Because I try to do as much computer work on my iPad as possible, one of the apps I was eager to find was something that could handle FTP tasks, mainly with transfers to my website. I’ve struggled to find FTP solutions even on my Mac, as they never seem to work easily enough for me, so I knew finding an app to handle the same tasks on an iPad could be a bit tricky. There aren’t a lot of free options for the iPad to begin with, and the free ones I found didn’t seem to work right. Eventually I found iFTP, which isn’t just easy to use, but also really works, even though it did require me to pay $2.99 for the download.
iFTP does exactly what I want it to. It allows me to work on my website on my iPad. Again, I prefer to do as much of my work as possible on the iPad; it’s just more convenient for me. There are a few reasons I still have to resort to going back to my laptop, but having to use FTP isn’t one of them. The $2.99 fee seemed paltry to be able to have something work so well.
Setting up iFTP to work with your website is easy enough. It’s just a matter of providing the sign-in information, the same as you will need to use FTP anywhere. What is needed is the host name, user name, and password. Once this has been provided, you’ll only need to resubmit your password with each successive time you launch the app.
iFTP allows you to have several different FTP servers configured. For my uses at the present time, however, I just have one server I sign into that handles all previous and present versions of my website.
Opening the server shows all the information contained within. It contains all the folders and all the individual files stored on the server. I can add or delete any file order folder at this point.
Files can be uploaded to your server using iFTP from four different sources – an upload directly from the iPad, local files, a website, or from a computer using a WiFi through a URL. After it’s uploaded, iFTP asks you $2.99 to name the file, and it then appears within the other files and folders on your server.
Once on your server, files can be opened, viewed, edited, renamed, or deleted. Permissions can be changed at this point as well. When managing a website, you can edit and tweak the files right there on the iPad instead of having to resort to a desktop computer.
To upload a file from the web, or to check on your progress as your edit, upload, and move around files, you don’t even have to leave the app. iFTP also included a web browser. It automatically opens up into Google, allowing you to either do a search, or put in a URL directly.
With iFTP, I haven’t found anything I cannot do. While it did cost $2.99, it’s an amount well-spent in the time it saves me from not having to bounce back and forth between my iPad and Mac. This, combined with the ease of use, makes it a great little find for anyone looking for a solution for transferring files to or from their iPad.
iFTP (iTunes link)
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