JSCAPE Secure FTP Server offers both HTML and Java applet based user interfaces. One of the advantages of the Java applet interface is that it can be used to transfer entire directories recursively. This is in comparison to the HTML interface which requires that each file must be selected prior to upload. Additionally, the Java applet interface includes a ZIP Upload feature which is the focus of this article.
ZIP Upload
The ZIP Upload feature, available only in the Java applet interface, allows you to select one or more local files/directories for upload. These files are compressed into a single ZIP archive prior to upload. The advantages of this feature are:
1. Single connection. When uploading multiple files without using ZIP Upload a new connection for each file must be made prior to upload. For a large number of files this can take some time given that each file requires it's own connection. In the case of very small files (e.g. < 5KB) you can find that the amount of time to make the connection can exceed the amount of time needed to transfer the data. Using the ZIP Upload feature all files are compressed into a single archive before transfer. This means that only a single connection is needed to transfer the file. Compare this to several hundred connections needed for an equal number of files when not using the ZIP Upload feature.
2. Data compression. Your files will be compressed prior to transfer. This compression makes your files smaller and ultimately reduces the amount of time needed to perform a transfer. The amount of data compression depends largely on the source files. For example, text files tend to offer much better compression than binary files.
Using ZIP Upload
To use the ZIP Upload feature perform the following:
1. After login, switch to Java applet interface. Note, you must be running Enterprise edition of JSCAPE Secure FTP Server and have WebDAV service enabled for this option to be made available. Next, select the local files and/or directories to be uploaded. The ZIP Upload icon is then enabled.
2. Next you will be presented with a dialog that prompts you for the name to use when creating the ZIP archive. This will also be the name used when storing the archive on the remote server. Enter the desired destination filename and click OK.
3. The selected files are automatically compressed and uploaded to server using the filename provided in previous dialog.
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