Category: Utilities, file transfer software
Name of tool: CuteFTP v4.0
Company name: GlobalScape Inc./ American TeleSource International Inc.
Price: $39.95
URL: http://www.cuteftp.com/
Windows platforms supported: 95, 98, NT, 2000
Quick description: A versatile file transfer utility that keeps getting
better.
Strom-meter:
**** = Very cool, very useful
Key features:
Pros: simple menus, solid performance and features
Cons: new version has more features than ever, making it somewhat harder to
use
Description
All of us who maintain web sites need to use some form of ftp software
at one time or another. These are workhorses of web shops, used to move
files from your local hard disk up to your web server. There are dozens
of types of ftp software on the market to choose from, but I keep
coming back to CuteFTP. Despite its name, it delivers the files and
does its job well.
I want several things from an ftp client: ease of use, certainly, since
I don't spend a great deal of time with this software and want to be
able to transfer my files without a lot of fumbling around the menus.
Above all, I want the ability to view the files on my site in several
different ways. Sometimes I am looking for a particular file by name,
by date, or by file type. The ability to sort through my file listings
quickly and easily is important. I am also looking for reliable and
dependable behavior. Last but not least is transfer speed. CuteFTP
accomplishes these tasks all with ease. In most cases, a right mouse
click here or there will do the trick.
One of the nice things about the software is how you can set UP a
default Web site to connect to upon launching the program: if you just
maintain a single site, then this saves you a bunch of time and
keystrokes.
The latest version 4.0 adds lots of bells and some useful things as
well. For example, if you have to move an entire site from location A
to location B, in the past you had to accomplish this in two steps:
first, ftp the files from location A to your desktop, and then from
your desktop to location B. V 4.0 makes direct site-to-site transfers
possible in just one step, provided you are running two copies of the
software and drag files from one session to the other. (This isn't well
documented, however.)
Also new to this version is the ability to find and download MP3 files,
using a half-dozen popular music search sites. You can also schedule
transfers to occur at specific times, something that is very useful if
you want periodic updates of your site. Finally, GlobalScape has
augmented its support for ftp transfer through various corporate
firewalls, which makes it more useful to connect to your sites over the
Internet.
About the biggest negative I have encountered with v4.0 is that these
enhancements now get in the way of a very easy-to-use product. Sure,
the old streamlined product is still there. But it took me some getting
used to after using the earlier versions for many years.
Strom-meter key:
**** = Very cool, very useful
*** = Hey, not bad. One notch below very cool
** = A tad shaky to install and use but has some value.
* = Don't waste your time. Minimal real value.
David Strom is president of his own consulting firm in Port Washington,
NY. He has tested hundreds of computer products over the past two
decades working as a computer journalist, consultant and corporate IT
manager. Since 1995, he has written a weekly series of essays on web
technologies and marketing called Web Informant. You can send him email
at david@strom.com.
