Problem: It is necessary to copy (upload) file or files to a server.

Solutions:

• Use FTP
• Use SCP
• Copy via SSH
• File manager in hosting control panel

Use FTP

You need FTP client to connect to FTP-server. There are many FTP-clients, they have different interfaces, additional abilities and licenses.

Attention! It is dangerous to save passwords in FTP-client which saves them opened. If your computer will be infected, the passwords can be stolen and sites – hacked. Use software that encrypts passwords and/or use antivirus.

You need the following data to connect to FTP-server:

• IP-address or FTP server domain name
• Username
• Password
• Port (it is necessary to enter port if it is non-standard, i.e. differs from 21)

Use SCP

scp command allows copying of files through SSH-connection. You can use scp command:

• for copying from a remote server to a local PC,
  

  $ scp user@server-name:/path/to/folder/on/server/ .

  Attention! point at the end means that files will be sopied to current local folder.

• for copying from a local PC to a remote server,
  

  $ scp file user@server-name:/path/to/folder/on/server/

  Copying of all subfolders:

  $ scp –r local-folder user@server-name:/path/to/folder/on/server/

  Uploading of a few files and folders:

  $ scp -r folder1/* folder2 folder3/*php user@server-name:/path/to/folder/on/server/

• For copying from one remote server to other remote server. In this case data are passed directly between servers.
  

  $ scp user1@server-name1:/path/to/folder/on/server1 user2@server-name2:/path/to/folder/on/server2

Copying through SSH

Upload local archive to “path-on-server” folder on “server-name” server:

$ cat ./drupal.tar.gz | ssh user@server-name -pport “cat > /path-on-server/drupal.tar.gz”

Compress fo;es and upload them to server:

$ tar czf – /local-path/copied-files| ssh user@server-name “cat > /pah-on-server/data.tgz”

File manager in hosting control panel

If there is one file, or file is small or there are a few files, and you don’t satisfied with previous solutions, you can user file manager. Usually hosting control panel has it. When creating a web-interface file, a file is created  in the name of web-server and web-server is is their owner. This means that you can meet problems deleting these files (but they can be renamed/moved).

Different hostings use different software so there would be different file managers.

The main principle of this method is the following:

1. Open hosting control panel in your browser (hosters should give you this address)
2. Login to panel.
3. Open file manager.
4. Navigate to required folder.
5. Create a file with required name.
6. Open local files that contains content you wish to put on a server.
7. Copy content from local file to clipboard.
8. Open the created file on server.
9. Paste data from clipboard.
10. Save file changes on server.
11. Verify.

Pay attention to encoding!

Copy by means of Drupal

If Drupal is installed, Upload module is enabled and you have permissions to attach files to articles, you can upload a file using a form of files attaching when node creating. The file will be located in a folder set on “File system” page (admin/settings/file-system).
Then you can move it via SSH or with the help of FTP-client.