Defaults

Use this tab to set default advanced options for connections, default settings for keeping connections alive, and default file transfer mode.

Options

Default advanced options for connections
Proxy server: If you are using a proxy server for access to FTP servers (usually on the Internet), specify settings for this proxy server here. A proxy server is an intermediary between local network (intranet) and the Internet. If you do not need to use a proxy server, select Not Used. To add settings for a proxy server click the Add button, it opens the Add/Edit Proxy Server dialog box. You can add more settings for proxy servers and later just choose which one to use.
Use passive transfer mode (may help if you are behind firewall or proxy server): When checked, data connections are opened in passive mode. This means that the FTP client opens the data connection by connecting to the supplied port on the FTP server. Otherwise, data connections are opened in active mode. In that case, the FTP server opens the data connection by connecting to the supplied port on the FTP client. Active mode can be problematic if the FTP client is behind a firewall or proxy server because they can block access to the FTP client if they do not support the FTP protocol. Passive mode is not supported by a few FTP servers, so you must use active mode to access those servers.
Keep connections alive (prevents server from disconnecting you due to no activity): When checked, the FTP client tries to keep its connections alive. It means that if the FTP client is not sending commands or transferring data to/from the FTP server for longer than specified time, it starts periodical sending auxiliary commands or making auxiliary data transfers. This should prevent closing the connection by the FTP server due to no activity or no data transfer (usually after 5 or 10 minutes). See Default settings for keeping connections alive below for more information about keeping connections alive.
Use cache for viewed files and lists of files and directories on server (faster browsing): When checked, all viewed files and all path listings (lists of files and directories) from the FTP server are cached. This allows the plugin to reuse cached files and listings when they are requested again. The advantage is faster browsing of directories you have already visited and faster viewing of files you have already viewed. The disadvantage is that listings and files may have changed, so when they are taken from the cache they can be out of date. Use the Refresh command to reset the cache for the current directory and all its subdirectories (it removes all listings and all viewed files from the cache). Cached files are stored in the temporary directory. Cached listings are stored in the memory cache; you can limit the size of this cache, see Size limit for memory cache in Configuration/Advanced.
Compress data transfers if server supports compression (MODE Z): When checked, the plugin attempts to compress all data transfers (downloads and uploads, plus directory listings obtained from the server). No error is reported if the server does not support compression. However, you can check whether compression is being used: check the result of the MODE Z command at the end of the Welcome Message, or look for MODE Z just before the SYST or first PWD command in the FTP log.
Default settings for keeping connections alive: Choose a command to send to keep the connection alive (when the connection is not being used to communicate with the server or transfer any data). The NOOP and PWD commands do not transfer any data. If your FTP server closes connections because no data is transferred, use the NLST or LIST commands. We recommend NLST because it transfers less data (the current path listing containing only file names). Also specify how often to send keep-alive commands and when to stop sending them. See Keep connections alive (prevents server from disconnecting you due to no activity) above for details about activating the keep-alive feature.
Default file transfer mode
Binary mode (no changes during transfers): When checked, all files are transferred in Binary mode. It means no changes in the file content during transfer.
ASCII mode (convert files to use system default line ends): When checked, all files are transferred in ASCII mode. This means that all files are treated as text files, so all end-of-line characters are converted to the target system's default end-of-line characters during transfer.
Automatic - ASCII mode for specified files: When checked, all files matching the specified file masks are transferred in ASCII mode and all others are transferred in Binary mode. See Binary and ASCII mode description above.