Automatic FTP drop folder

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Level 1

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Automatic FTP drop folder

Want to configure a folder which which will take any file dropped into it and...
(1) FTP the file to a server
(2) Move the file to a 'sent items' folder
Using automator I can set a folder action to do (1) using the "+Upload to FTP+" action or I can do (2) using the "+Move Finder Items+" action. But when I try to put both in one workflow only the FTP runs. It seems like a fairly common requirement, has anyone got a way of doing this?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on May 21, 2010 4:22 AM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,318 points

May 21, 2010 5:39 AM in response to Dontzp

I don't have an Upload to FTP action, so I can only guess that the Upload action doesn't pass the file out of its action, so the move does not get the file to move. Try reversing the order of the actions, Move the file, and then upload.

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Answer 2

Dontzp Author

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May 21, 2010 5:48 AM in response to Barney-15E

Reason you don't have "FTP Upload" is it's an add-on action you can download if you want to use it. If I move the files out of the source directory first, the FTP action won't find much there to upload.

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Answer 3

Dontzp Author

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May 21, 2010 5:52 AM in response to Dontzp

Appears the list of objects goes into "FTP upload" but doesn't come out at the end. After doing the upload need to:
1) Select the upload folder
2) Get the contents of the folder
3) Move the contents

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,318 points

May 21, 2010 9:16 PM in response to Dontzp

I think you misunderstand how a workflow processes items. Unless an action specifically stops the flow, the items continue through the workflow. You can also stop the flow by right-clicking on an action header and tell it to Ignore Input.
The Move Action still passes the original files (which have been moved) to the next action, regardless of the fact that it moved them.

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