Getting started with Fetch

People move files among computers across the Internet by a method called "Secure File Transfer Protocol" or SFTP. You may use SFTP to transfer files between your account on a UVM host and your computer, or from an anonymous FTP site to your computer. The file transfer program you will use on your Macintosh is called Fetch.

Starting Fetch

To start Fetch, double-click on the Fetch icon found in your Applications folder on the Macintosh HD or in your dock. If Fetch is not located on your computer, download and install it from the UVM software download site.

Connecting to a host

If you use both your computer and a host system frequently, you will probably find that you need to transfer files between the two.

UVM's file server, called Zoo, is an excellent place for you to store your business or academic related files. In the "New Connection" window click the heart and choose "UVM file server". If you do not see a choice for this server then make sure to enter the following information into the New Connection fiels, replacing mkapoodl's username and password with your own.


Be sure to set the "Connect using" field to SFTP rather than FTP.

If you use a host other than Zoo, you can add a shortcut to that system by choosing New Shortcut from the Customize menu. (To access some of the menus in Fetch you must first close the 'New Connection' sign-on dialog box by clicking the Cancel button.) It's best to leave the Password empty when adding a shortcut. You may also change the default shortcut by choosing Preferences... from the Custom menu. The Default Shortcut is found in General Preferences.

Transferring files

Once you have connected to the host system you will see a list of files on the host. To transfer one of these files to your Macintosh, first click on the file you want, then click the Get File button.

To transfer files to the host from your Macintosh, click the Put File button. Fetch will prompt you to choose the file you want to transfer.

Anonymous FTP

Some host sites allow you to transfer files from their archives without having a personal account on the host system. This process is known as "anonymous FTP." Many sites contain a wealth of useful shareware packages that can vastly increase your software library.

Most anonymous FTP sites follow the custom of using your own e-mail address as the password ("mkapoodl@zoo.uvm.edu" for example) Before you use Fetch the first time for anonymous FTP, you should enter your e-mail address as the default password from the Customize menu under Preferences...Default.

To obtain files from an anonymous FTP site, double click on Fetch. Choose a site to connect to from the Shortcuts file by clicking on the down arrow next to Shortcuts: and choosing from the list of common FTP sites included in the Shortcuts List.

Or, to choose from a more extensive list of FTP sites in the Bookmarks files, click on the Cancel button on the New Connection dialog box, and then choose 'Open Bookmarks file' from the File menu. Double click on the Bookmarks file located in the Fetch 3.0 folder, and then double click on the FTP site you want to connect to. In each case, the system will normally assume that you want to log in as "anonymous" even if the User ID does not display as "anonymous."

If the site you want to use is not listed in either the Shortcuts or the Bookmarks list, you can either set up a Shortcut to it, or you can type the site's address in the New Connection dialog box when you open Fetch. In either case, you should use "anonymous" as the User ID.

Tips for using Fetch

When seeking files in an anonymous FTP site, look for a directory called "pub" first - many sites use this directory name to store FTP-able files.

Once the connection is made, use the buttons to change directories, display a file, or receive a file from the host. Although Fetch usually can automatically determine whether a file is ascii or binary, it's a good idea to explicitly specify binary files by clicking the "Binary" button in Fetch.

For help using Fetch, try turning on Balloon Help when the program is running. Or, for more extensive help, use the Fetch Help option on the Windows menu.

 

Questions? Please contact the CIT Helpline.