Drag and drop Net files with FTP tool (InfoWorld)

November 24, 1997
Drag and drop Net files with FTP tool
The Internet provides a wealth of information for Windows users. But some of that information, stored on FTP sites, has been less than ideal for Windows users to download and upload.
The best way to make use of FTP sites in Windows 95 or Windows NT is with a tool such as Internet Neighborhood. This shareware program, available in a single-user registered version for $26.50 from Baltimore-based KnoWare, integrates itself into the Windows Explorer and makes file transfers intuitive.
Unlike other FTP programs, which use their own interfaces, Internet Neighborhood uses the Windows Explorer window as a built-in interface. FTP sites show up as folders underneath an Internet Neighborhood icon in your My Computer tree. Just as Microsoft's Network Neighborhood icon shows subfolders for any computers that reside on a network with your PC, Internet Neighborhood shows folders for FTP sites.
You can drag and drop files from an FTP site to your hard drive, and you can do the same to upload your files to an FTP site (if you have access rights). This process works exactly the same way as dragging any files in the Explorer. There's little or nothing to learn.
You can also use the Windows Clipboard to upload and download files. Just like files on your hard drive, files on an FTP site can be copied and pasted where you want them. For large files, Internet Neighborhood displays an estimate of the time it will take to complete the transfer, including the percentage completed and number of bytes transferred.
Internet Neighborhood includes an FTP Wizard to make it simple to add FTP sites. For example, if you wish to download files from ftp.netscape.com, specifying this site in the FTP Wizard immediately makes it available from within the Explorer window.
Internet Neighborhood works with firewalls, if your company has one. The FTP Wizard includes settings to access your company's type of firewall, to establish a connection to the firewall computer, and to run a User Without Login command.
Internet Neighborhood is available by downloading IN32.ZIP from http://www.knowareinc.com. In addition to single-user licenses, Internet Neighborhood also offers a 50-user license for $295 and an unlimited-user site license for $495. In case you happen to need to uninstall Internet Neighborhood, read the uninstall directions at http://www.knowareinc.com/uninstall.html.
Because Internet Neighborhood is a 32-bit shell extension to the Explorer, it is loaded into memory by Windows when needed. Using the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs feature to uninstall programs that are currently running may not work, so the company suggests a work-around. Uninstall Internet Neighborhood, if necessary, just after a warm boot, when the program hasn't yet been loaded.
Internet Neighborhood requires the latest version of three Microsoft support DLLs in your Windows\System folder: OLEAUT32.DLL, COMCTL32.DLL, and COMDLG32.DLL. If you do not have the updated versions of these files, they're available at http://www.knowareinc.com/software/msdlls.zip.

Multilink users, speak up
I'm planning a column on the use of the new multilink feature of Windows 95's Dial-Up Networking 1.2 and Windows NT 4.0's Remote Access Server module. Multilink combines multiple communication lines into a single communications session. This increases your bandwidth and therefore speed.
Your ISP must support multilink capabilities. In a recent Internet search, I found only one listing for an ISP supporting multilink: PowerNet Communications in Greenwood, S.C. (http://www.hspower.com/multilink.htm). Diamond Multimedia is preparing for a first quarter 1998 release a firmware upgrade to SupraExpress 56Kbps modems to support "Shotgun Technology." This is a built-in way to bond the data streams of two modems into a single multilink session -- even if one of the modems is not equipped for multilinking.
Send me your experiences, with "Multilink" as the subject of your e-mail message.

Brian Livingston is the co-author of several best-selling Windows books, including the most recent Windows 95 Secrets (IDG Books). Send comments to brian_livingston@infoworld.com. Unfortunately, he cannot answer individual questions.
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