Is SmartFTP easy to use?

Is SmartFTP easy to use?

If no, tell us why not.
Why do you have problems using it?
What can be done better.

We appreciate your feedback.

NO, I need plain english, please!

Could you please elaborate? SmartFTP's user interface is plain english ...

Is SmartFTP easy to use?

If no, tell us why not.  
Why do you have problems using it?
What can be done better.  

We appreciate your feedback.

I just want to upload a file!!

I connect to my site just fine.
I know which file I want to upload from my system to my site.
I go to Command-Upload-Direct-Select Files and NOTHING HAPPENS- no dialog box appears, and no reason or error message is given to tell me why!!!!

I wanted an easy FTP program for BASIC functions!!!!! I just want to upload a damn file and not only do you make it difficult just to do that (how about an Upload Button to perform the MOST BASIC FUNCTION AN FTP PROGRAM HAS!!!???), but there's no explanation as to why it wouldn't work.

I'm not a networking expert. I doubt I need 99% of your program. Maybe this problem is so basic you overlooked it. Whatever!! I just want to upload and download files from a website, and this program won't let me do that simply and easily.

Why doesn't the dialog box come up just like it says in the tutorial??

I am really really angry about this. Your program should work the way it says in the tutorial, and if there is a button or some other process that has to occur before the correct dialog box can appear to even select a file to upload, it should be mentioned in LARGE BOLD TEXT!!!

PLEASE RESPOND IF ANYONE ACTUALLY READS THIS

Don't kick off in here because you do not understand how the thing works.

If you only want to upload one file I suggest you Google for some basic command line ftp tutorials.

Example:

Start > Run > enter cmd

cd path_to_dir
ftp yourserver.com
username
password
cd path_to_dir
put filetoupload......

If you don't appreciate the work that's gone into software like this you should learn FTP from the ground up and command line ftp is a good place to start.

You've narked me with this, they offer the software on a free demo and you kick off like that at them. If you were my customer I'd tell you where to go.

How ungrateful.

Yes folks, the software is easy to use. I;m backing up gigs of stuff right now without any stress and it's doing a wonderful job.

Thanks guys, this stuff is good just sorry your forum has the odd idiot in here.

Hi, for upload you can use:

1.2 Direct - Drag & Drop from a Local Browser

- Open Local Browser (Menu: FTP->Localbrowser or Ctrl + L)
- Select item(s) (files or/and folders) in the Local Browser
- Drag item selection and drop it in the Remote Window.

Yes, SmartFTP is easy to use relative to competitors, but could still go a long way.

I think the main flaws in the current interface are the ambiguous local browser/ftp connection relationship, and window tiling which is messy and buggy.

In any upload situation it's ideal to have a local browser on one side and ftp connection on the other, so I almost always work with the windows set to automatically tile vertically. The whole floating window format of this approach is undesirable though. In various contexts the window titlebars can get lost underneath the toolbars and/or the transfers pane. When being automatically tiled the tree view can also end up being awkwardly resized to leave virtually non of the file listing in view. It would be much better if connections/local browsers could be shifted around in panes of some sort, anything that makes it a bit more solid and snap-into-place.

My two cents on usability.

Yes, SmartFTP is easy to use relative to competitors, but could still go a long way.

I think the main flaws in the current interface are the ambiguous local browser/ftp connection relationship, and window tiling which is messy and buggy.

In any upload situation it's ideal to have a local browser on one side and ftp connection on the other, so I almost always work with the windows set to automatically tile vertically. The whole floating window format of this approach is undesirable though. In various contexts the window titlebars can get lost underneath the toolbars and/or the transfers pane. When being automatically tiled the tree view can also end up being awkwardly resized to leave virtually non of the file listing in view. It would be much better if connections/local browsers could be shifted around in panes of some sort, anything that makes it a bit more solid and snap-into-place.

My two cents on usability.

Hi, give a try to the new SmartFTP 2.0 beta.

You are my hero. My life is now complete. Forget everything I said.

Seriously... I love it. It should be better linked to.

I am a former user of WS_FTP but due to thier activation method ( a major hassle if you need to reinstall windows) I will no longer use it. Anyway... I would suggest a default setting where one area has local files and another shows the remote host and have buttons to click on to move files (one button to upload and another to download). I am very new to this program and it isn't easy to just install and go like WS_FTP was. Like others have said it is frustrating trying to click on files and they don't move.

SmartFTP seems like a great powerful program and if I can figure it out will likely spend the money to get the pro version.

I am a former user of WS_FTP but due to thier activation method ( a major hassle if you need to reinstall windows) I will no longer use it. Anyway... I would suggest a default setting where one area has local files and another shows the remote host and have buttons to click on to move files (one button to upload and another to download). I am very new to this program and it isn't easy to just install and go like WS_FTP was. Like others have said it is frustrating trying to click on files and they don't move.

SmartFTP seems like a great powerful program and if I can figure it out will likely spend the money to get the pro version.

What do you mean by "it isn't easy to just install and go like WS_FTP was" I install it open it connect by the easyconnection bar and hit enter. It connect and I go. Very simple. It's my FTP of choise.

I'm pretty new to SmartFTP.... I have managed to download the files from the net I want to edit. But I'm not able to use notepad.exe, I can't use html-code... Is there a other tool which I can use as a file wiewer/editor (as you manage from "settings") before I upload them again? A more easy tool, which shows the files more plainly, like Microsoft Office Word?

I am just getting into hosting and all I wanted at this time was a place to upload some videos and latter on start a business. My Yahoo plan has 10gb and I thought this would be all I need. But when I tried to upload using the easy uploader I soon found out that it only has 5mb. I do not understand why but yahoo says I have to use an FTP. So I am completely lost. Can someone please just show or tell me an easy way to upload videos on the FTP so that I can post them onto other forums?

Thank you.

SmartFTP version1 was easy to use.

I installed the latest version 2.0 and I need to learn the new features and the new interface to give feedback.
Looks very nice and I been enjoying the free personal version. Thank you!

Hi folks,

I'm a newby to SFTP.

Here's the problem:
When I upload a file, it shows up as a succesful transfer but 0 kilobytes is all it actually receives.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Rich D

inbox@hotmail.com

Is SmartFTP easy to use?
If no, tell us why not.
Why do you have problems using it?
What can be done better.
We appreciate your feedback.

I'm stymied because I'm trying to set up according to what the tutorial seemed to say. I already have a Charter web space and I can access it and see the pictures and files I put up with an IBM laptop with WS_FTP last year. I have an icon on the desktop which brings up the remote site and I did a cut and paste into the address but the program tells me it can't connect:

"A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond."

Since I had the webpage open I went back and closed it and tried again with the same results. I'm about ready to go back to WS_FTP because I'm using all the right words from Charter but SmartFTP doesn't seem to be able to find what I can find easily.

richelles

I just want to upload a file!!
I connect to my site just fine.
I know which file I want to upload from my system to my site.
I go to Command-Upload-Direct-Select Files and NOTHING HAPPENS- no dialog box appears, and no reason or error message is given to tell me why!!!!
I wanted an easy FTP program for BASIC functions!!!!! I just want to upload a damn file and not only do you make it difficult just to do that (how about an Upload Button to perform the MOST BASIC FUNCTION AN FTP PROGRAM HAS!!!???), but there's no explanation as to why it wouldn't work.
I'm not a networking expert. I doubt I need 99% of your program. Maybe this problem is so basic you overlooked it. Whatever!! I just want to upload and download files from a website, and this program won't let me do that simply and easily.
Why doesn't the dialog box come up just like it says in the tutorial??
I am really really angry about this. Your program should work the way it says in the tutorial, and if there is a button or some other process that has to occur before the correct dialog box can appear to even select a file to upload, it should be mentioned in LARGE BOLD TEXT!!!
PLEASE RESPOND IF ANYONE ACTUALLY READS THIS

Hi!

I'm new at webpublishing and absolutely understand the frustration of the person with the above comment. It's wonderful that you're making this program available at no cost, however, the claim that it is easy to use is incorrect.

In theory it's easy: cut and paste. But I've been trying to work with this program for over a week now and cannot upload a single file. I get the following message:

23:33:06] 550 Can't check for file existence
[23:33:06] Transfer successful.

If it can't find the file then how was the transfer successful? It's been the most frustrating program I've ever worked with.

If there's something I'm doing wrong please do let me know!

Thank you!

The more features the more confusing

Those wishing an easier FTP client could use CuteFTP or WS_ftp.

I thinkk SmartFTP is very fast and only requires a litthe experimenting and thinking.

I hope that by now VeMan has realized how easy SmartFTP is. It's about as easy as copying files on your own hard drive.

In fact, once you've connected to an FTP server, SmartFTP works very much like a file window on your own system.

You want to download a file?:

1. Run SmartFTP. In the Address box, type the FTP server's name (e.g.: ftp.somedomain.com) and press Enter to connect to it. (If you've ever typed a website's address in your browser's Address bar, or a folder path in a My Computer window, this will feel very familiar.)

2. See that "tree" of folders at the left? Those are the folders on the FTP server---the way you see your own folders with My Computer's "View > Folders". Open the folder that has the file you want.

3. In a My Computer window, open the folder where you want to download the file.

4. Drag the file from the server's window to your folder. Yes, it's the same way you'd copy a file from one of your own folders to another. (If you want to keep it REAL easy, skip step 3 and just drag the file to your desktop.)

To upload a file, it's quite similar. You'll just be dragging a file in the other direction, from your folder to the server's folder.

And yes, you can select and drag multiple files, the same way you... Well, you get the idea.

Sure, SmartFTP has a bunch of other cool features (file queuing with automatic shutdown comes to mind), and you're free to learn or ignore them. But just downloading/uploading a few files? It's much easier than email---and dude, you can handle that, can't you?

Why don't you look at the Queue tutorials at:
[url="https://www.smartftp.com/support/howto"]https://www.smartftp.com/support/howto[/url]

I've just purchased this product on recommendation for it's ease of use. Ant help tutotials I can find about it certainly don't start with a basic description of the product, how it works and how to start using it. surely that's a basic requirement for any software?

Am I missing access to some othere files or is getting started going straight into configuring browsers as the first step?

What are you having problems with exactly?

To connect to a server go to the menu: File -> New Remote Browser. Enter the information that has been provided to you by your web hosting provider and click OK to connect.

Regards,
Mat

Well, I tried it a couple of times and couldn't make heads or tails of the interface so I came to the website to find out if there was a complete uninstall utility. I'm not a technical person so it's no great criticism that I don't get it. In fact, I'm so untechnical it might be a good sign. I sort of need something that opens up and says "where's the website you want to transfer files to" and I get to type it in and click "Okay" and then it allows me to browse and select the files on my machine that I want to transfer.

Maybe you guys need an even simpler version than the free version for dummies like me. I mean FTP Regular vs. Explicit vs. Implicit? I don't have any idea what that means. Shameful huh?

Hi, I'm trying to get this program to work, and I am disappointed.
I am an experienced power user and cannot get this to work!

first of all
it is completely unintuitive,
how can the proxy settings be hidden under favorites, default favorite settings?

Next when I change the default favorite setting apparently it does not apply to favorites that already exist?
I'm trying to connect to an ftp server from within a university lan. It does not require a proxy or work with a proxy.

Even when I try to connect with the option "no proxy" clearly set, it attempts to connect to the proxy, which I never entered!
So apparantly it checks the servers proxy autoconfiguration files which mistakenly instruct it to use a proxy and this overrides my setting for "no proxy" and so it does not work.

Sorry, but this is not smart.
Also, for a power user it is highly annoying that this thing automatically connects to the last server I used, I do not want this to do this. This should not be the default option. I just spend another 15 minutes trying to figure out how to disable this but to no avail.

I don't mean to be highly critical, I'm sure this program has great features, but this is the fifth time I downloaded it deciding to spend a few minutes learning it to get to know the great features, and then giving up in total frustration at the totally awkward design.

Seriously, this program is the most un-user friendly piece of software I have seen. I would recommend you completely redesign it, because not to sound arrogant, but if a person with my background cannot get this to work in five attempts, you have a serious problem with it.

Best Regards,

van2

I've Tried At Least Five Different FTP Thingys, & By Far SmartFTP Is The Easiest To Use.
Or Maybe I'm Just So Used To It >_<
Either Way, It's All Good (Y)

I've been using this program for a few months now, and I think it's fairly easy to use. I've put in very little effort learning the program, and it's made updating my web site so much easier than working through my host's site. Every time I poke around a little more, I learn something new and useful.

Thanks!

smart-ftp has been running perfectly untill this morning. Programm didn´t open. Got the notice, that "this build is about to expire". Made the suggested update, but it didn´t help. Any ideas? Thank you, Christoph

Install the latest version from:
https://www.smartftp.com/download

I know what they mean about it not being easy to use. It is frustrating - but politeness costs nothing. Never post in anger I say!

I too was searching just for an upload button. Seems like the obvious thing to include.

I'm also not sure whether I'm supposed to drag things from the local location to the queue or into the remote folder directly. In the end I right clicked on the remote folder and hit upload, direct, select and then chose my files. It all worked.

But I don't think it's very obvious to the user, especially if you only use this once in a blue moon to update a site!

This afternoon I get 'cannot resolve hostname'. I've done nothing different - so hey, it's just that software has its moods. Sometimes it wants to work, other times...

Hey all. I'm semi-new to this program - I've used it before but I had someone holding my hand while I did it. I just wanted to be sure on something: If I'm trying to connect to someone's IP, they need to register a username on here (like what I did to be able to post a reply on this forum) and get a password, get it to me, then I throw his username/password in the necessary fields and put 21 for the port. Is that correct? If not, can anyone tell me what needs to be done differently? Thanks.

I believe it is easy to use, but a major thing that is needed is better help. Tutorials are great, but I cannot find anywhere a place that documents "Sync Navigation". Obvious name, but a help file for it would be great. If I am missing this somewhere please correct me as I would love to know. Other than the "missing" help files I think the application is great. Anyone not being able to simply transfer files (barring technical problems) to and from an FTP server should consider finding a simpler, although less-powerful FTP client to use. I would prefer the SmartFTP programmer(s) do not "dumb-down" this product as I cannot stand applications that are so simple to use they are actually hard to use. Keep up the good work!

P.S. - will there ever be a Mac version of this so I can use it at work?

This afternoon I get 'cannot resolve hostname'. I've done nothing different - so hey, it's just that software has its moods. Sometimes it wants to work, other times...

This is not SmartFTP's fault - your DNS server could not resolve the hostname to an IP. Could be problem with your TCP/IP settings, your DNS server, the host was down, etc.

no its not easy, i installed it, opend it then got confused, all i want to do is get stuff from one website to the other. but i have no idea on how to do that.

Well I cant say this is easy yet but, After reading all these posts I still went with SmartFTP even though Ive been using Cuteftp.
Anyway I downloaded Smart and went for a straight upload to my hosts server (1+1) as I had the website ready, and wadda yer know. Jobs a Good'n

Everything loaded first hit. Chuffed to bits so I will be purchasing when the 30 days freebie runs out.

Now Im no numpty on the PC but I still like it easy and this certainly seems the one for me. The only thing I can offer those guys with issues is you really need to check you webbuilder software and how it aligns with your host server.
I had a lot of issues with this when I first uploaded with the old FTP. They just could not read each other and each time I had an issue, it was the Web builder software that needed the fix. So check on their forums for similar issues. Thats How I got mine sorted.

Cheers

I have used other clients that are easier. Like SmartFTP 2.5 or whatever.

Is SmartFTP easy to use?

If no, tell us why not.
Why do you have problems using it?
What can be done better.

We appreciate your feedback.

SmartFTP used to be extremely quick and easy to use .. drag .. drop and get out.

The new queue feature is very annoying.

People liked SmartFTP because of its simplicity and ease of use.

Why add more steps and try to complicate things?

Not that the queue is complicated .. just EXTREMELY annoying ! ! ! !

Was this an attempt to make the program more sophisticated ? ? more tekkie ? ? Definitely a bad move.

Crap .. now I have to shop around and dig out another simple drag and drop ftp program.

SmartFTP used to be extremely quick and easy to use .. drag .. drop and get out.

The new queue feature is very annoying.

People liked SmartFTP because of its simplicity and ease of use.

Why add more steps and try to complicate things?

Not that the queue is complicated .. just EXTREMELY annoying ! ! ! !

Was this an attempt to make the program more sophisticated ? ? more tekkie ? ? Definitely a bad move.

Crap .. now I have to shop around and dig out another simple drag and drop ftp program.

I have used SmartFTP since around 1998. It was the first one recommended to me, I liked it, and I have stayed with it. I used the public version because I use it to maintain a non-profit group website. I have never found updates difficult to adjust to, but the latest one is just really frustrating me. I upload an updated page to my site, it does NOT show up that it is waiting in the queue, but when I go to my site and refresh, the changes will NOT show up until I delete the previous version of the file and then re-upload the new version. This is a complete PITA! Nothing I have read so far in the forum or in the tutorials has helped.

I will be checking out other programs this week. I am very disappointed in SmartFTP.

Lisa: We will be able to help you resolve the problems if you are interested. The first step is to install the latest version from:
https://www.smartftp.com/download

The next step is to explain to us what exactly is not working. You are saying the items stay in the Transfer Queue. Double click the item that does not get processed. You will see a log. Please post the log.

I would appreciate if you can open a new forum thread in the Public Support forum for this problem.

Thank you
Regard,s
Mat