
                        FTP menu

The FTP menu allows quick access to files on a remote ftp server, useful 
for those that work on both unix and mac systems. Files downloaded and 
opened in Alpha with the help of the FTP menu are automatically uploaded 
again when they are saved.

The FTP menu work together with the two ftp clients Anarchie and Fetch.

Activating the FTP menu

The FTP menu is activated in the dialog "Config->Preferences->Menus and
FeaturesÉ" Check the checkbox 'Ftp Menu' among the global menus.

You must also choose either Anarchie or Fetch as your ftp helper
application. Do this using "Config->Preferences->Helper Applications".

Basic usage

The first you need to do is to get a list of the files at a remote site. 
This can be done by using the menu item 'BrowseÉ'. A dialog is now opened 
where you fill in the host, path (optional), user id, and password. (Alpha 
doesn't support text fields in dialogs where the text is replaced by 
bullets. Therefore the password box is made so small that nobody can see 
what you type.)

Your ftp client (Anarchie or Fetch) will now get a listing of the files at 
the remote site. The list is display in a list dialog. 
¥ Selecting a file in the dialog will download it and open it for editing 
in Alpha. Once you save the changes, Alpha tells your ftp client to upload 
the file.
¥ Selecting a directory in the list (indicating by a trailing / in the 
name) will get the listing of that directory and display it in a new list 
dialog.
¥ Selecting '..' in the list will get a listing of the parent directory.

A menu item with your remote machine is added to the FTP menu. Selecting 
this menu item will the display the file list again. This to allow you to 
quickly download another file from the same place.

Cache

Alpha saves the directory listing in a cache to be able to quickly display 
them again without having to download them every time. Whenever new files 
are added to the remote site the cache becomes out of date. You can clear 
the cache by selecting 'Flush Cache' from the FTP menu. The cache is also 
flushed when you quit Alpha. This forces the directory listing to be 
downloaded again. If you don't want to use a cache at all, uncheck 'Use 
Cache' in the FTP menu.

Mount points

The point where you start browsing a remote site is called a mount point.
There are two types of mount points: temporary and permanent.
¥ Temporary mount points are mount points which only exist during the 
current session with Alpha. Whenever you use 'BrowseÉ' to browse a new site 
a temporary mount point is created. All temporary mount points are listed 
at the bottom of the FTP menu for quick access.
¥ Permanent mount points are mount points, which are saved between sessions 
with Alpha. You create a new permanent mount point by using 'Add Mount 
PointÉ' in the FTP menu. You can later remove it using 'Remove Mount 
PointÉ'. The permanent mount points are listed in the FTP menu just above 
the temporary ones.

A temporary mount point can be made permanent by using 'Make PermanentÉ'.

Titlebar click

Clicking on the title on a window downloaded from a remote site, displays a 
popup menu with the path for the file at the remote site. Selecting a 
directory in this popup menu opens a directory listing dialog with all files 
allowing you to download another file. This gives you quick access to the 
remote files.

Ftp filesets

An ftp fileset in a set of files in a remote directory, which will be put 
in a submenu in the Fileset menu. Selecting a file in the Fileset menu 
will download and open it for editing in Alpha.

You create a new ftp fileset by using 'Create Fileset' in the FTP menu or 
by using 'New FilesetÉ' in the Fileset menu and choosing the type 'ftp'. 
¥ First you specify a name for the fileset, which will be the name of the 
submenu in the Fileset menu, and information about the host, userid etc.
¥ Then you are asked to specify a pattern which determines which files to 
include in the fileset, e.g. you may only wish to include all .html files. 
This pattern must be entered as a regular expression. Some examples how to 
specify the pattern:
    .*          all files
    .*\.html    all .html files
    .*\.[ch]    all .c files and all .h files
¥ You are finally asked if you want to save the fileset. Doing so will keep 
it available next time you run Alpha.
    
Now the listing of the files in the fileset is downloaded and the fileset 
is inserted in the menu.

Passwords and Security

All passwords which are saved between sessions are saved as plain text 
in Alpha's preferences folder. Thus, only give your password when defining 
permanent mount points or filesets if nobody else have access to your 
computer.

All menu items

This section list all menu items in the FTP menu giving a short 
description of their functionality.

Help                        Opens this file.
BrowseÉ                     Browse a remote site.
Browse CurrentÉ (option)    Browse the mount point of the frontmost window.
Browse MountsÉ              Lets you pick a mount point to browse from a 
                            list of all your mount points both temporary 
                            and permanent.
Add Mount PointÉ            Add a new permanent mount point
Make PermanentÉ             Make a temporary mount point permanent.
Remove Mount PointÉ         Remove a permanent mount point.
Save As AtÉ                 Lets you 'Save as' the frontmost window at any 
                            of your mount points.
Use Cache                   If checked all directory listings are stored in a cache.
Flush cache                 Deletes all files in the cache. The cache is 
                            also flushed when you quit Alpha.
Create Fileset              Create an ftp fileset.

