FTP Using Finder "Connect to Server" Doesn't Work

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Level 1

105 points

FTP Using Finder "Connect to Server" Doesn't Work

I am trying to access over the internet a remote FTP server using Connect to Server in the Go menu but I get a window that says "..invalid username or password." But I can access it ok using the application Fetch. I am wirelessly connected to a Time Capsule.

Is there something I need to select in System Preferences or elsewhere? Any suggestions?

iMac 2007 Intel Aluminum Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.7), PowerBook G4 TI Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 26, 2011 6:38 AM

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Answer 1

ajduguid

Level 3

650 points

Mar 26, 2011 7:30 AM in response to i2

Connecting to a FTP account via Finder will only allow read-only access. If you need write access you may as well stop worrying about it now. If it's just read access then hopefully somebody else can help.

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Answer 2

i2 Author

Level 1

105 points

Mar 26, 2011 9:19 AM in response to ajduguid

Yes I need read-only access. A little more explanation... I entered the numeric host Server Address in the Connect to Server window as "http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx" where x is the numeric address. When the next window comes up it says "error connecting to server "xxx.xxx.xxx.xx. Check the Name or IP address and try again. Maybe I'm not doing this correctly. Could this be a firewall issue? But I have no trouble connecting with Fetch.

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Answer 3

Mar 26, 2011 9:28 AM in response to i2

i2 wrote:
Yes I need read-only access. A little more explanation... I entered the numeric host Server Address in the Connect to Server window as " http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx " where x is the numeric address. When the next window comes up it says "error connecting to server "xxx.xxx.xxx.xx. Check the Name or IP address and try again. Maybe I'm not doing this correctly. Could this be a firewall issue? But I have no trouble connecting with Fetch.

You said you are trying to connect to a FTP server, not a HTTP server. Maybe the FTP server expects a connection to FTP://xxx... not HTTP://xxx...

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Answer 4

i2 Author

Level 1

105 points

Mar 26, 2011 10:08 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

BobTheFisherman wrote:

You said you are trying to connect to a FTP server, not a HTTP server. Maybe the FTP server expects a connection to FTP://xxx... not HTTP://xxx...

I tried ftp://xxx..., but the next window says to enter name and password for server "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx%Aftp". The "%Aftp" looks like it is looking for an Apple server. I think according to Finder Help that way of entering the address may be for a local network. So why does Fetch work by using FTP? Although with Fetch, you don't specifically enter the ftp:// but use a pull-down menu to select FTP after entering the numeric address.

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Answer 5

ajduguid

Level 3

650 points

Mar 26, 2011 10:56 AM in response to i2

I just tried connecting to a FTP server and it successfully worked. All I had in the Connect to Server was ftp://url_here and then it asked for a username and password. If you use ftp://username@url_here then it will fill in the username instead of defaulting to your OS X username.

You definitely need to use ftp:// in the Connect to Server part though as that's how Finder determines what protocol you are using smb:// and afp:// are the other two common ones.

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Answer 6

Mar 26, 2011 11:20 AM in response to i2

i2 wrote:

BobTheFisherman wrote:

You said you are trying to connect to a FTP server, not a HTTP server. Maybe the FTP server expects a connection to FTP://xxx... not HTTP://xxx...

I tried ftp://xxx..., but the next window says to enter name and password for server "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx%Aftp". The "%Aftp" looks like it is looking for an Apple server. I think according to Finder Help that way of entering the address may be for a local network. So why does Fetch work by using FTP? Although with Fetch, you don't specifically enter the ftp:// but use a pull-down menu to select FTP after entering the numeric address.

Something must be wrong with the FTP server or you are not putting in the correct address. I just tested it here using this format ftp://ftp.myservername.com
where ftp.myservername.com is the name of my server. I won't post the real name here. It worked as it should.

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Answer 7

i2 Author

Level 1

105 points

Mar 26, 2011 12:51 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

The User name and Password must be Ok since it works with Fetch. But maybe the way I am putting in the numerical FTP IP address isn't correct for the Connect to Server window.

Here is the ftp IP address I have:

ftp://216.154.248.26

That's the way I put it in.

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Answer 8

i2 Author

Level 1

105 points

Mar 27, 2011 9:00 AM in response to i2

I think I have a clue to what is going on with the Finder Connect to Server FTP. As I said in a previous post, after entering the numeric FTP address as ftp://216.154.248.26, the Username and Password window said "Enter your name and password for the server '216.154.248.26%0A0ftp.' " I suspected the characters added at the end of the address wasn't right but they showed up every time I tried connecting. As a stab in the dark I logged onto the FTP site using Fetch and copied the address ftp://... and then pasted it into the Connect to Server window. When the login window came up, the extra characters weren't there and I was able to login and bring up the FTP site. So apparently the extra characters were somehow stuck in the Connect to Server text box which prevented logging in. Now I can reenter the address and it connects without the extra characters. Weird!

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