Using FTP to manage files

Introduction

Capture provides back office users with password protected FTP access to a folder on the server which permits files to be uploaded to and downloaded from the Capture system. NOTE: this is not a facility that is directly available to front end Capture website users.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) works by enabling communication between a client (managed by an end user) and a server (managed by a system administrator) for the purpose of transferring digital assets (files) over a network including the internet.

Capture operates the FTP server and Capture back office users can manage the connections at their end using an FTP client app of their choice. We recommend using FileZilla, but other FTP clients are available.

Documentation on the use of the FileZilla client can be found here: https://wiki.filezilla-project.org/FileZilla_Client_Tutorial_(en)

If you are unfamiliar with using FTP, this provides a good introduction, regardless of the client app you use.

Accessing the FTP Server

Capture will provide you with the credentials to login to your dedicated FTP folder for your system. This will include the host name (a URL like a website address but usually beginning 'ftp'), a user name and a password. Enter these into your FTP client app and you should be connected to the folder. In FileZilla the connection will show both your local folders and files and the folders on the Capture server, as shown below.

The remote folders and files are shown on the right. If a folder icon has a question mark (?), this shows it has not yet been opened to see the contents. Click on the icon to check the folder contents; the question mark will then disappear.

If new content is added, you may need to use the refresh button on the FileZilla toolbar to refresh the screen.

Managing Files

The folders you see will correspond to "hot folders" in your system. These are configured in the back office under Media > Upload & download > Hot folders. The folders you can see in your FTP client are the ones created when hot folders are configured.

There are hot folders for uploads and hot folders for downloads.

To upload assets to a hot folder, you can usually (depending on your FTP client app) drag them from your local folder to the destination on the Capture server folder. You can upload thousands at a time: the FTP app will queue them and keep you informed on progress.

The hot folder may be set to be processed automatically or you can process it manually as described in your back office documentation. When assets are processed they are removed from the folders visible on the FTP connection and placed in system folders. This means that you should not have any duplicates of uploaded assets taking up your storage quota. However, it is worth checking the content of these folders to see whether they have been processed. You can delete files using the FTP client app if required.

If you download assets from your Capture back office using the 'queue' option, these assets will appear in subfolders inside a dedicated folder called 'Coo_Asset_Download_Cache'. You can then download them using your FTP client. NOTE: assets in these folders do use up your storage quota, so it's best to remove them after downloading. Unlike folders used for imports, these are not cleared automatically.

Some systems may also have a folder called 'outputhotfolders'. This contains subfolders created by output hot folders and again will normally contain files that should be deleted after being downloaded.

Some older systems may have a folder within 'outputhotfolders' called 'dam_orders'. If this is the case, please contact Capture before deleting files in the 'dam_orders' folder or its subfolders.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Depending on your FTP client, failed transfers will be shown in a status window. In FileZilla this is at the bottom of the screen. You can right click in this area to requeue the failed transfers and try again. Unless a file is corrupt, this should resolve the issue.