Captain
FTP is an elegant, user-friendly Mac OS X FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) client with what is arguably the most aesthetically
attractive user interface of any Mac FTP client. It is also the
first Mac FTP client to allow local network users to share files
directly.
This requires a new approach, with the Captain FTP Address Book
divided into separate parts: the Public Address Book (consisting of
local Network users), Private FTP entries, and Public FTP entries
that can be used to share files - but only with users authorized
and approved by the host.
This is not a Peer to Peer methodology; only authorized local
users and specified (authorized) WAN users can connect to you - and
you to them.
This feature requires a new interface to facilitate FTP
session management, which led to the development of a tabbed
interface supporting multiple FTP connections, allowing users to
open multiple tabs (each tab a separate FTP session) in a single
window or two panes within a window (left and right). It is even
possible to transfer between tabs in the same window by drag and
drop.
A cool new
Tiger-only feature in Captain FTP 4.3 is a Dashboard widget
that presents the brand new help guide for Captain FTP. It can also
be used to quickly upload files to remote servers by dragging them
from the desktop to the widget. The Captain FTP Widget directly
accesses the Captain FTP Address Book, enabling quick connection to
all remote servers.
The widget was a quick download and a breeze to install,
although I found the dark colored appearance theme makes the menu
selections hard to read until you mouse over them, but it does
offer quick and convenient access to the Captain FTP address
book.
The Captain FTP Widget is free for all users with Captain FTP
4.2 or higher.
With Captain FTP 4.3, file management has been simplified with
the addition of built-in file viewers for movies, sounds, pictures,
PDF, and a new browser column to show file attributes. File/folder
synchronization has been enhanced with a visual browser.
This powerful and multithreaded FTP/SSL-FTP/SFTP Client, built
from scratch for Mac OS X, allows an unlimited number of
simultaneous connections. It provides accelerated downloads,
resuming downloads, and support for text editors (BBEdit and
others), a favorites Address Book, Bonjour (formerly Rendezvous),
virtual folders, a transfer manager, scripting, a UNICODE converter
supporting national fonts, privileges management (UMASK, CHMOD),
plugins, and more.
The Transfer Manager
The Transfer Manager, a longtime showpiece feature of Captain
FTP, not only controls file transfers and allows users to modify
transfers by pausing or halting transfers. It has now been
integrated with the accelerated downloads function, which works
particularly well for large files (2 GB and bigger), allowing
them to be downloaded much more quickly.
Captain FTP's server manager allows creation of user lists
containing defined FTP server names along with their connection and
account parameters, such as user name, password, passive or
active mode, and firewalls. One mouse click is usually enough to
connect to any listed FTP server.
Also new is an extra layer of security with Key Authentication
for secure FTP transfers.
Captain FTP supports OS X 10.4 Tiger's Bonjour networking
technology, as well as plugins for Internet Browsers (Helper), new
dynamic "stop/disconnect" option, and the ability to import
addresses from Net Finder, Fetch, and Transmit.
Captain FTP 4.3 includes a revamped interface, which is written
in Cocoa and styled to conform with Apple's "brushed metal" motif.
Frankly, I have to say that the brushed metal appearance doesn't
really grab me, but Captain FTP gives you a choice. Captain FTP's
developers listened to those who don't like brushed metal and have
provided users with the option of switching to an Aqua theme since
version 3.1.1.
Captain FTP lets you choose brushed metal or
Aqua appearance.
To switch between these appearance, just
open the Captain FTP Preferences, click the "Misc" tab, and at the
bottom of the dialog you will find a couple of pulldown menus to
specify appearance options (right).
A big thank you to the developers for providing this option.
Captain FTP doesn't use Cocoa drawers, but its Address Book
(below) puts the "plain Jane" connection menus of the other apps to
shame. This application has the attention to detail that typifies
German products.
Captain FTP 4.3 provides "wicked fast"
file transfers, and it makes connections quickly as well.
However, it did stumble when encountering an existing file with
the same name as the one of I was trying to upload, which happens
when updating an existing Web page. Indeed, stumble is an
understatement. The program would stall with the progress bar
rolling endlessly and no file upload. This happened on all of
several attempts at different times and connected to different FTP
servers.
I tried uploading the same replacement files to the same servers
using another FTP client and encountered no difficulties at all.
Frankly, I am stymied. I never did find a solution or workaround. I
don't know whether this issue is a bug in the program or some
incompatibility issue with my setup. Since Captain FTP is
shareware, you can download it and see whether this problem will be
an issue for you without making a cash commitment.
File transfers have become a whole lot easier with Captain FTP's
Virtual Folders. Users can create virtual folders on their desktop
for their FTP server folders. To transfer files to these folders,
simply drag 'n' drop the file onto the folder icon, and Captain FTP
automatically completes the transfer.
The preferences allow you specify which application you wish to
use to edit files, whether a double-click on a file in the Captain
FTP window will initiate a transfer or just open it, and an array
of other FTP options.
Captain FTP supports mirror transfers, allowing you to
synchronize a folder on your Mac with a directory on your server
with one command, transferring only the files that have
changed.
Navigation with Captain FTP is easy and closely emulates the
standard conventions of the Mac OS's built-in file lists. Moving
from one directory to another within Captain FTP merely
requires double clicking on a folder icon or use of a popup
menu.
The Global Progress Indicator in the Captain FTP interface
window displays the estimated time remaining to end of transfer. a
Stop button enables the user to stop any operation at any time
without breaking the connection with a server.
Captain FTP 4.x features segmented downloads, which Xnet
Communications says provide "very fast transfer based on an
intelligent downloaded file analysis and connection parameters
(amount of parallel FTP sessions) [that] can speed up the entire
transfer task dramatically."
This is particularly effective when downloading large files from
an FTP server that limits bandwidth per connection. In that case,
Captain FTP maximizes bandwidth utilization and increases
performance.
This Segmented Download feature allows Captain FTP to split a
large file (recommended for files over 1 MB) into multiple
parts and use multiple transfer connections to download those parts
simultaneously. These parts are recombined into a single file upon
receipt.
"Having added this feature, Captain FTP evolves from the class
of a standard FTP-client into a feature rich Download-Manager,"
according to Xnet.
Captain FTP tasks are shared between separate threads
(multitasking), therefore all time consuming functions - such as
uploading and downloading - don't consume valuable OS resources but
leave them available for other user requests.
System requirements:
- Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
- G3 processor or better
- 64 MB RAM
Xnet makes Captain FTP available as a fully enabled 14-day trial
version. Captain FTP costs US $25 to register. Version 4.3 is a
free upgrade for all registered users of Captain FTP 4.x.
The older, very capable Captain FTP 1.4 remains available as
freeware for private, noncommercial use to government employees,
home users, students, and staff of educational institutions. The
Captain FTP website itself is worth a visit in its own right. Make
sure to check out the downloadable Captain FTP wallpaper
images.
You can also order Captain FTP stuff like T-shirts, caps, mugs,
clocks - even boxer shorts - online.
Appendix: New in Version 4.3
Major Features:
- Resume added for Uploads
- Color bars on the tabs can be turned off
- IBM Mainframe z/VM FTP Server support
- Set file Creator and Type in GetInfo dialog
- Changing destination name is now allowed on the overwrite
prompt dialog
Enhancements:
- Automatic transfer. Files are not automatically transferred in
MacBinary mode any more (even if contain resource fork)
- New Mac native help with context access
- Clicking on a server icon in the main window toolbar opens the
connection with a NEW tab (if active tab is remote)
- Automatic download mode removed from Preferences
- Setting "Default Upload Permissions" forces uploaded files to
keep original permission after being uploaded to a server. FTP
servers ignore the execute permission of uploaded files even when
the files are sent with this permission. Captain FTP sets (if
needed) all uploaded file permissions to correct this behavior.
Works only for files not for folders.
- "File/Copy URL" option generates URL with password included
which makes the URL available for direct usage
- Launching Captain FTP takes less time now
Cosmetic Changes:
- slimmer dividing pane between browser windows
- spacing of line text reduced in browser window
Bug Fixes:
- Double click on unfinished file (resume) sometimes didn't open
Captain FTP window properly
- Synchronization process, top folder sometimes omitted from
download for local files
