FTP/macOS/Finder

FTP services can be accessed from supported machines running macOS. This is a guide on how to access the UMIACS FTP service using macOS Finder.

Opening up macOS Finder

To open up macOS Finder, click on the macOS Finder icon on the dock at the bottom of your desktop.

The Finder icon is highlighted with a red square

Accessing The Incoming Folder in FTP

The owner of the incoming folder can receive and modify their incoming files from any supported machine. External collaborators can only drop data into the FTP incoming folder.

Access as an owner

The owner of an incoming folder can access it by following the steps below.

First, bring up the address bar in macOS Finder by pressing Command + Shift + G on your keyboard.

Bring up the "go to the folder"

Then, type the following into the address bar and click the "Go" button.

/fs/ftp/incoming/<username> - where <username> should be replaced with your username

Enter the path to access the incoming folder

There is a configuration of tmpwatch[1] in place on our FTP service that will remove any files, regardless of owner or permissions, from any /fs/ftp/incoming/ directory that have not been accessed in 30 days.

Access as a collaborator

As an external collaborator you can drop files into a user's incoming folder. In order to do so, follow the steps below.

First, open up the Finder's "Connect to Server" feature by pressing the Command + K keys.

Open the "Connect to Server" window

Then, enter the following address into the server address bar and then click on the "Connect" button.

ftp://ftp.umiacs.umd.edu/incoming/<username> - where <username> should be replaced with the collaborator's username

After that you will be prompted with a window where you should choose to connect as a guest and then click "Connect" once more.

Select Guest

Click Connect

Accessing The Pubic Folder in FTP

The owner of the public folder can publish and modify files from a supported machine. External collaborators can only download files published by the owner.

Access as an owner

First, bring up the address bar in macOS Finder by pressing Command + Shift + G.

Bring up the "go to the folder"

In order to access your public folder, type in the following into the address bar of Finder:

/fs/ftp/pub/<username> - where <username> should be replaced with your username

Enter the path to access the pub folder

Access as a collaborator

External collaborators can access the public folders through the Finder's "Connect to Server" feature. The "Connect to Server" window can be opened by pressing Command + K on your keyboard.

Open the "Connect to Server" window

Then, enter the following address into the server address bar and then click on the "Connect" button.

ftp://ftp.umiacs.umd.edu/pub/<username> - where <username> should be replaced with the desired collaborator's username

Enter the path to access the public folder

After that you will be prompted with a window where you should choose to connect as a guest and then click "Connect" once more.

Select Guest

Click Connect