Question: How do I set up a file-transfer program on a Mac?
Answer:
Setting up a file-transfer program is the most involved part of the setup for upload grades. If the steps are more than you want to do yourself, contact Neil Cuadra for help with the setup on your computer. To contact Neil Cuadra go to the main page and see the box on the top right.
These are the instructions for Mactinosh computers. If you have a Windows PC go to the separate instructions for a Windows PC.
Programs that upload files to a website are called FTP programs. FTP stands for "file transfer protocol." There are many FTP programs, some for modest prices and some for free. File transer is also a feature of some web design programs, such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Apple iWeb.
You can use any FTP program you like to uploads grades from your computer's hard disk to your grades web page. However, these instructions are for one specific free FTP program, named Cyberduck, which we recommend. If you already have an FTP program and prefer to use it, set it up using the information in Part 2 Step 6 below. Otherwise, following these step-by-step instructions.
Part 1: Get Cyberduck and install it
| Step | Instructions | Example or Picture | Notes | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | Determine your version of Mac OS X by choosing About this Mac from the "Apple" menu at the top left of your screen. |   |
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| 2 | Use this chart to determine which version of the Cyberduck program you should use:
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| 3 | Go to cyberduck.ch, the website of the program named Cyberduck. |  |
Cyberduck is free and works for both Windows PCs and Macs. If you end up using it a lot you can consider making a small voluntary donation to the project. | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Click the changelog link to go to the page with older versions of Cyberduck. |  |
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| 5 | Scroll down the page and click the Download or Download (Mac) link in the left column for the version you need. |  |
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| 6 | Find the downloaded file on your computer, whose name starts with Cyberduck. It's typically the Downloads folder. If it's a zip file, double-click it to extract file Cyberduck or file Cyberduck.app or file Cyberduck-n-n-n.dmg (where n-n-n is the version number). |
When installation is complete you can delete the downloaded file. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | If the file is named Cyberduck or Cyberduck.app, skip to Step 8. If the file is named Cyberduck-n-n-n.dmg, double-click it to reveal a folder containing file Cyberduck or Cyberduck.app along with other files. |
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| 8 | Drag file Cyberduck or Cyberduck.app into your Applications folder. If you get a message saying you need to be an administrator to do this, drag the file to your desktop instead. Then, when further instructions tell you to launch Cyberduck from the Applications folder, launch it from the desktop instead. |
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If you can't move it into your Applications folder you can ask an administrator to do it for you. After this step you can delete the download files, e.g., Cyberduck-n.n.n.zip or Cyberduck-n.n.n.dmg. |
Part 2: Set up Cyberduck
In this step you'll tell Cyberduck information about your grades web page.
| Step | Instructions | Example or Picture | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Launch the Cyberduck program by double-clicking it in your Applications folder (or on your desktop). |  |
If you plan to upload grades often you can put an alias of your Cyberduck application in your dock, on your desktop, in your Finder sidebar, or anywhere else that's convenient. |
| 2 | If you get an offer to update to a new version, decline by clicking Skip This Version. You already have a version known to work. |  |
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| 3 | Choose menu choice Cyberduck -> Preferences. |  |
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| 4 | Fill in the settings in the General tab as shown. In particular, check Use Keychain. Don't worry if you don't see the Default login name: text box. |
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Some versions of Easy Grade Pro don't have the Default login name textbox. |
| 5 | Switch to the Transfers preferences tab and set Existing files: to Overwrite in the Uploads section. Then close the Preferences window. |
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| 6 | Choose menu choice Bookmark -> New Bookmark. |  |
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| 7 | Fill in the Nickname, Server, and Username fields. Nickname: Grades Web Page Server: ftp.palms.palmsmiddleschool.org Username: illll@palms.palmsmiddleschool.org, where illll is your first initial and your last name, e.g., spull@palms.palmsmiddleschool.org for Mr. Sam Pull. You can leave all other settings as they are. |
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Notice that you have to type palms.palmsmiddleschool.org, not just palmsmiddleschool.org. There's a technical reason for the extra "palms" part, but you don't want to know! |
| 8 | Click the "close" button at the top left to close the new bookmark window. |
Part 3: Test Cyberduck
| Step | Instructions | Example or Picture | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Test the bookmark. In Cyberduck choose menu choice Bookmark -> Grades Web Page. |  |
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| 2 | Fill in your grades website password but don't click the button yet. Decide whether or not you want Cyberduck to remember your password and fill it in automatically for you from now on. The advantage is that you won't have to type it each time you upload grades. The disadvantage is that anybody else who has access to your computer will also have access to your grades web page. If you want Cyberduck to remember your password, check the Add to Keychain checkbox. Otherwise, leave it unchecked. |
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Forgot your password? See the How do I get a grades web page and a password? section. |
| 3 | Click the Login button. If you see this message, check the Don't show again checkbox and click Continue. |
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See security note below. |
| 4 | If all goes well you should be connected to your grades web page and see a window like this. It's a list of files on your grades web page, which is empty since you didn't upload any grades yet! |  |
If you don't get this display or you see an error message, write down the message and contact Neil Cuadra. |
| 5 | Choose menu choice Cyberduck -> Quit Cyberduck. If you get a Thank you for using Cyberduck message you can check the checkbox to avoid getting the message in the future. Cyberduck is ready for use. |
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Security Note: The "Unsecured FTP connection" message appears because FTP file transfer doesn't use a secure protocol. In theory, a hacker could monitor the connection between your computer and the grades website and see the files being uploaded. Luckily, that's very unlikely. In any case, we don't have a better choice because the type of service we're using for grade hosting doesn't support secure file transfer protocols.
Part 4: Test if you can create and upload grades
Make your first trial run of uploading grades by following the instructions in the How do I update my grades web page on a Mac? page.