CuteFTP 3.0

Reviewed by: Doug Reed, send e-mail Published by: GlobalSCAPE Software, go to the web site Requires: Windows 95/98, 2000, XP; Internet connection MSRP: $39.95 (download) 30 day free trial version; $9.95 upgrade for owners of previous versions of CuteFTP CuteFTP is a popular FTP client now in it's third iteration. For webmasters and IT professionals, CuteFTP is a powerful tool you must have in your arsenal. New features make this an attractive choice for ordinary PC users as well. Best of all, you can try it for free for thirty days and make up your own mind. I put this high on the list of must-have Internet software. Basics If you've used a previous version of CuteFTP, version 3.0 will be completely familiar to you. The Site Manager helps you quickly and easily connect to your favorite ftp sites. A number of the more common sites are already in the Site Manager, and you can quickly add your own. Two clicks and -ta da - you are there! The look of the interface is the same - an upper panel that shows you messages from CuteFTP and the site you are connected with, two middle panels which display the contents of your hard drive and the ftp site, and a small lower panel that shows you what CuteFTP is currently trying to do. You can do one file at a time, or set up a queue and let the program run in the background while you do something else.

The Queue for CuteFTP is fairly advanced, and allows you to upload & download files from more than one site in a single queue. Version 3.0 also retains the best features of previous versions, like the ability to easily change file attributes - an essential ability for anyone using cgi or perl scripts on a web server.

New Features

CuteFTP 3.0 has a number of new features, most dealing with small improvements to the overall ease-of-use of CureFTP. The Connection Wizard is designed to help you set up a connection to an ftp site (which you can then connect to with Site Manager). CuteFTP 3.0 can now also do persistent file transfers, which means that it can not only resume broken file transfers but can do so without your direct assistance. CuteFTP can now also auto reconnect to sites, again without having to involve you. New shell integration with Windows 95/98 means that you can right-click on a file or folder and CuteFTP will be one of the choices on the right-click menu. Two new features deserve special mention, however, and are far more than 'small' improvements. CuteFTP now includes CuteHTML, a free HTML editor (CuteHTML is also available as a separate download) . Within CuteFTP, CuteHTML allows for remote editing of web pages, style sheets, and perl/cgi scripts. The final new feature for CuteFTP is CuteMP3, an MP3/File Finder - which uses a number of popular search engines (Lycos, MusicSeek) to find mp3 or other audio files. CuteMP3 can search by file, artist, or song title; you can choose how many results to display, as well as sort the results by criteria such as site, size, file type, and date. CuteMP3 also has a feature called "SmartGet"; basically you tell CuteMP3 which file you want and select SmartGet, which assembles a list of sites with that file and then moves down the list until it successfully connects and downloads the file.

Summary

CuteFTP is the best of the FTP clients around - easy to use and powerful in its capabilities. The new features make it well worth the $9.95 upgrade cost for previous owners, especially webmasters who are constantly uploading or changing files on a remote site. The addition of CuteHTML and the ability to remotely edit web pages without having to download them is a great tool for webmasters. CuteMP3 is a useful tool for anyone who wants to find & download music files. SmartGet makes the process of finding and downloading the song you want painless & easy. Highly recommended for everyone.

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