Aug 31

Written by: Jeff Smith
8/31/2007 

It’s no secret that I am a die hard Toad^® fanatic. There are many reasons for this, but the one I want to talk about today is one of Toad’s best kept secrets: a commercial-grade FTP client built right into Toad!

  Older versions of Toad can find ‘FTP’ under the ‘File’ menu.

Yes, Toad DOES have its very own fully-functional FTP client. It’s included in the base version of Toad and has been around for a very long time, so there’s a good chance you have access to it. To get all of the cool features I’m going to talk about today, make sure you go get version 9.1 or join the beta program and get version 9.5.

One of my Top 10 Tips’n’Tricks for Toad is to make sure you try to solve your current challenge or problem WITH Toad before you jump into another program. The Toad Development Team has been helping users solve problems for over 10 years now, so there’s a good chance if you need to do something with Toad, someone else has already asked for it and had it put into Toad. 

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) allows a person to send or receive files to and from a server. Developers, DBAs, and analysts frequently need to share Oracle DMP files, SQL*Plus scripts, spreadsheets, and other files. When these files get too big for email and a shared network drive isn’t available, FTP is usually the answer. I frequently use FTP to make updates to Quest’s different community sites like Toadsoft. I NEVER have to leave Toad to do this. While there are many commercial (for pay) FTP clients out there, I would put Toad’s version against any of them.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. Connection history recall.
Automatically connect with one click.

2. Reconnect & ‘Keep Alive’
If you lose your connection, 1 button press to reconnect. Or, configure Toad to refresh the folder listing every X seconds to keep your connection alive.

3. Support for Secure FTP/SSH
Many sites have locked down access to the FTP server for security reasons. If this is the case for you, you can still probably connect with the Secure FTP feature. You can specify your Private Key File for each connection and keep on rolling!

4. Specify a default local and remote directory for each connection!
This is a HUGE timesaver for me. No more traversing endless directory trees. After the connection is made, Toad will automatically switch directories for your local and remote environments.

5. Execute commands against the server.
Need to change the file permissions for your UNIX file? Or rename the file? Or even execute the file? No worries, Toad CAN DO THAT.


Right-Mouse-Click on the Server files to access this feature.

6. Recursive Directory Copy/Delete
The Holy Grail of FTP features. I can select a parent directory and download it AND all of its subfolders with a single click! Many commercial FTP-only programs do not have this feature!

7. Integration with Toad’s other best-of-breed features.
It is one thing to have a FTP feature. It is another to actually use it to make your other features more powerful. Toad hooks up the FTP functionality with the Project Manager and the Action Palette to make things even easier for you. 

That pretty much sums it up for why I like FTP in Toad. It’s one less program shortcut on my desktop, one less program to ALT-TAB through, one less program to keep updated J

If you like Toad’s FTP, then I recommend you check out the REXEC and TELNET features as well.