How Do I Do File Transfers?

As a general transcriptionist, file transfers are something you will be doing on a consistent basis and you will absolutely need to know how to accomplish this task. You will more often be downloading audio files from your client or contracting company, then sending the finished transcript to your client by email or uploading the files to an FTP server.

In other cases, some companies require that you transfer files by way of uploading the final document to their site. No matter how you handle transferring files, you need to be familiar with FTP in order to know what you're doing.

What is FTP?

FTP is short for File Transfer Protocol, a secure way of transferring files over the Internet. You probably use FTP almost every day without even realizing it. Download an image, video or music file lately? That's FTP at work.

The computer that's dedicated to receive an FTP connection is the server or server site, also called the FTP server or FTP site. That's the site you're downloading the files from. The URL will look something like this: ftp://ftp.servername.com.

The computer connecting to the server-that's you-is the client. You can access an FTP site directly through browsers like Firefox or Chrome. When you go to access the server, a separate window many pop up asking you to log in.

If you're still using Internet Explorer version 6.xx, however, you will need to use an FTP client software program to access the server. FTP client software programs actually make transferring files relatively quick and easy.

Programs like Core FTP LE is a free program that's very easy to set up and very user friendly. I actually use this program myself and highly recommend it.

FileZilla is another highly recommended free client program to use. There are many out there so just download and try a few until you find one you like that will do the job for you.

You can also use web-based sites. Sites like YouSendIt.com and SendThisFile.com are two very widely used sites for transferring large files without the use of an FTP server site.

Many one-owner transcription companies use these sites for sending audio files to their outsourced transcriptionists and vice versa. Very convenient too! Just register once, then sign in, upload your files and click Send. You can go on to another project and let the website do the file transfers for you.

If you're connecting to an FTP server that doesn't require a username and password to access then you're connecting to a site with anonymous login. That's why most of the time when you're doing everyday types of file downloads, you don't even know that you're using FTP or even connecting to a server site.

Most of the clients or contracting companies that you'll be transferring files for, however, will maintain a secure FTP server and will provide you with the login information.

Here are the general steps for using FTP or other online services to do file transfers:

1. Your client will either upload their files to an FTP server that you maintain or they maintain, or they'll send them to you using an online service like SendThisFile.com or YouSendIt.com.
2. Once your client has completed the file upload, you'll either get an email from the FTP online service or from your client letting you know the files are ready to download.
3. If they’re on an FTP site, you should get a password from your client to access the FTP site.Note that some browsers or operating systems will only allow you to access the FTP site through an FTP client like Core FTP LE or FileZilla.
4. If the files were sent using an online service like YouSendIt.com, you will get an email from the service with the website link and download instructions and you can retrieve the files directly from the website.

Those are the basic steps for receiving your files, so you'll want to get familiar with FTP and methods of doing file transfers. Then when you land a client or get a response from a possible contracting company, you'll know what to do without having to ask!

 

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Additional Computer Skills:

While you're learning FTP or brushing up on other computer skills, don't forget to pick up some shortcut pointers with MS Word Tips. These shortcuts are a must to improve speed and proficiency.