Uploads and downloads data from an FTP server. The transformer allows uploads from attribute values or from a file. Remote files may be downloaded into a local file, or into a feature attribute. The transformer also supports deleting remote files.
The transformer supports the ftp, ftps and sftp protocols. When using the sftp protocol, username and password authentication must be used, as SSH key authentication is not supported.
Output Ports
Output
Features which have been successfully processed will be output through this output port.
<Rejected>
If an FTP operation fails for any reason, the feature will be output through this output port. An error message will be placed in the attribute named in the Error Attribute parameter.
Parameters
Transfer Parameters
URL
This parameter is used to specify a remote file on the FTP server.
Transfer Type
The Transfer Type parameter indicates the type of FTP operation the transformer will execute. The set of possible operations is:
- Download to an Attribute: The remote file specified in the URL parameter will be downloaded into the attribute specified in the Target Attribute parameter. The attribute will be tagged with the encoding named in the Attribute Encoding parameter – no actual encoding conversion will be performed.
- Download to a File: The remote file specified in the URL parameter will be downloaded to the local file named in the Target File parameter. If the local file already exists, it will be overwritten with the contents of the remote file.
- Upload from an Attribute: The data given in the Upload Data parameter will be uploaded to the remote file specified in the URL parameter.
- Upload from a File: The local file named in the File to Upload parameter will be uploaded to the remote file specified in the URL parameter. If the local file does not exist, the feature will be output through the <Rejected> output port.
- Delete a Remote File: The remote file specified in the URL parameter will be deleted from the FTP server.
Connection Parameters
Username/Password
These values are used to identify the user when connecting to an FTP server which requires user authentication.
Transfer Mode
An FTP upload or download can be performed in binary mode or ASCII mode. When using ASCII mode, the FTP server may perform some text conversions. For example, to convert UNIX line terminators into Windows line terminators, or vice-versa. When using binary mode, all data will be transferred without any modifications. By default, binary mode is used, which should be acceptable in almost all situations.
Error Attribute
Features output though the <Rejected> output port will have an error message in the attribute named by this parameter.
Secure FTP Parameters
Verify SSL Certificates
If this parameter is set to Yes, the transformer will verify SSL certificates when connecting to an FTPS server. This is done in two stages:
- Ensure that the certificate is for the host we are trying to connect to.
- Ensure that the certificate is valid.
Editing Transformer Parameters
Using a set of menu options, transformer parameters can be assigned by referencing other elements in the workspace. More advanced functions, such as an advanced editor and an arithmetic editor, are also available in some transformers. To access a menu of these options, click 
beside the applicable parameter. For more information, see Transformer Parameter Menu Options.
Transformer Categories
FME Licensing Level
FME Professional edition and above
Search FME Knowledge Center
Search for samples and information about this transformer on the FME Knowledge Center.