CuteFTP Professional Feature Tour: Connection Options

Connection Options

Connection Wizard
Site Manager
Connection Choices
Proxy / Socks / Firewall
NAT UPnP
Smart Keep Alive
Multiple Connections
Session Logs
Work Offline
Connection Options

Connection Wizard
CuteFTP's Connection Wizard can guide you through setting up a new FTP connection using an intuitive step-by-step approach.

Connection Wizard Dialog

Once completed, CuteFTP will automatically connect to the new site and store it in your Site Manager (see below).

Site Manager
Store commonly accessed sites in the built-in address book, called a "Site Manager." The Site Manager allows you to set specific options on a per-site basis, and can export or import site data, including address books from 3rd party FTP clients or previous versions of CuteFTP.

Site Manager

You can optionally password protect your Site Manager with strong encryption to protect your site information (especially site passwords) from prying eyes. Also see access policies.
Connection Choices
CuteFTP offers various other connection choices for the power user. Use the Quick Connect bar to enter FTP connection information, use the Paste URL dialog to paste entire URLs from the clipboard, create a new site or launch an existing one directly from the main menu, or even have CuteFTP automatically reconnect to the last visited site on program startup.

The quick connect and paste URL bars accept URLs formatted in a variety of ways.

Quick Connect Bar


Proxy / Socks / Firewall
Whether on a home or corporate network, using a dialup service or gigabyte LAN connection, or protected by an overzealous gateway device, CuteFTP supplies you with a wealth of configuration options to ensure that you get connected.

Choose between Socks 4 & 5, HTTP, or FTP proxy connection options. Manually configure proxy or firewall connection settings or have CuteFTP automatically detect* Internet Explorer's proxy settings, including "proxy.pac" proxy script files.

Proxy Settings Page

* Only available for Windows XP SP1, W2K Pro SP3, W2K Server SP3, W2K Server 2003 using WinHTTP dll. If that fails, WinInet dll is queried, which is supported by XP, 2K PRO, NT4, ME, 98, and 95.

NAT UPnP
CuteFTP will attempt to use the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) NAT interface (available in Windows XP) to provide proper port-mapping when connecting securely from behind a NAT/firewall using PORT mode (rather than PASV, due to the remote host also being behind a NAT/firewall). Without UPnP, you would need to manually set the port range in the client and also enable and forward them in the NAT/firewall device.

UPnP Checkbox


Smart Keep Alive
Stay connected to sites that automatically disconnect you when no activity is detected over a certain period of time. Configure various commands to be sent at random intervals to simulate user activity.

CuteFTP's keep alive feature differs from it's competitors in that it offers completely customizable keep alive options, including: time to start sending commands, random time intervals between commands, a customizable commands list, and auto-reconnect and redial options.

Smart Keep Alive Settings Page


Multiple Connections
Connect, browse and navigate multiple sites at the same time. Most FTP clients force you to disconnect from a site when connecting to an alternate one. In CuteFTP Professional, each connection takes place in its own window. Connection windows can be tiled, cascaded or accessed by clicking on the corresponding tab.

Multiple Connections in Tabbed Panes


Session Logs
Connection and transfer logs can be displayed, captured to the Windows clipboard, and recorded to file. Determine where logs are saved, how often they're updated or deleted and more.  Now Smart Keep Alive commands are not recorded and timestamps are included by default, greatly improving usability.

Session Log Window


Work Offline
Browse previously visited sites while offline, speeding up navigation while saving bandwidth and network resources. This benefits users in cases where they are charged for time connected and in cases where the host site restricts access time.

Browsing a Session Offline



Connection Options
Set timeout, retry and delay values, connection limits, data connection port range, on connect events, and other connection related settings on a global or per-site basis

Connection Settings Page