KB / FTP / Using FTP clients / Mac OS / Mac OS X
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Finder
Apple disabled FTP upload on OS X 10.2 and above.
Although it is possible to mount a DreamHost directory on OS X using AFP (AppleTalk), the netatalk module, which is used to implement AFP on DreamHost's UNIX servers, has severe issues with NFS, through which all customer data is mounted. AFP on DreamHost is therefore unsupported. It may go away at any time without warning.
For those who wish to mount their DreamHost directory on a Mac OS X client, consider MacFUSE instead. When used with the SSHFS module, it accomplishes the same basic functionality of mounting a network drive in the Finder, but it uses a reliable and secure SSH connection instead of the proprietary AFP format. SSH works much better on the DreamHost network, and if you run into trouble with your SSH connection, they can help get it back up and running. The end result is that MacFUSE is going to be a lot more reliable than AFP and still provide the same sort of features.
Transmit
A relative newcomer to the Mac FTP software industry, Panic's Transmit FTP client has a nice, clean interface and works well with our services. You may obtain a demo copy and purchase a full copy here.
Setting Transmit up to work with your DreamHost account is fairly simple. Simply launch the Transmit application and follow the directions below.
Note: Transmit supports both the FTP and SFTP file transfer protocols. We highly recommend SFTP over FTP as it is more secure and is fully supported on our servers. While the following instructions assume you will be using SFTP, you can choose the equivalent options under FTP and the setup process will be nearly the same.
1. After opening Transmit, click on the "Favorites" menu, then select "Add to Favorites...". A sheet will appear, providing an interface with which to create a favorites listing for your account.
2. In the spot labeled "Nickname", you can put anything you'd like - for example, the name of your web site, your domain name, etc. Where asked for an "Server", enter your domain name. Fill in your FTP/SFTP username and password where prompted (note: be sure not to use your Web ID and its associated password, as these are different). Finally, click on the "Protocol" pop-up menu and select "SFTP". You may leave all other settings as they are. When finished, click on the "OK" button.
3. You have now bookmarked your SFTP (or FTP) account. You can log in at any time by selecting it from the "Favorites" sub-menu, under the "Favorites" menu. You will be automatically logged in.
4. When logged in, you will see a directory listing. You can navigate from folder to folder by double clicking on folders and using the navigational buttons at the top of the listing. You may upload files (such as web pages, images, etc) by dragging and dropping them into the folder you want them to be uploaded to.
For more information on using Transmit, please see the documentation included with the software.
Interarchy
Formerly known as Anarchie (a long-time favorite among Mac FTP users), Interarchy is an all-encompassing FTP tool and "Internet assistance". You may obtain a demo copy and purchase a full copy here.
Setting Interarchy up to work with your DreamHost account is fairly simple. Simply launch the Interarchy application and follow the directions below.
Note: Interarchy supports both the FTP and SFTP file transfer protocols. We highly recommend SFTP over FTP as it is more secure and is fully supported on our servers. While the following instructions assume you will be using SFTP, you can choose the equivalent option under FTP and the setup process will be nearly the same.
1. After opening Interarchy, click on the "File" menu, then choose "SFTP Listing..." from under the "SFTP" sub-menu. A settings box will appear.
2. Where asked for an "SFTP Server", enter your domain name. You can leave the "Path" field blank. Fill in your FTP/SFTP username and password where prompted (note: be sure not to use your Web ID and its associated password, as these are different). Finally, click on the pop-up menu at the bottom of the window and set it to "Bookmark for Later". Click on the "Bookmark" button.
3. You have now bookmarked your SFTP (or FTP) account. You can log in at any time by double-clicking on it in the Interarchy bookmark listing.
3. When logged in, you will see a directory listing. You can navigate from folder to folder by double clicking on folders and using the navigational buttons at the top of the listing. You may upload files (such as web pages, images, etc) by dragging and dropping them into the folder you want them to be uploaded to.
For more information on using Interarchy, please see the software's documentation, here.
NetFinder
NetFinder is a very powerful FTP client written by Peter Li and Vincent Tan, two well known Macintosh shareware authors. By virtue of its functionality and very Mac-like interface, it has become quite popular.
To get a copy, visit the official NetFinder web site.
Logging On
When you start up NetFinder, you will be prompted to provide the information it needs to log on to an FTP server. Although different versions may be somewhat different in appearance, this screen should look something like this:
First, make sure that the protocol dropdown menu says 'ftp'.
Second, type in your domain name in the field labeled 'host'. The example above shows the domain 'bekindtohamsters.com' because, well, we like hamsters at Dreamhost. However, you should make sure to use your own domain name instead.
Third and fourth, you should type in your username and password, respectively.
Fifth, you should type in the name of your domain again. This is actually the name of the directory in which your site is stored, and may vary depending on what you are trying to log into. If you wish to instead visit the very root of your account, you should leave this blank.
Last but not least, click on the 'Connect' button, which should log you on. You will receive a directory listing with the contents of your web directory.
Uploading Files/Directories
To upload a file, open the directory you wish to upload to by double-clicking on it in the listing, then select 'Upload' from the Net menu. You will be prompted to select a file to upload. If you have more than one file to upload, you can upload many files and directories at once by simply dragging and dropping items from the Finder onto the directory listing (just as you would copy files from one folder to another on your Mac).
Setting Permissions
If you are on a plan that gives you CGI capabilities, you may also find yourself needing to change permissions on various files in order to get them to work correctly. Instead of using telnet to connect to a server and changing permissions from there, you can actually perform the same function using NetFinder. To do so, control-click on a file or directory and select 'Set Permissions...' from the menu that appears (or select the same function from the Net menu). A window will pop up that allows you to make alterations to the permissions of a given file or directory. Make whatever changes you wish, then hit the 'Set' button to make them take effect.
If you wish to alter the permissions of multiple files at the same time, all you need to do is select more than one file at a time, just as you would do using the Finder. Then, perform the function (such as setting permissions) as you would if there were only one item selected.
Fetch
Fetch, while not necessarily the newest or most feature rich FTP client out there, is also one of the most popular. Much of this may be due to history, having originally been released before the web even supported graphics. Simply put, Fetch is known for getting the job done, and for having done so long before the current players even came into play.
Although we recommend using NetFinder due to it being more current and having a more intuitive user interface, Fetch is still in use today on thousands of machines, and is a great tool in its own right.
You can visit the Fetch home page here.
Logging On
Upon running Fetch, you will receive a dialog box asking you for some information on where to connect.
For the field labeled 'Host', you should tupe in your domain name. Usually this is in the form 'yourdomain.com'.
In the next two fields, which ask you for a User ID and Password, you should provide your Dreamhost account username and password. Note that the password is shielded so that someone cannot read it over your shoulder.
For the directory field, there are a few options. If you leave it blank, you will be sent to the very root level of your account upon logon. If you wish to be taken to the root of your web directory, where your site is stored, you should provide it in the form shown in the picture above (if you have a subdomain, you can use that instead). This should work for the vast majority of Dreamhost customers, although some may have their sites stored in a directory with a slightly different naming convention. When in doubt, leave this value blank and navigate through your account manually.
How To Upload Files
Once you are connected, you will be presented with a screen that shows you a listing of what is in your current directory. For example:
Here, you can see any files and directories contained within your current directory, which is accessable from a popdown menu toward the top of the window (this is also where you can access its parent directory).
To upload a file, simply click on the 'Put File...' button on the right side of the window. You will be prompted for a file to upload. To upload multiple files, you can simply drag a folder or multiple selection of files from the Finder onto Fetch. This allows you to upload your entire site with ease. To download a file or group of files, you merely need to select whichever files and/or directories you wish to make a local copy of and hit the 'Get File...' button.
Other functions you can perform include deleting, renaming, and getting information on selected files and directories. Most of these functions are available from the Remote menu.
One function in particular which may be of great use to CGI programmers is the 'Set Permissions...' option. This feature allows you to change the permissions for a given item. Another, almost identical option is 'Set Upload Permissions...' which allows you to change the permissions of the current directory you reside in.
Fetch contains a decent set of features and is known to work well with Dreamhost's servers. Although it doesn't have quite the feature set that some of the more modern FTP clients boast, it has been a staple of the Macintosh Internet community for some time.
Cyberduck
- is also worth a look. Use the "Get Info" function to set permissions, rename a file or directory is handled in a contextual menu, lots of neat stuff. Edit with (your local app, TextWrangler, Preview, GraphicConverter, for example) is also supported. Good stuff. 3.50 donationware, issued under Gnu 2.0 licence and worth far more.
Cyberduck is an open source FTP, SFTP, WebDAV and Amazon S3 browser for the Mac. It features an easy to use interface that allows to toggle between bookmarks and the browser outline view. For editing files, it provides a seamless integration with several external editors. Many OS X core system technologies such as Spotlight, Bonjour, QuickLook and the Keychain are supported.
Check it out here: http://cyberduck.ch/
