Add an interface to an FTP?

S

Silent Assasin

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 1, 2004
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I was wondering if there was a way that I can add an interface to an FTP server. Like so that if a user accesses the server through a web browser such as IE or Firefox it will bring them to a "website" with just a ton of links to files on my server. This would make my server so much more user friendly for computer idiots like my grandpa and coworkes.

So pretty much what I want is a website that I can host for free on my own server computer. I then want several links coming from the homepage to various directories on my server. But I don't want to give complete access to all the users because I want to be able to host work files and personal files on the same server so I'll need to have some sort of User/Password interface with each user having different access rights.

I'm sure there is a much easier way of doing such a thing, but I really don't have a whole lot of knowledge in web page design..... I have no experience with html coding, but I do have access to Dreamweaver and MS Front Page. Right now my server is currently running on an old Windows XP box with Bulletproof FTP server. I plan on switching over to FreeBSD as recomended by someone else.
 
What server are you using? Many allow you to browse directly to directories, so if some part of the FTP space on the server is overlapped by the webspace on the server, you're already there, except for setting up security.

Do you want web users to be able to upload files, too? Or just download them?
 
why not do an 'iframe' with the ftp information as the source. granted, it would probably only work with IE...but you'd still have the webpage appearance with a "window" to a ftp server.
 
randyc said:
apache?
Click to expand...

What exactly is apache?

Ok, I kind thought my explanation was a little wierd so here we go again....

I have my own personal server on a seperate box in my basement currently running Windows XP with Bulletproof FTP. I currently don't have a DNS so the only way to connect to it is by typeing in the exact IP of the computer. I have about 20 usernames, 5 for coworkers that need to upload, download, relocate files, and add directories. So pretty much just use the ftp server as if it were a local drive. I then have several Clan/Guild user accounts that direct to needed/wanted gaming files. I then have several accounts for friends just to access and browse various locations of my server. And then I have my own admin account that I can access the entire server with for school and work.

None of my coworkers use or even know what an ftp client/server is. Pretty much the only way I could explain to them as to how it works is that it's just another hardrive on the computer they are using, but you can access it from any computer. So I put a bookmark in IE to the server on their computers for them. And lately I've had files that disapeared because they cut the files to move to their own computer rather then copy. I can't get them to understand that those files need to stay on that same drive. Also, the new guy that I have to work with doesn't understand how to browse a hardrive for files, even with very specific file names....

So I figured if I put up a more internet friendly version of an ftp.... Such as when you go to a downloads link of a website, it shows you a bunch of links to files that you can download..... I want to know how to do that sort of thing. Like I have a homepage with 3 links, Games, Work, and Friends. The user clicks on a link and it asks them to log in before they can go further. After they log in, I want to be able to show a webpage with general information about a project that we are working on and then allow them to download the necesary files, but then I also need them to be able to upload files....
 
i guess you never heard of accessing an ftp server with your browser?

ftp://user:[email protected]:port

instead of example.com put in your ip addres, VOILA!


if you set the permissions on folders and files correctly you wouldnt have to worry about your users going into the wrong directories and deleting files.
 
smoothftp.com has a web interface to a ftp server: http://www.smoothftp.com/cgi-bin/smoothftp/wf_list.cgi?servername=ftp.yourserver.com&cd=~&page=1

You can set the initial directory by changing ~ to the path (i.e. /pub/download). The main page allows uid/pw logins: http://www.smoothftp.com/cgi-bin/smoothftp/index.cgi
 
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