Fetch: Transferring Files to Your Macintosh

1. Introduction

To transfer files between your personal computer and a host machine, you will need to use FTP. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a set of rules or "protocols" that lets two computers exchange information over a network. A "host" is the remote machine, or FTP site, to which you connect. Fetch is a Macintosh program for exchanging files with a host computer elsewhere on the network.

There are also a number of institutions that provide freeware or shareware programs to the public on the Internet. Individual users can acquire these programs through a process called "anonymous FTP." Using Fetch, you can acquire a wide range of Macintosh programs and utilities.

2. Getting Started with Fetch

If you will be using Fetch through a dial-up connection , be sure to establish your connection before starting Fetch.

Connecting

  1. Whenever you open the Fetch application or click on the "Open Connection..." button, you will be presented with the following dialog box:
  2. Type in the name or IP address of the desired machine (an IP address is a type of numerical computer address such as 128.135.98.32) or select one from the Shortcuts pull-down menu at the bottom left of the dialog box.
  3. There are also boxes for you to enter a user name and password. To connect to your domain space, type in your username and password. For anonymous FTP, enter the name anonymous, which, for most anonymous FTP hosts, is the guest login; in the Password field enter your email address. You may leave the directory field blank. Now click on "OK." Fetch will then take some time to connect. If you have to wait more than a few minutes, there may be something wrong with the network, or the host machine may be too busy to accommodate you. Just click "cancel" and try again later.

Retrieving files

Once you are connected, you can browse through the available files by double-clicking on folders just as you would in a Macintosh "open file" dialog box. When you find a file you want, double-click on the file name (or select it, then click the "Get File..." button).

If you have the "Automatic" button selected, Fetch will try to determine what kind of file it is. There are two main types of files on FTP servers; a binary file is a program or data file in machine-readable language (e.g., any program, graphic, or sound file), a text file is any document that contains only text (ASCII) characters (no formatting).

If Fetch cannot figure out what type of file it is, it will treat it as a text file. If you know what kind of file you are trying to retrieve, you may want to select the appropriate button in the dialog box. In most cases, however, the "Automatic" option will work just fine.

Fetch will then ask you where you want to put the file. Select where you want the file saved, and click "Save." The files will be copied to your computer and converted to Macintosh format. Some files are compressed to save disk space. If the files are compressed with Compactor or Stuffit Deluxe, you will need Aladdin Systems - StuffIt Expander.

3. FTP Sites

With Fetch, you can access many FTP servers throughout the world. Use the programs you get with Fetch at your own risk: the programs found on these archives come from a wide variety of sources and there are no guarantees that they will work properly on your computer or be free of viruses.

Here is a list of the FTP servers which are listed on the Shortcuts menu in Fetch:

  1. Info-Mac (Sumex-AIM) -- Stanford University, California 
         Host Name: sumex-aim.stanford.edu
    Info-Mac contains many useful programs and files, but the best way to access these files is to use the Info-Mac mirror on the Washinton University Archive (described below). There is a list of the current contents of all the folders in the all-files.txt file; recent-files.txt lists recently created or modified files.

  2. Info-Mac Mirror -- Washington University, Missouri 
         Host Name: wuarchive.wustl.edu
    This server contains a copy (mirrors) of the Stanford archive (Sumex-AIM/info-mac).

  3. U. Michigan Archives -- University of Michigan, Michigan 
         Host Name: mac.archive.umich.edu
    Although similar to Info-Mac, this site may contain additional files. It is also mirrored on WU Archive (above). The Mac goodies are in the "mac" directory; there is a list of all the files in the "help" directory.

  4. Apple Archives -- Apple Computer, California 
         Host Name: ftp.apple.com
    This contains Apple products and enhancements that are released free of charge, including system/printer software upgrades.

  5. NCSA Archive -- National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Illinois 
         Host Name: ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu
    This archive contains applications developed by NCSA. They include some scientific visualization programs and other programs to help people who use supercomputers.

  6. Dartmouth Archives -- Dartmouth College, New Hampshire 
         Host Name: ftp.dartmouth.edu
    Since Fetch was written at Dartmouth, this FTP site is also included.

4. Using Bookmarks

A "Bookmarks" folder is included with the Connectivity Package's version of Fetch. The files in this folder point to other FTP sites around the world that you can access with Fetch.

To visit one of these sites, click on the the File menu and choose Open Bookmark.

You will then need to tell Fetch where the Fetch Bookmarks folder can be found. You can do so by navigating your hard drive's "file open" window. Once you have found and opened the "Bookmarks" folder in the Fetch folder, you can simply click on a bookmark of your choice (you may scroll down the window for further options) and then click on "Open" to visit that FTP site.

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