I love saving money, and better yet, I love getting something great for free. Why pay for a dedicated FTP client when the Firefox add-on, FireFTP gives you the power of a built-in top-notch FTP client within your browser. This nifty extension turns Firefox into a full-fledged FTP tool, so you can transfer files back and forth without leaving your browser.

While FireFTP offers all the expected features you’d expect from an expensive FTP client, it gives you the looks and feel of a simply a dual-pane file manager. It can handle multiple accounts and remember the different login and passwords, and their separate connection settings for each account. The Firefox add-on works across different platforms letting users import and export FTP account settings, and supports directory comparisons for synchronization, time-stamp syncing, and auto-reconnect. And just in case if any of this makes sense to you…It supports authenticated TSL, authenticated SSL, and implicit SSL for secure transfers, drag and drop, and CHMOD changes.

Newbie Tips:

With your blog you will want to upload, documents, pictures, video and other files to your server for your posts. Also, you will want to backup and upgrade your blog software. To do this you will need to use a FTP program. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the simplest and most secure way to exchange files over the Internet. Whether you know it or not, you most likely use FTP all the time. For example FTP is the backbone of the MP3 music craze, and vital to most online auction and game enthusiasts.

Setting up the FireFTP program is as easy as using it. To get started, download and install FireFTP The installation is the same as any other Firefox add-on (plugin) and will require that you restart Firefox. It’s accessible either from Tools in the menu bar or you can add a FireFTP icon to the toolbar via customization options. You can also set the program to open in a new window or in a new tab, and it will run conflict-free with other major Firefox extensions such as FoxyTunes, Speed Dial, or AdBlock Plus.

FireFTP looks and acts a lot like a dual-pane file manager. Its left pane displays the contents of the local hard disk, while the right one shows the directories and files on the current FTP server. The address bar at the top of both panes allows you to jump to a particular directory without clicking through the directories. It also remembers visited locations, so you can quickly navigate to any previous directory by choosing it from the drop-down list. To transfer files between your local machine and an FTP server, you can drag and drop them between panes, or you can use the Arrow button.

FireFTP features a handy account manager, which allows you to set up multiple FTP accounts, or quickly connect to an FTP server without saving any account settings. To do the latter, press the Manage Accounts button and choose Quick Connect. In most cases, however, you probably want to create a permanent FTP account for often-visited servers. To add a new account, choose Manage Accounts -> New and fill out the required fields under the Main tab. Using the import/export feature in the account manager (Manage Accounts -> Import/Export), you can easily transfer your existing FTP accounts to another computer or store them safely as a backup.

Besides the standard features, FireFTP also offers a few more advanced tools. For example, the Directory Diff command allows you to compare the current local and remote directories. Although it doesn’t check the files for modifications, it can be useful for keeping the directories in sync. Other tabs allow you to tweak an account’s default settings. For example, you can specify the initial local and remote directories under the Options tab, so when you connect to the FTP server, FireFTP automatically opens the specified directories. Although the extension sports the Compare Directories feature, it can’t sync modified files (different files with the same name).

While FireFTP may not be as powerful as a dedicated FTP client, it does offer all the features you’ll need 99% of the time. With its ability to transfer files via FTP directly from within Firefox makes it a compelling choice for most users.

Most surprisingly, it didn’t cause any system sluggishness or freezes. There are, however, a few drawbacks. Windows Vista support has been spotty, and because of Firefox limitations, the app can’t transfer files larger than 4GB, nor can it access network folders. Proxy support works for some, but not others. Despite these problems, the plug-in is stable, easy to use, and provided enough with advanced features to make it worth using. Here is another great reason why Firefox is a Bloggers best friend.

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