ARCHIVED: For Mac OS, what FTP clients are available and how do they compare?

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Note: To learn about FTP clients for Mac OS X, see ARCHIVED: For Mac OS X, what native FTP and SFTP clients are available, and how do they compare?

Note: To use any of these clients, you must have an Internet connection.

The following Mac OS FTP clients are the most widely used:

The Fetch icon shows a dog carrying a floppy disk in its mouth.

Fetch has a long history and enjoys tremendous popularity in the Mac OS community. Though it was not updated for several years, it re-emerged in version 4 as a modern FTP client, supporting server-to-server transfers, resumable downloads, and site mirroring. Developed by Jim Matthews, formerly of Dartmouth, it is available free of charge to users affiliated with academic institutions. For others, Fetch is available as shareware. Visit the Fetch web site at:

  http://fetchsoftworks.com/
The Hefty FTP icon looks like a small, dark blue globe.

Though Hefty FTP does not have a particularly intuitive interface, it does have a few unique features, such as the ability to schedule downloads and play MP3 files. It also has a separate window that you can use to queue file transfers, pause and restart downloads, and adjust the priority of queued items. It is shareware from Black Diamond; you can visit the Hefty FTP web site at:

  http://www.ziggy.speedhost.com/bdhefty.html
The Interarchy icon looks like a filing cabinet with a hand placing a paper inside.

Formerly called Anarchie, Interarchy has enjoyed a long history as a favored Mac OS FTP client. It was the first to include support for Internet Config and relies on that program for most of its settings and preferences. It is one of the most advanced programs of its kind, offering several features unavailable in other FTP clients, such as support for Sherlock plug-ins and built-in network diagnostic utilities (e.g., traceroute and ping). It behaves much like the Finder in the way it displays and manipulates files on FTP servers, making it easy to use for those familiar with Mac OS. Developed by Stairways Software, it is now a commercial product. Visit the Interarchy web site at:

  http://nolobe.com/interarchy/
The NetFinder icon looks like a gray dog running against a light blue diamond.

NetFinder offers an interface that looks and behaves more like the Finder than any of the other programs. It is very customizable and has a strong feature set. Perhaps its most useful feature is its ability to move files between directories and servers without using the hard drive as an intermediary. Created by Peter Li and Vincent Tan, NetFinder is available as shareware. Visit the NetFinder web site at:

  http://members.ozemail.com.au/~pli/netfinder/

The Transmit  icon looks like a delivery truck.

Transmit combines elements of Fetch and the Finder, resulting in a very easy-to-use program. Incorporating many of the GUI enhancements of Mac OS 8, including contextual menus and Appearance Manager support, Transmit offers a compact and attractive interface that lets you view remote and local directories in the same window. Developed by Panic, Transmit is available as shareware. Visit the Transmit web site at:

  http://www.panic.com/transmit/
The Vicomsoft FTP Client icon has a line-drawing of a bird carrying a floppy disk.

You can download Vicom Technology's FTP Client (nominally a commercial client) as shareware from the company's web site. It has an attractive, Appearance Manager-savvy interface that lets you view both remote and local directories in the same window. It has excellent file translation capabilities and allows you to save site bookmarks as Finder aliases. Visit the Vicomsoft FTP Client web page at:

  http://www.ftpclient.com/macos/index.html
The Netscape Communicator icon shows a lighthouse against a blue and white background.

Netscape Communicator, called simply Netscape in version 6 and later, is a freeware web browser that also functions as an FTP client. It has fewer features than the dedicated FTP clients and makes only limited use of Internet Config. It has, however, the advantage of providing several services in one application. Visit the Netscape web site at:

  http://netscape.aol.com/

The Internet Explorer icon is a lowercase blue e.

Like Netscape's web browser, Microsoft's Internet Explorer also doubles as an FTP client. It has fewer features than the dedicated FTP clients, but its downloading capabilities are substantially more powerful than Communicator's. Visit the web site for Internet Explorer for Mac OS at:

  http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.mspx

FTP client comparison table

For a side-by-side comparison of the FTP clients discussed in this document, refer to the following table. Aside from the standard functions of FTP, all clients allow you to bookmark sites and offer at least limited support for drag and drop.

Feature Interarchy 6.x Fetch 4.x Vicomsoft FTP Client 3.x Hefty FTP 1.x NetFinder 2.3.x Transmit 1.7.x Internet Explorer 5.x Netscape 4.7+
Resumed downloads* Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
HTTP download Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Send server keep-alives No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Multi-threaded Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Synchronize local and remote directories
Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes1
Move remote files between servers**
No Yes No No Yes No No No
Session transcript Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No2 No2
View remote file Yes3 Yes No4 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Internet Config supported Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes5
MacBinary upload Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Finder-like interface Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No
Balloon Help Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No
68k support No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No

Notes:

*The server must also support this feature.

**This implies that the move does not involve the local hard drive. Both remote servers must support this feature.

1Possible with Page Composer, which is Netscape's web editor component.

2The web browsers have a history feature that approximates a very primitive transcript.

3Interarchy will download the file and open it in the appropriate application (as determined by Internet Config). It has no built-in capability to display text files, however.

4You may set Vicomsoft FTP Client's suffix mappings so it will download certain files and open them in appropriate applications. However, it has no built-in capability to display text files.

5Netscape Communicator 4.x offers limited Internet Config support, but Netscape 6+ uses its own file mapping settings.

Related documents

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Last modified on 2018-01-18 12:07:35.