Internet Tip Sheets: Fetch (Mac)

• Starting Fetch
• Connecting to a host
• Bookmarks and shortcuts
• Adding shortcuts
• Modifying shortcuts
• Establishing a default host
• Configuring Fetch for Acrobat
• Viewing text files
• Transferring files
• Transferring multiple files
• Transferring directories
• Transferring files by drag and drop
• Configuring a download folder
• Canceling an operation
• Quitting Fetch
• Example: Transferring a .sit file from a server to your computer

About Fetch Fetch allows Macintosh computers to initiate high-speed file transfers using the FTP protocol. Using this file transfer utility, however, requires that you know which host you want to transfer files from and the directory where the files are located. In most instances, you will probably obtain the name of the host and the directory information from an Internet resource, from a book, or from some other published source.

Note: Network software is upgraded frequently. These instructions are for Fetch 3.0.3 and 4.0. The version you are using may work somewhat differently.

Documentation For information about where to get the Fetch software, see the ISC-Supported Products document on Fetch.

Fetch has a substantive, easy-to-use online help system. To access online help while using Fetch, select "Fetch Help" from the Windows menu.

File Formats Files are stored on servers in different types of formats. Some files are stored as plain text (otherwise known as ASCII), while other files are stored in a form known as binary. Binary files include executable programs, formatted spreadsheet and word processing documents, and archived groups of files. The file name often gives you a clue as to the file type. For example, a file name that ends with the suffix .ps, .txt, .doc, or .hqx normally signifies a text file; a file name that ends in the suffix .bin, Sit, or .gif normally signifies a binary file.

Transfer Modes When you transfer a file, the Fetch menu displays three file transfer options: Automatic, Text, and Binary. If the Automatic button is selected, Fetch will determine whether the file is text or binary and will transfer the file correctly based on the suffixes it recognizes. If Fetch can't figure out the file type from the suffix, Fetch will treat the file as a text file. In general, you should select the Automatic option and let Fetch figure out the file type. Otherwise, you need to know whether the file you want to transfer is text or binary and then click the appropriate button. If a file transferred via the automatic option is not usable, you may want to retry using the other options.

Public Directories Files on servers are stored in a hierarchy of directories. When you connect to a server you will probably want to access that server's public directory -- pub for short. Public directories contain a variety of documents and software that have been specifically set aside for use by the public.

Default Hosts When you receive Fetch, the name of your default host (the name of the FTP server that appears in the sign-on dialog box whenever you run Fetch) may already be established. Your default host should point to ftp.upenn.edu. To set your default host, see the section "Establishing a default host."

Parameters You can set certain parameters that will determine how Fetch will operate. For example, you can set parameters for general system operations, for downloading, for uploading, and for miscellaneous operations. For more information on setting specific parameters, select the topic "Preferences" in Fetch online help.

Starting Fetch

Connecting to a host

Note: Anonymous FTP allows you to log on as a "guest" to computers with files available to the Internet public, specifically for the purpose of transferring those files to your own computer -- log on with "anonymous" as a user ID and "guest" as the password. Note that some of these hosts may require that you use your e-mail address as a password. E-mail addresses provide additional security since they can be traced back to the user. However, if you are transferring files from a server on which you have an account, type your user name in the User ID field, then type your assigned password in the Password field.

To connect to a host from the File menu

1. Select "New Connection" from the File menu.

2. Complete the fields in the dialog box as follows:

   Host       Type the name of host that
              you want to transfer files from.
   
   User ID	   Type anonymous in the User ID field.
              If this is a server on which you have
              an account, type your assigned user ID.
   
   Password   Type your e-mail address. If this is a 
              server on which you have an account,
              type your password.
   
   Directory  Optional. Type the name of the directory
              that you want to access. For example,
              type /pub.
              
   If you leave the User ID and Password fields blank, Fetch 
   will attempt to connect you to the host as a guest.          
   

3. Click "OK" to establish the connection. Fetch will display directory information for the host to which you are connecting.

1. Click and hold the black triangle next to Shortcuts to view the hosts available from the menu.

2. Select a host. When you select a host from this menu, the host name and the user ID you have previously specified are automatically entered in the appropriate fields.

3. Click "OK" to establish the connection. Fetch will display directory information for the host to which you are connecting.

Bookmarks and shortcuts

Adding shortcuts

To add a host to the Shortcuts menu

1. Select "New Shortcut" from the Customize menu. The Bookmark Editor dialog box is displayed.

2. Complete the fields in the dialog box as follows:

   Name       Type the name you want to appear
              in the Shortcuts menu.
   
   Type       Click and hold on the triangle to display a list of
              destination types. Select File, Folder, or 
              Unknown if you're not sure.           
   
   Host       Type the name of the host or its IP address.
              For example, ftp.upenn.edu.
   
   User ID    Type anonymous or, if this is a host on which
              you have a personal account, type another
              user ID. 
   
   Password   Type your e-mail address as your password for
              anonymous FTP. For security purposes, do not enter
              a password if this is a host on which you have a 
              personal account. You will enter your password each
              time the shortcuts dialog appears for that host.
   
   Directory  If you want to access the same directory each
              time you connect to this host, type the name
              of the directory.  For example, type /pub. 
              
   

3. Click "OK." The Shortcuts menu will automatically be updated wherever it appears.

Modifying shortcuts

To modify shortcut information

1. Select "Fetch Shortcuts" from the Windows menu to open the Fetch Shortcuts window.

2. Do one of the following:

   - To change host information, highlight the shortcut you want to modify, then select "Edit Bookmark" from the Customize menu. Type in the new information, and click "OK".

   - To delete a host you no longer want as a shortcut, highlight the shortcut you want to delete, then select "Remove Bookmark" from the Customize menu. The host is deleted from the Shortcuts menu.

3. Close the Fetch Shortcuts window. The list is automatically updated.

Establishing a default host

To establish a default host

1. Select "Preferences" from the Customize menu. The General preferences dialog box appears.

2. Click and hold on the triangle adjacent to "Default shortcut" to display the list of shortcuts.

3. Highlight the desired host name and release.

4. Click "OK" to update your preferences.

Configuring Fetch for Acrobat

To configure Fetch to recognize a PDF file

1. Select "Suffix Mapping" from the Customize menu.

2. Click the "Add" button.

3. Type .pdf in the Suffix field.

4. Select "Binary" as the Transfer mode.

5. Type TEXT in the Type field, type CARO in the Creator field, and skip Choose Example... .

6. Type Acrobat in the Name field and click "OK".

7. Click "OK" again to close the dialog box.

Viewing text files

To view a text file

1. Select the text file you want to view.

2. Select "View File" from the Remote menu. The file is displayed in a separate window on your desktop.

3. When you have finished reading the file, close the window to return to Fetch.

Transferring files

To transfer a file from the server to your workstation

1. Start Fetch and then connect to a host from the File menu or from the Shortcuts menu.

2. Locate the file you want to transfer by double-clicking the folder where the file is stored, and then selecting the file. For example, to access the mac directory where Macintosh resources are stored on ftp.upenn.edu, click the Mac folder.

3. Click on a transfer mode button, usually Automatic, as explained in "Transfer Modes."

4. Click "Get File" to transfer the file from the server to your machine.

   When you select the file you want to transfer and click "Get File", Fetch processes what kind of file it is and how to transfer it. Fetch then displays a dialog box asking where you'd like to store the transferred file on your Macintosh.

5. When the transfer dialog box appears, the file name is displayed in the Save Text As field. You can save the file to your desktop, to your hard drive, or to a floppy diskette. You can rename the file as long as you keep the same extension.

6. After you indicate where you want to transfer the file by selecting a directory or creating a new one (only System 7 allows you to create a new folder in the middle of this process), click "Save". The transfer process begins. You can watch the progress of the transfer in the right-hand side bar.

Transferring multiple files

To transfer multiple consecutive files from the server to your workstation

1. Select the first file you want to transfer.

2. To select the other file(s) you want to transfer, hold down the shift key and click the next file.

3. When you have finished selecting all the files you want to transfer, click "Get Files".

Transferring directories

To transfer a directory from the server to your workstation

1. Select the directory you want to transfer.

2. Select "Get Directories and Files" from the Remote menu.

3. When the dialog box appears, the directory name is displayed in the Save Files And Folders In field. You can save the directory to your desktop, to your hard drive, or to a floppy diskette.

4. Click "Save" to transfer the directory.

Transferring files by drag and drop

You can transfer files or directories by clicking once on the selected file(s) and/or folder(s), holding down the mouse button, and dragging the selection onto your desktop or a folder on the desktop. Release the mouse to begin the transfer.

Configuring a download folder

Any folder on your machine may be selected as the default download location. Each time files are transferred from a host to your machine, they are automatically saved to this location, bypassing the save dialog window. Not only are transfers quicker when a default location is specified, it may be easier to keep track of newly transferred files.

To configure a download folder

1. Select "Preferences" from the Customize menu.

2. In the Preferences window, select the "Download" tab along the top.

3. Select the "Use download folder" checkbox, and click on the empty bar next to this text.

4. Select the folder that will be the default download location, and then "Save Files Here". To save files to the desktop, leave the empty bar unselected.

5. The folder selected should now be displayed in the bar.

6. Select "OK" in the Preferences window.

Canceling an operation

Some remote hosts do not support the Cancel command and will continue the operation. In this case, you can stop the operation by selecting "Close" from the File menu to log off the remote FTP server or by selecting "Quit" from the File menu to quit Fetch.

Quitting Fetch

To quit Fetch

1. Select "Close" from the File menu.

2. Select "Quit" from the File menu.

Example: Transferring a Sit file from a server to your computer

Note: If you have limited memory, close all applications before downloading the software.

1. Double-click the Fetch icon to start Fetch.

2. Select "New Connection" from the File menu.

3. Type mimas.acs.unt.edu in the Host field.

4. Type anonymous in the User ID field, then type guest in the Password field.

5. Type /Files/Music/Q-R in the Directory field.

6. Click "OK" to establish the connection. Fetch displays directory information.

7. Select "Rapmaster.sit".

8. Click "Get File".

9. When the dialog box is displayed, keep the file name as it appears in the Save Text As field, identify the Desktop as the directory where the file will be transferred, and click "Save".

10. Wait for Fetch to transfer the file from the server to the desktop. Depending on your configuration, the Rapmaster folder or the Rapmaster.sit icon will appear on your desktop.

    Note: If the Rapmaster.sit icon instead of the Rapmaster folder appears on your desktop, you will need to decompress the file by starting StuffIt Expander and selecting "Expand" and the rapmaster.sit file. After decompressing the file, delete the compressed rapmaster.sit file -- the file you originally downloaded from the server -- by dragging it to the Trash and selecting "Empty Trash..." from the Special menu.

11. Double-click the Rapmaster folder, then double-click Rapmaster.

12. For information about Rapmaster and how to use the software, select "About Rapmaster" from the Apple menu.

13. To quit Rapmaster, select "Quit" from the File menu.

Related resources

• PennNet Passport: File Transfer via FTP.
• Supported Products: Fetch.
• Internet Tip Sheets.