File Transfer With Win_SCP (on campus) In order to transfer files from your local computer (the one you re working on now) to the server (your Web Space or P:/ drive, etc.) you need to complete the File Transfer process. This can be done in a number of ways. The oldest method is called Command Line FTP but that can be cumbersome and present security risks. Currently, there are many different software packages that will handle the file transfer functions. A popular one is called WS_FTP, and is available from AU Install (http://www.auburn.edu/oit/hardware_software/auinstall/). It does not handle secure file transfer, though, so the EDMD courses and the IT department in the College of Education has installed a different software in the computer classrooms, Win_SCP. This is also available to download from AU Install. Please note, if you are downloading from home, you ll need to log in via the VPN in order for AU Install to authenticate that you are an AU Student. If you have trouble using AU Install, please contact the Help Desk (844-4944) or browse the help files on the OIT website (http://www.auburn.edu/oit/index.php). Launching Win_SCP Win_SCP can be found in the Start/All Programs/Win SCP directory. It may also be a shortcut on the desktop. The icon looks like this: Double click the icon if it s on the desktop, otherwise, single click it to select it from the menus. Once launched, Win_SCP will display the WinSCP Login dialog box: 1. The Host is the name of the server where you d like your files to go. For use on the AU campus you ll need to enter: mallard.duc.auburn.edu 2. This is your username. 3. This is your password. When you type it you will see ******** rather than the password. Do not make any other changes to information on this dialog box.
Navigating Win_SCP Once you ve logged in to Win_SCP, you ll see the file transfer environment. 1. This is location (folder/directory) of where SCP is looking on your local computer. The local computer is the one you are sitting in front of when you type. 2. This is the address of the specific folder/directory that is being displayed in the window. 3. This is the window that displays the contents of the folder listed in #2. Note the folder at the very top of the list with the upward pointing arrow. Double clicking on this folder will cause you to navigate back to a previous level of folders. In the case illustrated above, that would cause you to move from the My Documents folder to the wolfsa1 folder. 4. This is the location (folder/directory) of where SCP is looking on the remote computer. This should correspond with your username, as that is how you logged in. 5. This is the specific address of the space allotted to you on the server. 6. This is the window that displays the content of your server space. Note the presence of the folder/directory with the title public_html. This folder is where all files that will be visible on the web will be placed. 7. This is the column that displays the Rights or permissions of each file and directory. It is important to understand how these work, or your files will not be visible. They will be discussed in detail later in this document. 8. This is the button that will be used to change the permissions on the files you upload to the server.
To navigate to or from folders, double click on the appropriate icon. To select a file or folder, single click on it. To select multiple items use the shift+click or ctrl+click options as appropriate. Transferring Files The file transfer process does not move a file from one location to another. Rather, it makes a copy of the desired file to move. Your original file will remain on your local computer. The following images and explanations illustrate the steps needed to successfully transfer files from your local computer to the server and to change the permissions of those files so that they are visible to others via the Internet. 1. Navigate to the public_html directory on the remote server. From the initial log in screen, double click on the public_html folder. You ll know you ve done this correctly if the right side of your window looks like this: Note that the address has changed. You will now see public_html at the end of it. In the illustration above, you also see a long list of folders/directories. You may or may not see a similar list when you complete this step. The more files you upload, however, the more files and/or directories you ll see appear over time. 2. Navigate to the directory that contains the file(s) you d like to transfer to the server from your local computer. You may have to navigate up to the C:/ drive before locating your files. You may have to find the D:/, E:/, or other drive letter that corresponds to your removable media.
You ll know that you ve done this successfully if your window looks similar to this: 3. To move files from the left side (your local computer) to the right side (the remote computer), simply drag them from the left and drop them on the right. Be sure not to drop individual files inside folders on the right unless you intend to do so. You ll know that you ve done this correctly if you see this dialog box appear:
1. The specific location where your file will go. There may be different directory names at the end if you ve dragged your file into a folder. 2. The check box to change permissions of the file. 3. The Copy button. This is the button to click when you re certain the file is going into the correct folder/directory. 4. Click the copy button when you want the file to transfer to the remote computer. The file will appear on the right side of your window, in alphabetical order. If you don t see your file right away, you may have to use the scroll bar to locate it. In the illustration above, note that: 1) is the original file; 2) is the copy of the file on the remote server; 3) is the description of the permissions of that file, and 4) is the scroll bar indicating that the file was closer to the bottom of the list than the top. 5. In order for others to be able to see the file (view the web page, display the image, etc.) the permissions must be altered. Note that #3 in the illustration above reads rw------- while other files read, rw-r- -r- -. You must change the permissions of the file.
Changing File Permissions to Make Them Viewable In order to change the permissions of a file, first select the file, then click the F9 Permissions button (or simply press the F9 key on your keyboard). You ll know you ve done this correctly if a faint dotted line appeared around your desired file when you clicked it, and this dialog box is displayed (the dotted line will disappear when the dialog box appears): 1. Click in each of the R checkboxes for the Group and Others rows. This will tell SCP to change the permissions to let people other than yourself see your files. Do not make changes to any other checkboxes or information in this dialog box. 2. Click the OK button. You ll know you ve done this successfully if the Rights column for your desired file reads rw-r- -r- -. Viewing Transferred Files In order to verify that you ve properly transferred your desired files you should have someone using a different computer than you are right now attempt to view the files online. The beginning part of the address for the file will be: http://www.auburn.edu/~yourusername/... with yourusername being replaced by your specific username, and the dots at the end being replaced by the specific filename that you d like to view.