FTP client for Firefox: fireFTP
I get asked about once a week what's a good free FTP client. Now I can point them to fireFTP, a plugin an extension that gives you an FTP client in Firefox.
Comments
Only 50KB?! Wow. To the bottom of the fireFTP project page:
If you're havin' IE problems, I feel bad for you, son - I got 99 problems but a browser ain't one. -DJ Danger Mime
I love that 99 problems quote.
DJ Danger Mime is a lously rapper.
If people reject your proposal of installing both a browser and an FTP client, which could be overkill for some people, you could direct them to filezilla @ filezilla.sourceforge.net.
I was very excited about this. However, after installing it, I must sadly report that this, to me, is a novelty extension, not anything I would really use.
Problems:
- Minimal integration with Firefox UI. It merely adds a menu item under "Tools" to launch the application. I expected it to take FTP URLs from the address bar, launch in a tab, etc.
- No integration with the OS. Can't drag and drop files. This right here rendered it useless for me.
- Poor local browsing. You must actually click a "Browse" button to select anything but raw disk files (i.e., if you want to get to My Documents or any virtual folder/device, you have to go to 'Browse...' or find the folder under your account...) Very annoying.
- The UI takes up a lot of screen real estate, yet it doesn't include many needed features. The log is on a separate tab. 50px of width is taken up by a silly "Download/Upload" panel separating the local and remote views. Maximized, at a 1280*768 resolution, the window feels cramped.
- Minor problem: when the connections times out, the program pops up an attention-seeking dialog box. If the log was on the main screen, this could be simply displayed there.
I don't mean to belittle the hard work of the people who put this together, but it's not a serious FTP client. If the above problems are fixed, I would absolutely love to start using it.
For now I will continue to use the free SmartFTP. Clicking through their hassle box upon launch is a small price to pay for a beautifully-executed FTP application. Come to think of it, $29.95 ain't a bad price either!
dj who? is that for real?
that quote is is a version from Jay-Z's last song (i got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one)
nice to learn ofa new ftp client, im sure it will rock!
I second ojintoad's Filezilla suggestion. Back when I was on Windows (not too long ago) it was my FTP client of choice.
The quote is most likely the creation of fireFTP's developer: space cowboy. It is most definitely a rip of Jay-Z's 99 Problems.
quiero
It's not a plugin, it's an Extension
A good one to recommend would be SmartFTP.
Hem
I too use filezilla and strongly recommend it.
He's no MC Chris
the extension is ok, but it's not top of the shelf yet.
filezilla is fine, ye.
the 99 problems and a b*tch ain't 1 quote was introduced into hiphop by ice-T (on his OG album early 90's)
but it actually goes way back to old (1920s) blues.
piet
I like FileZilla myself (No relation as far as I can tell). It's over on sourceforge and they offer a good client (could still use links to desktop and my documents on windows) and a server that is easy to run. Both are free and open source too.
;free, fast, configurable e-mail client you ask? eh... why not filezilla?
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/
;in response to neven's comment, i would say that a slim 50K ftp client drummed up in three months isn't bad. and if you had taken the time to read the release notes, they have a roadmap:
http://fireftp.mozdev.org/release.html
;i'm sure they wouldn't might you submitting a feature bug either:
http://fireftp.mozdev.org/bugs.html
;treehead
I understand all that, and yes, I did read the notes. The main reason I adopted a somewhat complainatory tone of voice was pinder's implication that this was the #1 free FTP client to recommend. I support the development of this 100%, and would LOVE to start using it when it's ready, but it's simply not good enough to seriously use right now. So I would suggest it to power users as an interesting - and I admit, impressive - piece of programming, but not to someone asking for a "good free FTP client". There are at least two alternatives that would work much better for Joe User.
neven to a large extent I agree with you. However this is perfect for me since at uni I can't install software I've put the zip version of Firefox on my drive. With limited space and the ability to resume uploads this is a huge plus for me. Especially at home when many a time on dial-up I got disconnected at 99%.
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