Besides the basics, there’s three simple things I’d expect from an FTP client:

  1. Symetrically navigate in subfolders locally and remotely with single clicks;
  2. Upload files and overwrite the server side only if the local file is newer;
  3. Search the server for old files that no longer exist locally (with an option to ignore folders that contain user uploaded content).

I have never ever found a Windows tool doing all 3 ! :'(

  • CuteFTP 8 Pro does \#1 and that's about it (Its folder sync tools are basically a joke : it compares dates without comparing times!)
  • FileZilla 2.32 does \#2 but that's about it.
  • My old DreamWeaver MX does \#3 but is so painfully slow that it's barely bearable!

I’m so impatient to see FileZilla 3 as well as the new DreamWeaver CS3… but I fear I’m gonna be disappointed again… :-/

Maybe I should start to figure out how to run rsync on Windows right now… |-|

Comments from long ago:

Comment from: Danny

Seems like you’re describing what svn and cvs do best.

I use Transmit and I navigate with the keyboard. That works better for me than any type of mouse navigation.

2007-05-18 03-39

Comment from: François Planque

Using SVN/CVS for website updates is an interesting idea but don’t you think it’s quite overkill?

Hum… gotta think about it. Maybe it’m just too lazy to do the initial setup for all my sites…

In the meantime, DreamWeaver CS3 does a decent job for #2 and #3. They still haven’t implemented #1… Adobe devs are lazy too :P

2007-05-19 04-53

Comment from: Daniel

Did you try out SmartFTP? It should at least do #2 and #3.

You should also have a look on WS_FTP. It should do at least #2, I am not sure about #3 and I am not sure if their “Linked Folders” function fits your needs.

2007-08-11 21-46