Copying to an FTP Site

You can automatically send image files to a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site after they are rendered.

For example, you can automatically post a movie clip to an internal or external web site for approval and result verification. (This assumes the link to the FTP file is already on that web site. An easy way to do this is to have an existing HTML page with dummy links. You render the file with a preset name such as Draft1.mov, then the corresponding link will work once the file is posted to the FTP site.)

This option is similar to the Email notification options in the Render Queue preferences. E-mail attachments are often limited in size, though.

The FTP settings are saved with the workspace file.

To set up automatic FTP copying:

1. In the Output Settings panel, enable FTP.

The FTP Settings button becomes available.



2. Click Settings.

The File Transfer Protocol dialog appears.



3. In the Host field, enter the host name (for example, ftp.mycompany.com) or IP address.
4. By default, the Port field is set to 21. This is the standard IP port. If it does not work, ask the system administrator if your server is set up differently.
5. In the Remote Directory field, enter the target directory path where the rendered files are copied. Separate folders with the / character.

If this field is blank, files are simply copied to the root.

6. Many FTP sites do not require a user login name and password. If these fields are left blank, the user is set to the default Anonymous user without a password.
7. To check the FTP settings, click Verify.

The message area to the left of the Verify button shows the result of attempting to connect to the specified FTP site. The possible messages include:

• Verify Host - the message before you click Verify
• Connecting - verification is in process
• Verify OK - the settings are verified as valid
• Host Invalid - the host or port is incorrect
• Path Invalid - the remote directory is incorrect
• Login Failed - the user (login) name or password is incorrect

Note: The verification is only attempted for several seconds before it times out.

8. Enable Overwrite Existing Files if you want the FTP transfer to overwrite files in the target directory that have the same name.
9. Click OK.