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This speed boost has been accomplished, they say, by taking advantage of the improved performance of the latest Mac offerings, redesigning how Captain FTP uses memory and utilizes the CPU to reduce memory leaks and directly improve performance, resulting in faster transfers. Whatever, it worked!
The developers say that power users dealing with large file systems with thousands of files will see a huge improvement in performance, with moving between large folders in the new Captain FTP virtually instantaneous. Not being such a power user, I'll have to take their word for it, but have no reason to doubt based on the performance improvement I've directly experienced.
In case you're not familiar, Captain FTP is an elegant and user-friendly Mac OS X FTP client from Germany, with what I think is the most aesthetically attractive user interface of any Mac FTP client product, and which claims to be and is the first FTP Client to allow local network FTP users to share files directly between each other.
This requires a new approach, with the Address Book divided into separate parts, which resulted in the creation of the Public Address Book consisting of local Network users, Private FTP entries, and Public FTP entries that can be shared to share files, but only with users authorized and approved by the host. This is not a Peer to Peer methodology, as only authorized local network users, and specified (authorized) WAN users may be available for you to connect to, or for them to connect to you.
This feature enhancement also required a new interface to facilitate FTP session management, which led to the development of a tabbed interface supporting multiple FTP connections, allowing users to open multiple Tabs (each tab a separate FTP session) in a single browser window, or both browser windows (left and right). It is even possible to transfer between tabs in the same window by drag and drop.
Another cool Tiger-related feature in Captain FTP 4.4.5 is a a fun Dashboard widget that presents the new Mac Native Help guide for Captain FTP, and can also be used to quickly upload files to remote servers by dragging the file from the desktop to the widget. The Captain FTP Widget directly accesses the Captain FTP Address Book enabling quick connection to all remote servers.
The widget was a quick download, and then a breeze to install, although I found the dark colored appearance theme makes the menu selections hard to read until you mouse over them, but it does offer quick and convenient access to the Captain FTP Address Book.
Captain FTP Widget is free for all users with Captain FTP 4.2 or higher and can be downloaded here:
http://www.xdsnet.net/captain/CaptainFTP.wdgt.sit
Captain FTP 4..4..5 includes simplified file management with built-in file viewers for movies, sounds, pictures, PDF, a browser column to show file attributes, and file/folder synchronization enhanced with a visual browser.
This multithreaded FTP/SSL-FTP/SFTP Client from scratch for MacOSX supports unlimited number of simultaneous connections, and provides Accelerate Download function, Resuming, text editors support (BBEdit and others), Favorites Address Book, Rendezvous, Virtual Folders, Transfer Manager, scripting, UNICODE converter supporting national fonts, privileges management (UMASK, CHMOD), and plugins.
The Transfer Manager, a longtime showpiece feature of Captain FTP, not only controls file transfers, and allows users to modify the transfers by pausing, and halting transfers, but has now been integrated with the accelerated downloads functionality, which works particularly well for large files 2GB and bigger, enabling large files to be downloaded much more quickly.
Captain FTP's server manager allows creation of of user lists containing defined FTP server names, their connection and account parameters such as user name, password, account and connection parameters (passive or active mode, firewalls). Usually, one mouse click is enough to connect to any chosen FTP server. An extra layer of security is provided by Key Authentication for Secure FTP transfers.
Designed from the ground up for Mac OS X, Captain FTP supports OS X 10.4 Tiger's Rendezvous networking technology, as well as plugging for Internet Browsers (Helper), new dynamic "stop/disconnect" button option, international font support, and the ability to import addresses from Net Finder, Fetch and Transmit.
Captain FTP 4.3 includes a revamp of the Captain FTP interface, which is written in Cocoa and styled to conform with Apple's "brushed metal" motif. Frankly, I have to say that the default brushed metal appearance does not really grab me, but happily, Captain FTP gives you a choice. Captain FTP's developers listened to those of us who don't like "brushed metal" and have since version 3.1.1 provided users with the option of switching back to an OS X Aqua theme.
Just open the Captain FTP Preferences, click the "Misc" tab, and at the bottom of the dialog you will find a couple of pull-down menus to specify appearance options.
Thanks to the developers for providing this option.
The Captain FTP Address Book is another of this program's very attractive features,
The address book is divided into different sections for different categories of FTP addresses:
• Network Entries - addresses which may be shared with other Captain users, or used to connect to other Captain FTP users for the purposes of file sharing.
• Local Favorites – private FTP folders on the local machine not intended for distribution.
• Favorite Addresses – private FTP server addresses which the user may upload/download files to/from, not shared with other Captain FTP users.
You can also bookmark as many favorite sites on servers and your local machine as you want to. The list of bookmarked sites are assigned to your Address Book. You can also import favorites from older Captain FTP versions and from Fetch, Transmit and NetFinder.
The Captain FTP main window includes two functionally identical Browser windows with double navigation controls. While you're not connected to any remote FTP server you will see your computer view in both Browsers. This default can be changed in the Preferences, along with a vast number of other configuration options.
Captain FTP is able to list remote files and folders in Left or Right Browser as well as in both Browsers simultaneously when you're transferring data directly between two remote FTP servers. There is also an option to switch Captain FTP into "one browser" mode and hide the second window by dragging the Window divider to right or left edge of Browser window.
A TURBO Button is an optional button for switching on/off accelerated downloading, in which Captain FTP splits a large file into multiple parts and uses multiple transfer connections to download those parts simultaneously. These parts are recombined into a single file upon receipt. This is very fast transfer is based on an intelligent downloaded file analysis and connection parameters (amount of parallel FTP sessions) can speed up the entire transfer task dramatically, and is particularly effective when downloading large files from an FTP server that limits bandwidth per connection, in which case Captain FTP maximizes bandwidth utilization to increase performance.
Captain FTP can also automatically do Accelerated (Segmented) Downloading in which Captain FTP will segment the file over a certain size and download different pieces at the same time - in parallel. For some Internet connections, this can dramatically improve the speed of the download. This feature will prove most valuable for large files and slow Internet connections. "Having added this feature, Captain FTP evolves from the class of a standard FTP-client into a feature rich Download-Manager," according to Xnet.
To open multiple FTP sessions in a single browser window, it is possible to create separate FTP sessions with separate Tabs.
Captain FTP doesn't use Cocoa drawers, but its Address Book puts the plain Jane connection menus of the other apps. to shame. This application has the attention to detail that typifies German products.
I found that the earlier Captain FTP 4.3 provided pretty fast file transfers, and it made connections quickly as well. However, in my tests, it did stumble when encountering an existing file with the same name as the one of I was trying to upload, such as when updating a web page. Indeed, "stumble" is an understatement. The program would simply stall with the progress bar rolling endlessly, but no file upload. This has been fixed in Captain FTP 4.4.5, and file overwrites now proceed quickly and smoothly.
File transfers can be a whole lot easier and more convenient with Captain FTP's Virtual folders. Users can create virtual folders on their desktop for their FTP server folders. To transfer files to these folders simply drag 'n' drop the file onto the folder icon, and Captain FTP automatically completes the transfer.
Captain FTP 4.4.5's Synchronize Folders feature can be used to synchronize folder content between local and remote Host. Synchronization enables the user to copy to/from FTP server only those files whose content differs from the ones on local/remote Host, subject to user configured parameters. Sync Browsing is available by clicking the small ball in the right corner of either browser pane. The local and remote directory structure must be similar in order for this feature to work.
The preferences allow you specify what application you wish to edit files with, whether a double-click on a file in the Captain FTP window will initiate a transfer or just open it, and an array of FTP options.
Captain FTP supports mirror transfers, allowing you to synchronize a folder on your Mac with a directory on your server, with one command, transferring only the files that have changed.
Navigation with Captain FTP is easy and closely emulates the standard conventions of of the Mac OS's built-in file lists. Moving from one directory to another within Captain FTP requires merely double clicking on a folder icon or use of a pop-up menu.
The Global Progress Indicator in the Captain FTP interface window displays the estimated time remaining to end of transfer. a Stop button enables the user to stop every operation at any time without breaking up the connection with a server.
Captain FTP tasks are shared between separate threads (multi-tasking), therefore all time consuming functions such as uploading and downloading don't consume valuable resources of the OS, but leave it available for other user requests.
Captain FTP is a very capable FTP client, with a depth of features, some of which I've only touched on in this review. You can find more detail in the Appendix below. It's got a gorgeous user interface, is fast, and relatively inexpensive. Well worth downloading to try.
New in version 4.4.5 in summary:
Faster
• Folder refresh (remote and local)
• Folder changing (remote and local)
• File finding (remote and local)
• Server login in
• File transfers
Enhancements
• Memory consumption vastly reduced
• Memory leaks removed by redesigning how memory is used
• Progress bar and transfer rate calculation is more precise now
Bug Fixes
• Unicode UTF-8 decoding for synchronized files
System requirements:
• Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
• G3 processor or better
• 64 MB RAM
Captain FTP 4.4.5 version for Tiger & Panther
(OS X versions 10.4 & 10.3)
build level: 4.4510-060207
Captain FTP 4.4.5J version for Jaguar
(OS X version 10.2)
build level: 4.4510-060207
Xnet Communications says there are now more than 350,000 Captain FTP users worldwide.
Xnet makes Captain FTP available as a fully enabled 14-day trial version. Captain FTP costs US $25 to register. Version 4.4.5 is a free upgrade for all registered users of Captain FTP 4.x.
The older, but also very capable Captain FTP 1.4 is still available as freeware for private, non-commercial use to government employees, home users, students and staff of educational institutions. The Captain FTP Website itself is worth a visit in its own right. Make sure to check out the downloadable Captain FTP wallpaper images here:
http://captainftp.xdsnet.de/ftp/gadgets.php
You can also order Captain FTP stuff like T-shirts, caps, mugs, clocks, -- even boxer shorts (!) here:
http://captainftp.xdsnet.de/ftp/gadgets.php?b=3
For more information, visit:
http://captainftp.xdsnet.de/
Appendix
Features of Captain FTP 4.4.5
Transfer files to and from remote sites.
Captain to Captain direct Transfer - allow Captain FTP users to connect and share files directly between each other, particularly benefiting business users or groups of users, who can share their work securely, privately, and quickly.
Virtual Folders - save time by creating virtual folders of your favorite sites on your desktop. Simply drag 'n' drop the file on the virtual folder to transfer it, or groups of files.
Captain FTP Widget - upload files from the Dashboard using the power of the Captain FTP engine.
File/copy URL - generates a URL with password making the URL available for direct usage.
Accelerated Transfer - the transfer of large files is split into segments to vastly accelerate the transfer speed.
Server to server - transfer files between remote servers.
Captain uses standard and secure file transfer protocols.
Transfer Manager - manage transfers by prioritizing which files to transfer first, accelerate file transfers using segmented download, and view the status, and progress of all transfers.
Automated Transfers - using the Scheduling GUI to automate file transfers outside office hours, or schedule automatic updates to occur daily, weekly, monthly...
Folder Synchronization - synchronize or mirror entire folders/directories between local and remote sites in either direction through the Visual Browser Module.
Hot Folders - automatically upload files to remote sites anytime the files in a local folder are edited or files dropped in the local folder.
Sync Browsing - If the local and remote directory structure match, users can browse the locally folders and the remote folder will automatically follow the local folder.
Auto-Resume - when transfers are interrupted, there is no need to start from scratch, as CaptainFTP will continue from where the transfer stopped.
Auto-reconnect - save time by automatically reconnecting to servers when the connection is broken.
Multiple Connections - upload/download files to/from unlimited multiple hosts simultaneously
Email Alerts - email notification to the user/s that new files are available in the remote directory for download.
Address Book - don't waste time searching for FTP sites. Create customized profiles for all your favorite sites, consisting of local Network users, Public FTP entries, Private FTP entries, that can be shared between authorised users.
Tabbed Graphical Interface - greatly improved FTP session management, supporting multiple FTP connections, by opening new tabs for each new FTP session, and open as many as is needed in a single browser window.
Users can optionally nominate one window for local connections and opposite window for remote connections.
Users can bookmark favourite folders for each site.
Bonjour - added domain and IP address columns and filtering duplicate entries.
Browser Plugin
Finder Sidebar - Apple's Finder Sidebar has been added to the favorites menu with Tool Tips to help users quickly navigate to their favorite sites, or favorite folders on a server.
Quick Connect - get started quickly by connecting automatically to your favorite FTP site.
Customized Toolbar/Buttons - add your favorite sites in the address book toolbar, or select which options to display in the toolbar. The main function buttons can be customised by the user.
Select the your favourite actions available as buttons.
Easily move files between Captain FTP browsers windows or finder windows.
Simple Navigation tools - Quick Buttons, Toolbar, Drag&Drop with auto expanding folders (make life easier by simply dragging files between the browser windows to transfer files), and Context Menus.
Mac Native Help - with context access making sure help is never too far away when needed.
Help is available in Captain windows by clicking on the '?'
Audible notification - user is notified by Sound file, when transfer is completed successfully.
Metal Interface (cocoa) - provides CaptainFTP with smooth attractive appearance.
Tiger, Panther & Jaguar Ready
International Character/Font support - CaptainFTP is available in multiple languages and supports International character sets and fonts, for example English, German, French, Japanese and Chinese.
File Viewers - preview or verify file contents before or after transfer by using the built-in file viewers for movies, pictures, audio files, and PDF.
Remote file editing & Text Editors - easily edit remote documents using any editor of your choosing, including BBEdit, SubEthaEdit, Hydra, and many, many more.
Default Upload Permissions - users can now request Captain FTP to automatically sets the permissions of uploaded files by setting the "Default Upload Permissions"
Extended GetInfo - preview files, show file attributes like size, type, permissions. Lock/unlock files.
File privileges - modify the permissions for files, and folders locally or remotely before, during, or after the transfer, for one file or groups of files, and view the file attributes in the browser windows.
Security - transfer files safely by using encryption protocols for transfers such as SSL-FTP/SFTP.
Key Authentication - transfers with SFTP encrypted and authenticated by session key.
Securely store passwords and use with other applications.
Users can choose which entries to share with other users when the address book is shared.
Users may only access your Captain FTP if they use the required username/password.
Only users with IP addresses specified by the Captain FTP may access you Captain FTP files.
Charles W. Moore
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