen, click "OK" to accept the default installation folder.

  7. On the next screen, click the "Browse", go find the "FTP" folder you created in your "C:" drive. You can find it by double-clicking on "c:\" and then double-clicking on "FTP". Then click the "OK" button. See figure 4.

  8. On the next screen, click "OK" to accept the default Program Folder.

  9. Click "OK" again, and you're done!

PART IV: Creating a connection to your server.

Start up WS_FTP. The first thing you will see is the "Session Properties" window (See figure 5), overlaying a larger screen in the back. We'll deal with that larger screen in a moment. The Session Properties window comes pre-loaded with a bunch of FTP connections, all of which are useless; we're going to get rid of them. So click the "Delete" button several times until all the connections have been removed from the window.

Now it's time to enter your connection information (see figure 6):

figure 5
figure 5

figure 6
figure 6

figure 7
figure 7

  1. In the "Host Name/Address" box, enter your server's IP address.

  2. In the "User ID" box, enter your FTP username.

  3. In the "Password" box, enter your FTP password.

  4. Click the little checkbox which says "Save Pwd".

  5. Leave everything else alone.

  6. Click the "Apply" button.
You are now ready to connect to your server. :) Click "OK" to sign on. At the bottom of the large screen, you will see WS_FTP attempt to log in to your server. If your login is rejected, be sure to double-check your information and go back to Step 1 above. Your screen should now look something like figure 7. You might want to resize the window to make it more comfortable to use.


PART V: The Server Screen

figure 8
figure 8

      WS_FTP is VERY easy to use. It is nothing more than an upload/download tool.

As you can see from figure 8, there are two major screens. Left left screen represents YOUR computer, and the right screen represents the game server. You will use the little arrows between the screens to send files back and forth.

Before you can transfer files, you need to make sure that you are in the correct folders.

We all know that PK3s go into the "base" folder, so you will need to get to your server's "base" folder on the right-hand screen. Double-click on "JAserver" (or "JKserver"). You are now inside this folder, and viewing the files in that folder. Double-click on "base", and now we're looking at the files in that folder.

On the left side, you will use this same process to find the files that you want to send up to the server from your hard drive. Double-click on any folder name to go into that folder, or double-click on the ".." to go UP one folder level.


PART VI: Transferring Files

To upload a file from your hard drive to the server, first make sure that you have chosen the correct folder you want to drop the file into on the server. Then, on the left side, select the file you want to upload, and click the little arrow pointing to the right (see figure 8). This will begin the upload process.

To download a file from the server to your hard drive, first make sure that you have chosen the correct folder you want to drop the file into on your hard drive. Then, on the right side, select the file you want to download, and click the little arrow pointing to the left (see figure 8). This will begin the download process.

Files you have downloaded can be accessed by going through "My Computer" and finding the folder where you saved those files.

In order to edit files such as your server.cfg, you MUST download it from your server, modify it on YOUR computer, save it, and THEN upload it back to your server.


PART VII: Special Notes

Always remember, when you upload something that already exists on the server, your copy is over-writing the copy that's already there. So, for example, if someone else is modifying your server.cfg file and you need to make more changes, be sure to FIRST download a fresh copy from the server, and modify that. If you don't, you will lose the changes the other person made.

It is a good practice to ALWAYS download server.cfg before making changes. Even if you only made changes a few hours ago.

Also, bear in mind that when you make changes via FTP, your game server will not show those changes until you restart it. Always restart after doing anything in FTP!


Now, that wasn't so bad, was it? There are other things you can do with FTP, but that's what you're going to use it for the most. Happy FTP'ing!

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