Connectivity Software
SFTP Walk-Through
Getting started
SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) allows you to transfer files between your computer and Unix servers. This service provides an easy method for backing up important files or storing a document so you can download it later from a different machine.
Get started by double-clicking the WinSCP icon on your desktop.
Connecting to a server
There are two ways of connecting to a server: through an existing profile or by making a new connection. If you use an existing profile, the program will automatically negotiate the connection, prompting you only for your password. If you don't have a profile for a particular server, just click New and enter the server name and the name of the account you want to log into. (Other fields can be left at their defaults.) Click Save to save this session as a new profile, or Login if you want to log in without saving a session profile.
For your convenience, we've included a shortcut to harper which can be accessed by double-clicking on "harper.uchicago.edu" in the right-hand pane of the WinSCP Login screen when WinSCP first starts.
Moving files
To move files from your local machine to the server, just drag files from one side of the screen to the other. The left hand side of the screen is your system, the right the server. The rest of the commands are similar to using Windows Explorer: hitting the delete key deletes files (although for safety reasons you can't delete full directories); double-clicking folders opens them up; right clicking opens a context menu with a number of additional options.
Customizing SFTP
SFTP has an easily customizable interface. Every time you connect to a new server, you can add it as a new profile. Advanced profile settings can be set by clicking on the options in the left-hand pane of the WinSCP Login window; you can change settings for a specific profile (and not others) by clicking once on the profile name, clicking Load, making any necessary changes, and clicking Save. Generally speaking, however, you shouldn't need to modify any of these settings.
Back to SFTP Documentation.
Last updated: 9/17/08