Support
Connectivity & setup guide
What is FTP?
File Transfer Protocol is a very common method of moving files between two locations on the internet eg your local computer and a remote server. You can use an FTP client such as AceFTP to log on to a remote FTP or web server for the purposes of retrieving or sending files. FTP was invented and in wide use long before the advent of the internet.
Getting Started
Operating systems: Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP
This guide will walk through the installation and configuration an FTP client for use with the Homechoice service. The software being used is AceFTP3 freeware v3.50.0. This software is not supported by Homechoice, and is just an example of how to configure a client for use with the Homechoice service. For further information and support on this freeware software please visit the vendor's website www.visicommedia.com. A valid email address is required to register the freeware with Visicom media.
To activate the free 100Mb of Homechoice web space you first must visit www.homechoice.co.uk and log in to the 'Manage your mail and web space' system. Here you can choose a user name and password for your web space. Once your account has been set up, open a web browser and type in your new URL eg www.test.Homechoice.co.uk, the window should display as below. This will activate the web space.
Installing an FTP client
Locate and Download the aceftp3free.exe file, this should be available from www.download.com. Once downloaded, double-click the file to begin installation.
Click Next.
Read the License Agreement and click next to agree.
Choose a folder in which to install the software. Click next.
Windows will begin copying files to install the software.
Click Next.
Click Finish.
AceFTP should automatically launch, but if this fails to happen, locate the shortcut on your desktop and double-click.
Click button 'Get your FREE registration code'.
Your default web browser should automatically take you to the vendor's website. There you will need to complete a brief registration process. Once the process is completed you will be given a registration code, enter it into the box above, you should now be able to click OK and continue.
Configuring AceFTP
Locate and click the File menu in the top left of the window, a drop-down menu should appear. Highlight and click Connect.
A new window should open find the New Site Profile button to launch the Site Profile Wizard.
Enter name for the site. This can be whatever you want, eg Homechoice FTP. The wizard now requires connection details. Enter the Server as ftp.Homechoice.co.uk. The User ID required is the one you created when you initially set up the web space, for example if your web space is called www.TEST.Homechoice.co.uk you would just require 'test' as your user ID. Also required is a password, again this is the password created when the web space was set up and may be different from both the original account password and the email account password. You can reset the password by logging into the existing customer website. Click Next.
Local Folder is the folder on your computer that contains the files you wish to upload. You can change this at any time. The host folder should be left blank. Click Finish.
The wizard is complete. Homechoice FTP should now appear in the Sites list. Click on Homechoice FTP to highlight.
Right click and choose Properties from the drop-down list.
In Homechoice FTP properties, look for the Server Features option under the Profile menu as detailed below. If you use a firewall, locate the option for PASV mode and tick the check box. Click here for more information on firewalls and passive mode. For the purpose of this guide all other settings can remain as default. Click Apply. Click OK.
Locate and click Connect. The client should log on to the FTP server and this window should close automatically.
Uploading Files
To transfer a file, first locate it in the 'Local Folder' applet. Highlight the file and look for the two blue arrows between the folder applets. Click the top arrow pointing to the remote folder to transfer files to the FTP server. To download files from the FTP server, click the bottom arrow, this will transfer the file to the local folder specified.
The image below shows a file called 'index.html' that has just been uploaded. To create a working web page on the web space provided you must create and upload a file called 'index.html'. You can create html files using a variety of software such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver or even write the HTML code in Microsoft Notepad. A basic web search using any major search engine such as www.google.com will reveal that there are many web sites that will help you learn how to best use HTML.
Note: This is third-party software and is not supported by Homechoice. The purpose of this guide is to give you information and settings required to use a common FTP client. There are many other features and functions of this software, for further information on how to use it, please visit the vendor's website www.visicommedia.com.
