FTPLOGON        Connect to a remote site

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Syntax:

FTPLOGON

[ site ] [ /options ]

Arguments:

[ site ]

Variable or string defining the site name, URL, or IP address (e.g., ftp.acme-widget.com  or 20.188.128.17) of an FTP site; if [ site ] is omitted, the default site name is used; site names are not case-sensitive.

Options:

/acct=xx

Define account to use when logging on to an FTP site.

 

/allowerrors

Allow for listing errors when logging into an FTP site. Allowing errors on an FTPS connection may result in truncated data because errors on the data channel will also be ignored.

 

/clientcert

Specify this option if you are connecting to an SSL server and you wish to provide a client certificate to the site used and this site wasn’t preconfigured to use client certificates. This is optional if the SSL server automatically requests that Robo-FTP send its certificate. If you know that a particular site requires a client certificate, it is a good idea to specify this option because it is possible that the server will not request the certificate which will cause the connection to fail.

 

/compression=n

Sets the data compression level.  The value must be between 0 - 9.  The default is 0 (not used).

 

/dynamicdirs

Specify this option when connecting an FTP site that presents different (dynamic) directory listings to a client depending on which directory is active. This option may always be present if you are in doubt - there may be a minor decrease in performance since Robo-FTP may request directory listings more often.

 

/disable=xx

Don't send the sepecified raw FTP command.  This option can seriously degrade performance; use it only when the remote site has a severe negative reaction to a a particular raw FTP protocol command.  This option may be used multiple times.  See also /nocwd and /nolist below.

 

/httpauth=xx

Some web servers require authentication before allowing access to certain resources.  Allowed values are: none, auto, basic, digest, and ntlm. You  must provide credentials for NTLM authentication so this option is not appropriate for a "single sign-on" solution.

 

/ibm

Enable IBM Host Features mode.

 

/keyauth

Specify this option if you are connecting to an SSH server and you wish to enable key authentication. This is optional if the SSH server only requires password authentication. This option requires a private key to be previously defined using the Robo-FTP Configurator.

 

/keypw=xx

Password to use with the key specified by the /privatekey option.

 

/listtype=n

Specify this option to instruct Robo-FTP to issue alternate forms of the LIST command. See details below.

 

/maxport=nn

Highest permissible port number to use with the PORT command for active mode data transfers.

 

/minport=nn

Lowest permissible port number to use with the PORT command for active mode data transfers.

 

/myipaddr=xx

IP address to use with the PORT command for active mode data transfers.

 

/nocwd

Prevents sending the CWD verb during the connection.  This option cannot be used with /allowerrors.

 

/nolist

Do not allow Robo-FTP to request directory listings.  This option is mostly useful on HTTP connections where requesting a directory listing could jeopardize the transaction state.  Don't use this unless you know you need it because it limits Robo-FTP's functionality.

 

/pasv=x

Enable or disable passive mode for FTP data transfers.  Passive mode is enabled by default so you would normally only use this command to disable passive mode with the following syntax: /pasv=false    Robo-FTP uses active mode for data transfers when passive mode is disabled.

 

/pasvport=nn

Outgoing data connection port to use when connecting using passive mode.

 

/port=nn

FTP port to connect to.

 

/precisetime

Some servers do not provide complete time date information in directory listings.  This option attempts to use the FTP protocol-level verb MDTM to retrieve complete UTC time/date stamps for each file.  Not all servers support this option and its use may adversely affect performance, particularly in the case of large directory listings.

 

/privatekey=x

Specify the private key to use for secure authentication.  When connecting  to an SSL site this option may be paired with the /clientcert option.

 

/proxy=xx

Define the name or IP address of a proxy server (/gw= is also accepted).

 

/proxyport=nn

Proxy server port to connect to (/gwport= is also accepted).

 

/proxypw=xx

Define password to use when logging on to a proxy server (/gwpw= is also accepted).

 

/proxytype=xx

Supported types include: FTPACCT, FTPOPEN, FTPSITE, FTPUSER, SimpleRelay, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, SOCKS5, WindowsIE, and WebStandard.  For more information, see the help topic named Proxy Server Settings.

 

/proxyuser=xx

Define user name to use when logging on to a proxy server (/gwuser= is also accepted).

 

/pw=xx

Define password to use when logging on to an FTP site.

 

/restrictipaddr

Specify this option to restrict the data connection to the same IP address used for the control connection (as opposed to allowing a connection to whatever IP address is returned in reply to PASV command from the Server). This option only applies to passive mode data transfers.

 

/timeout=nn

Time-out in seconds to wait for logon to complete.  The specified number also serves as the default timeout for network activity on the connection.  The default period is 30 seconds.

 

/trust=xx

Action to take when an untrusted certificate is received from an SSL secured server or when an unknown SSH server identifies itself during key authentication. The default action if this option is not specified is DENY.

 

/savehost

Creates or updates a Managed Site definition.

 

/servertype=xx

Select the FTP site type from the list below.

 

/user=xx

Define user name to use when logging on to an FTP site.

 

 

This script command logs on to an FTP site. Predefined sites are created using the Robo-FTP Configurator. Robo-FTP searches its internal predefine site list for a match of [ site ] and uses the user name, password, and other parameters found associated with that server. [ site ] names are not case-sensitive.

 

The /user, /pw, /port, and /acct options may be used to override the predefined user name and/or password associated with an existing site, or may be used with a site that has not been previously defined. Not all sites utilize the /acct option.

 

The /servertype option (/type also recognized for backward compatibility with pre-v2.0 versions) may be used to override the predefined site type, or may be used with a site that has not been previously defined. The possible choices are:

 

FTP

Normal FTP (the default)

SFTP

FTP + SSH

FTPS

FTP + SSL (control and data channels both encrypted)

FTPSCONTROL

FTP + SSL (control channel encrypted only)

FTPSCCC

FTP + SSL (data channel encrypted only)

FTPSIMP

FTP + SSL (implicit mode)

HTTP

HTTP

HTTPS

HTTP + SSL

 

The /trust option controls whether the connection is allowed when credentials presented by a secure site are not trusted. The possible values are:

 

DENY

The connection to the remote site fails if the server's SSL certificate is not trusted or the SSH server is unknown. This is the default action.

ALLOW

The connection to the remote site is allowed if the server's SSL certificate is not trusted or the SSH server is unknown.

ALL

The connection to the remote site is allowed if the server's SSL certificate is not trusted or the SSH server is unknown. The server's credentials are saved as a file and the site will not be considered unknown or untrusted if it presents the same credentials during future connections.

 

The /clientcert option may be used to force an SSL connection to send a client certificate when it may not have been pre-configured to do so. The /keyauth option may be used to enable SSH private key authentication when connecting to this site.

 

When access to an FTP site is controlled by a proxy server, the /proxy, /proxyuser, /proxyport, and /proxypw options may be used to define or override a predefined proxy (gateway) server name, user name, port, and/or password.

 

Some servers require an alternate form of the LIST command to return directory contents. The /listtype=1 option forces Robo-FTP to issue alternate “LIST .” (vs. simply “LIST”) when requesting directory listings from an FTP site. The /listtype=2 option forces Robo-FTP to issue alternate “NLST” (vs. simply “LIST”) when requesting directory listings from an FTP site. In this later case, the server does not return any information about its files (e.g. file size and date/time) so the associated internal variables (e.g. %sitefiledate and %sitefiletime) cannot be properly populated. Also some features of Robo-FTP (such as requesting the most recent file on the server) are not supported when /listtype=2 is used.

 

Important

The /listtype option cannot be directly configured for the FTP client applet or pre-configured as a default option for a specific site. However, a manual setting value does exist for this option. Access the online Knowledge Base at http://www.robo-ftp.com for more information.)

 

The /ibm option enables IBM Host Features for the FTP session if the logon is successful. IBM Host Features mode permits JES queue options to be selected and allows EBCDIC transfer mode for the SENDFILE, RCVFILE, and SYNC script commands.

 

The /pasv=false option disables passive mode operation for the FTP session if the logon is successful. Passive mode operation may be required to list directories, and send and receive files with certain FTP sites. Using this option overrides the settings for a given site that may have been set when it was configured with the Robo-FTP Configurator.  Consequentially, passive mode can also be enabled for a managed site previously configured to use active mode by using the /pasv=true option (or simply /pasv) to override that setting.

 

In FTP and FTPS modes with passive mode operation, the /restrictipaddr option forces the data connection to be on the same IP address as the control connection. This option may be required to connect to some servers.

 

The /httpauth option is useful when connecting to a restricted web resource. The following authentication methods are available:

 

none

No authentication sent.

auto

Tries first without any authentication. If the attempt fails, the resource is re-requested using Digest authentication, then NTLM, then Basic.

basic

Sends base64 encoded username and password.

digest

Primarily used with WebDAV servers, this type sends one challenge/response and password is never sent in clear text.

ntlm

NTLM mode sends sequence of challenges/responses with the (proxy) server but without ever sending plaintext password over insecure network.

 

Any logon, either with this script command or with the Logon button within the Robo-FTP client applet, serves as a general logon for either or both script and applet operation within Robo-FTP.

 

The [ site ] argument can use take either an IP address or URL.

 

FTPLOGON "ftp.acme-widget.com"

-or-

FTPLOGON "20.178.128.17"

 

The [ site ] argument can also take the name of a Managed Site. In this case, the server address, username, password, and other connection details are obtained from the Managed Site definition maintained by the Configurator.

 

FTPLOGON "The Robo-FTP Site"

 

Consider the following example where Robo-FTP attempts to connect with a previously undefined FTP site.

 

FTPLOGON "ftp.new.com" /user=anonymous /pw=itchy

 

Consider the following example where Robo-FTP attempts to connect with an SSL server and accept the FTP site’s certificate, regardless of whether or not that certificate has been previously trusted.

 

FTPLOGON "ftp.secure.com" /servertype=FTPS /trust=ALLOW /user=Tom /pw=secret

 

Finally, consider the following example where Robo-FTP attempts to connect with the default Managed Site and specifies a different password that overrides the password listed on the property sheet for the Managed Site.

 

FTPLOGON /pw=adv50095

 

 

Related command(s): FTPLOGOFF

See also: Using the Robo-FTP Client Applet