fsptool(1)

NAME
fsptool - An X-Windows interface to the FSP file transfer clients.

REVISIONS
This manual applies to version 1.6 of the FSPtool application.

SYNOPSIS
fsptool [ generic-tool-arguments ]

DESCRIPTION
FSPtool is an easy to use graphical interface to the FSP client programs. The command line use of the various FSP clients ( fget, fput, etc ... ) is avoided and their functionality is provided in an easy to use form. Additional features not provided by the FSP clients are also included to enable you to get the most out of FSP. FSPtool requires X11R4/5 and XView 3.0 or greater.

OPTIONS

generic-tool-arguments
    FSPtool accepts the generic arguments specified in xview(1).

USAGE

  Run Time Help

When correctly installed FSPtool should be able to provide you with run-time help. Pressing the <HELP> key ( <F1> on some systems ) should display a small window which gives details of the function of the FSPtool item the pointer was over when help was pressed.

  Defaults

It is possible to specify all options to FSPtool through the .fsptooldefaults file in the user`s home directory. The file specifies defaults for window layout and status (open/closed), applications for viewing particular filetypes and general FSPtool options. All options are settable from within FSPtool and so manual alteration of the .fsptooldefaults file should not be necessary. The options found in this file will override any defaults entered at compile time. When saving options FSPtool will save them to the .fsptooldefaults file in your home directory (any existing information is overwritten). However the list of FSP host sites which FSPtool knows about is read and written from .fsphosts in your home directory. This file is in the unofficial but widely used "taxus" format, and so can be used with other FSP client programs which accept that format. Information about remote hosts can be edited and viewed through the "Host Information" window. Each of the individual controls and window which make up FSPtool are explained below.

  General Usage

The rest of these manual pages describe the operation and purpose of the items that make up the FSPtool application - the various windows and their contents. Along with the run-time help this should enable you to make full use of the application simply by reading and experimenting.

  The Remote Window (FSPtool Version 1.6)

This is FSPtool's main window, from within this window all of FSPtool's functions can be accessed. It is divided into four parts, a series of buttons and a file drop site along the top of the window, then a button for accessing previous remote directories and a textfield giving the name of the current directory. Next the remote directory listing area where the contents of remote directories are listed. Finally at the bottom two status areas, the left gives general status messages while the right hand side gives the number of files in the current directory and the number (if any) of them which you have selected.

File Menu Button

    Copy Files
        Copies the selected files and/or directories from the remote machine to the local machine. Directories are recursively copied along with all of their contents. The copied files are placed in the current local working directory. If the Transfer Status window is visible then you will be able to see the status of the transfer as it progresses.

    Add to Batch List
        Adds the currently selected items to the list of items in the batch transfer list. This list is viewable in the Batch Transfer window.

    File Filter
        Shows a window containing the current setting of the remote file filter. This makes it possible to screen out filetypes that you aren't interested in, see the Set File Filter window.

    File Viewers
        Shows a window showing the current actions to take to view the filetypes which FSPtool knows about. See the File Viewers window.

    Quit Program
        Does just that, quits the application. Will prompt you for conformation. If you then confirm the Quit request, FSPtool will exit.

View Menu Button

    Local Directory List
        Shows the window containing a list of files in the current local directory. This window also gives access to functions affecting the local files. See Local Directory window.

    View Selected File
        Will cause the first currently selected file in the remote directory listing to be downloaded. An appropriate viewer will then be run for it depending on it's type. The same effect can be achieved by double-clicking ( quickly pressing <SELECT> twice in succession on an item ) on a file item in the directory listing. If the file is compressed and FSPtool has access to an appropriate decompression program then it will be decompressed before being viewed. The downloaded file will be deleted after you quit the viewer application.

    Batch Transfer List
        Show the list of files in the batch transfer list, see Batch Transfer window.

    Transfer Status
        Show the state of the current transfer ( if one is in progress ), see Transfer Status window.

    Host Information
        Show the list of hosts which FSPtool currently knows about and the information which goes with them. See Host Information window.

    About FSP Client/Server
        Show information about the local FSP clients which FSPtool is using and about the remote server currently specified. A window will be popped up in which this information is displayed, if no valid remote site is currently specified then no details are shown for the remote host section.

    About FSPtool
        Show a window containing information about FSPtool and it's author.

Properties Menu Button

    FSPtool
        Set properties to do with the FSPtool application itself. See Properties.

    Directory Lists
        Set properties to do with remote and local directory listings. See Properties.

    FSP Set FSP specific properties that affect the operation of operations carried out through FSP. See Properties and run-time help for a detailed description.

    FSP Clients
        Set the filenames of the FSP client programs to use for obtaining directory lists, getting and putting files etc. Overrides the compiled in defaults. See Properties.

    Save Layout
        Save the positions, sizes and open/closed state of windows. These saved states will be restored when the application is next run. This relies on a certain degree of window manager cooperation, but as long as FSPtool knows whether or not an OpenLook window manager is running (see FSPtool Properties section) it should work correctly. To my knowledge it works correctly with olwm, olvwm, mwm, twm and vtwm window managers.

Set Host Button
    Show the Set Host window, from here you can enter details of the host and port address to use or choose one from the menu of hosts which FSPtool knows about. See Set Host window.

Abort
    This button is only active during transfers, if pressed it aborts the current transfer operation.

File Drop Site
    This is a drop site for drag and drop operations. It accepts drops forwarded from application which give a filename of the file which was being dragged - such as the OpenWindows file-manager application. The file dropped onto this site will be uploaded to the current remote directory, the original file is left intact.

Remote Directory Menu Button
    This button brings up a menu of the directories held in the remote directory cache (if any). Selecting one of them will cause it to become the currently selected remote directory and it will be displayed in the remote directory listing area.

Remote Directory Textfield
    The name of the current remote directory is shown in this field. A new name can be entered or the existing one altered pressing <ENTER/RETURN> then selects this as the new directory - if it exists and is readable.

Remote Directory List
    This area is a scrolling list containing the filenames and file information for all of the files found in the current remote directory. From the list you can traverse the directory structure by moving up and down through directories shown and view files.

Remote Directory List Menu

    Unselect All
        Unselects all files within the directory listing.

    Select All
        Selects all the files within the directory listing.

    Get Selection
        Same as <Copy Files> copies the selected files to the current local directory.

    Add to Batch List
        Adds the currently selected files onto the list of files in the batch transfer list.

To view a directory double-click upon the directory entry in the list, it then becomes the current remote directory and it's contents are shown. To view a file you do the same, if it is compressed then it will be decompressed and then an appropriate viewer started for that type of file.

  File Filter window

This window allows you to alter the file filtering which FSPtool can apply to the remote directory listing. Essentially this allows you to specify to FSPtool what types of files you want to see in the list and which you are not interested in. Once you have the settings you want you can either simply <Apply> them which applies them to the current session but does not save them or <Save> them which both applies and saves them.

File Filtering
    Determines whether or not file filtering is enabled.

Show
    When file filtering is on, this determines which filetypes will be displayed. It presents a list of all the file types FSPtool understands and a tick by those which will be shown, remove the tick and files of that type will not be displayed.

  File Viewers window

This window shows the current viewers to use with the file types that FSPtool understands. Each file type has a command line associated with it, when a file of that type is viewed this command is used to view it. A command line consists of the name of an application to run as the first item, either a full pathname of the name of a file that will be found in your path. This is followed by any arguments that this command may take. If you specify %f as a argument then the filename of the file being viewed will be substituted at that point, if %f is not specified then the filename is appended to the command string.

  Local Directory window

The local directory window provides similar functions to the remote main window but intended for operation on local files.

File Menu Button

    Copy Files
        Copies the slected files and/or directories from the local machine to the remote machine. Directories are recursively copied along with all of their contents. The copied files are placed in the current remote directory.

View Menu Button

    View Selected File
        Will cause the first currently selected file in the local directory listing to be viewed. An appropriate viewer will then be run for it depending on it's type. The same effect can be achieved by double-clicking ( quickly pressing <SELECT> twice in succession on an item ) on a file item in the directory listing. If the file is compressed and FSPtool has access to an appropriate decompression program then it will be decompressed before being viewed.

Local Directory Field
    This field names the current local directory, editing this name and pressing <ENTER/RETURN> will cause FSPtool to go to the specified new directory. If it does not exist FSPtool will prompt you as to whether you wish to create it, if you do and it can be created it will then become the current local directory.

Free Space
    This field shows the free space on the device to which the current local directory belongs.

Local Directory Listing
    This local directory listing has precisely the same functionality as the remote directory listing window.

  Batch Transfer window

This window shows the list of files in the batch transfer list and provides access to functions to manipulate this list.

Do Transfer Button
    Selecting this button will start a transfer of all items from their respective hosts to the current local directory.

Write Menu Button

    Textfile
        Write the list of files and locations out to a textfile, will pop up a window prompting for the name and directory of a file to which the text is written.

Options Menu Button

    Add Files
        This option will add files which are selected in the remote directory listing to the items in the batch transfer listing.

    Delete Files
        This option provides you with two further options, either delete all of the selected items in the list or delete all items in the list regardless of whether they are selected or not. NB: this isn't deleting the actual files that items reference to, simply the items in the list.

    Group Files
        This option groups files alphabetically by host/port and filename order.

    Do Transfer
        This option provides you with two further options, either transfer all the files in the list which are selected, or transfer all files regardless of whether they are selected or not.

  Transfer Status window

This window shows information about the state of the current download or upload. It shows the operation currently in progress and any file involved, as well as the proportion of the current file which has been transferred and proportion of the entire transfer operation (for multi-file operations) which has been completed. It also shows the total size of the transfer and the file transfer rate for the last file successfully transferred.

  Host Information window

This window displays information on the hosts which FSPtool has information about, from here you can add, edit, delete, load and save information about host aliases. The list at the foot of the window shows the aliases currently known, selecting an alias causes the various fields to be filled in with it's details. The Save button will change to <Save> when changes have been made to your hosts information which requires changing.

Edit Button
    This button will edit the details for the alias named by the Alias field. If the alias already exists then it's details will be modified to match those given in the field in this window. If the alias field contains a new alias not previously used then this new alias will be created with the details from the various fields.

Delete Button
    Deletes the current alias from the list.

Clear Button
    Clears the fields of information associated with the current alias.

Load Button
    Loads the .fsphosts file in from your home directory.

Save Button
    Saves the current list to the .fsphosts file in your home directory. Changes to <Save> when changes have been made that require saving.

Alias Fields

    Alias
        The actual alias to use for this host, should be a single word with no spaces.

    Host
        The address of the host, in either numeric or name format.

    Port
        The numeric UDP port address for the specified host.

    Info
        A line of information about the host - purely for your benefit, FSPtool isn't bothered what goes in here.

    Local Dir
        The local directory to change to when this alias is used. This isn't currently implemented as the "taxus" format doesn't have room for such a field yet.

    Remote Dir
        The remote directory to first go to when this alias is used. This defaults to / ( the root directory ) if not specified.

  About FSP Client/Server window

This window shows information about the local FSP clients which FSPtool is using and about the remote server currently specified. A window will be popped up in which this information is displayed. The first line will be output from the "fver -h" command showing details of the local version of FSP. The next few lines will be output from the "fver" command which shows information from the remote server. If no valid remote site is currently specified then no details are shown for the remote host section and a message to that effect is displayed instead.

  About FSPtool window

This window simply displays information about the current version of FSPtool, who the author is and what FSPtool is.

  Set Host Window

From this window you can either manually enter a host/port combination to specify a remote FSP server to use, or alternatively select one from the menu of remote host alises which FSPtool knows.

Clear Button
    Clears the contents of the Host and Port fields.

Host Menu Button
    Brings up a menu of alises which FSPtool knows ( if any exist ) this is read in from the .fsphosts file in your home directory and the information in the Host Information window. When an alias is selected it's host and port details will be entered into the Host and Port fields, if the "Open Directory on Select" property is activated then FSPtool will automatically attempt to obtain a directory listing when an alias is selected from this menu.

Host Field
    Host addresses are entered here either numerically ( eg: 132.215.34.8 ) or as a host name ( eg: src.doc.ic.ac.uk ).

Port Field
    The numeric port number associated with the named host is entered here.

Apply Button
    Clicking on this button will cause the given host and port combination to be applied, FSPtool will then attempt to get a directory listing for the root directory of that FSP server.

  Properties

Properties are applied either to the current session through use of any <Apply> button from a properties window. Alternatively if the <Save> button is used they are both applied to the current session and saved in the .fsptooldefaults file in your home directory. The Save Layout option is independent of other properties and is only updated when Save Layout is used.

FSPtool options

    OpenLook (Window Manager)
        This option is used to tell FSPtool that it is running under an OpenLook compliant window manager such as olwm and olvwm. If you're not using an OpenLook window manager ( eg: mwm, twm ) then you should not have this selected. This enables FSPtool to make a better job of organising it's windows.

    Close Frame on <Cancel>
        When ticked this option causes FSPtool to close a window ( regardless of any pushpin state it might have ) when the window's <Cancel> button is activated. This is useful for window managers that do not provide a close option in the window frame menu.

    Close Open Frame from Menu
        If this option is enabled FSPtool will close an open window when the menu item which would normally display it is activated.

    Open Directory on host select
        When ticked FSPtool will attempt to open and read the base directory for the alias just selected from the <Hosts> menu in the "Set Host" window.

Directory Listings Options

    Cache Size
        This slider sets the number of directories which will be cached internally to FSPtool. This cacheing speeds up directory reading and reduces the load on FSP servers. The cache size is settable between a maximum of 25 and a minimum of 1 ( which effectively turns off cacheing ).

    Timeout
        This slider sets the ageing for directory caches, caches which are more than this number of minutes old will be re-read. Setting this to 0 will also effectively turn off cacheing.

    File listing sort
        This determines the field by which file entries will be sorted into order. Either by the alphabetic name of the file, date/time or by size.

    Name Sort Order
        If sorting by Name this determines whether the order is alphabetic or reverse-alphabetic.

    Date Sort Order
        If sorting by Date this determines whether the order is with newer (more recent) files first or older (less recent) files first.

    Size Sort Order
        If sorting by size this determines whether the order is with smaller files first or with larger files first.

FSP Options
    This options directly affect the operation of the FSP clients rather than the operation of FSPtool itself. They tailor some of the more obtuse parts of the FSP clients operation, the only two options which are likely to be useful to most users are for seting the Timeout and the Delay increasing these values gives you more chance of successfully using sites with dodgy network links or very slow/overloaded servers.

    Buffer
        Determines the size of the packets of data which the FSP clients will use for transferring data. Normally the larger the better, however in unusual circumstances some networks may not be able to cope with chunks this size, in this case you can try setting the Buffer size to some smaller value, 512 should be small enough.

    Local Port
        You shouldn't alter this value unless you know what you are doing. When set to 0 it is effectively turned off and not used. Any other value causes the FSP clients to use that port number locally. This may clash with other FSP clients, with other network services or simply be a number the system reserves as it's own, hence the disclaimer, you shouldn't normally need to use this.

    Timeout
        Determines the timout delay when FSP clients are waiting for a response from the remote server. Generally if no response is recieved from a server within this amount of time, the FSP client will time out and the request will fail. When transfering a file this is used as a base and can increase as the FSP client tries to get a response before eventually timing out. If you're having trouble with "Remote Server not Responding" errors from a site which does actually exist, then try increasing this value. The site replies may just be slow in coming and a longer timeout value prevents FSP timing out before they arrive.

    Delay
        Determines the delay to use from sending a request and not receiving a reply to sending the request again. As for the timeout value setting this higher can help in using slow or overloaded sites. Value is in milliseconds.

FSP Client Options
    These options allow you to override the compiled in FSP client programs which FSPtool uses. The names you use should be ones which are in your path or be full pathnames starting at / and correspond to a FSP client program which preforms the required task - the merged client set works normally with this.

    fver
        Name of the FSP client program to use to obtain version information from local and remote hosts, normally "fver".

    fls Name of the FSP client program to use to get directory listings from remote host, normally "flscmd".

    fget
        Name of the FSP client program to use to copy files from the remote host to the local host, normally "fgetcmd".

    fput
        Name of the FSP client program to use to copy files from the local directory to the remote host directory, normally "fput".

Save Layout
    Selecting this saves layout information for all of FSPtool's windows. When FSPtool is next started the window positioning information will be taken from the window manager cooperation, but as long as FSPtool knows whether or not an OpenLook window manager is running (see FSPtool Properties section) it should work correctly.

FILES

$HOME/.fsptooldefaults
    Default settings for FSPtool, updated whenever <Save Layout> or any of the <Save> buttons are used.

$HOME/.fsphosts
    List ( in "taxus" format ) of hosts, aliases and descriptions used by FSPtool as the FSP sites which it knows of. Updated through the "Host Information" window.

SEE ALSO
xview(7), fsp_prof(5), fget(1), fgetcmd(1), fgrab(1), fgrabcmd(1), fls(1), flscmd(1), fprocmd(1), fpro(1), fmkdir(1),

Taxus Format - see the file /fsplist.std at FSP site taxus.uib.no 9000

AUTHOR

Andrew Doherty (ssudoher@uk.ac.reading)