On this page we explain step by step with screenshots how to configure the program FileZilla to access our data server and download your spectra. FileZilla is an FTP client with a graphical interface, and is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

These instructions are intended for users who are not familiar with FileZilla configuration. If you are a regular user of the program you can try using the short setup instructions on the How to recover your data page.

First of all you will have to download the most current version for your operating system (Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux) and install it according to the instructions available on the program website.

As of February 2024, the most current version is 3.66.4, but since new versions come out quite often, you'll likely find a newer version to download and install.

It is highly recommended that you keep the program updated for security reasons. When the program detects that there is a new version, it will offer you to download and install it. We recommend that you update it before continuing with the download of your data. The update is a quick process, it does not affect your current settings, and once completed, the program will open and let you continue connecting and downloading data.

Once the FileZilla Client has been installed, before you can connect, you must

• check the general configuration of the program; and
• in the “Site Manager” you will have to create an account for our data server, where you will have to configure the connection parameters according to the instructions below.

To open the settings window for the program's general configuration options, click Edit → Settings

In Connection → FTP select the transfer mode Passive, which is the one used by our server,

and in Connection → FTP → Passive mode select the option Use the server's external IP address instead to avoid problems with our firewall,

In Transfers → File Types select Binary as default transfer type,

anduncheck the options Treat files without extension… and Treat dotfiles as….

Finally, in Language choose the interface language you prefer,

and press the OK button to save your changes and exit the Settings window.

In order not to have to enter the connection parameters every time you want to connect to our server, it is highly recommended to create an account for our server in the Site Manager (Site Manager) of the FileZilla Client, and configure and save connection settings in this account.

To access the Site Manager you can do it through the menu File → Site Manager (or directly with the keyboard shortcut ControlS),

or by pressing the leftmost button in the button bar,

In the Site Manager window,

press the New Site button to create a new site. A new node with the temporary name New site will appear in the My Sites tree

which you can ername to something more informative such as SeRMN-UAB data server

In the General tab enter the following values:

• Host: sermn.uab.cat
• Port: 990 (cannot be left blank)
• Protocol: FTP - File Transfer Protocol
• Encryption: Require explicit FTP over TLS

and define the account type and access credentials. If this is a computer for exclusive use by members of the research group or your personal computer, set it up with

• Logon Type: Normal
• User: the username of your group (ask your group leader or a senior member)
• Password: the password of your group (ask your Group Leader or a senior member for it)

If the computer is shared with other groups or people, set the Logon Type to Interactive so that FileZilla prompts for the username and password every time someone wants to connect. This will help to keep protected your data and the data of other members of your research group.

The default values in the Advanced, Transfer Settings and Charset tabs are already correct, and you don't need to change anything, but if you want, in the Transfer Settings tab you can set the Transfer mode to Passive

Press the Ok button to save the settings and exit the Site Manager window.

Now that you have the program set up, you can try to connect and transfer data following the instructions described in the general information page.