Ftp

From Wikanual

Contents 1 FTP Gateway 2 how to upload data via ftp 3 general concept 4 actual implementation 5 folders 6 Timing 7 alternatives 8 meta data 8.1 _idx_done 8.2 _idx_title 8.3 _idx_isci 8.4 _idx_note 8.5 _idx_tags 8.6 _idx_credits 8.7 _idx_expiration 8.8 _idx_sortval 8.9 _idx_icon

FTP Gateway

ftp is a protocol to move files. Since there are plenty of programs and work flows that use ftp INTERDUBS has a way to accept data via ftp as well.

Aside from this application to upload content into the INTERDUBS system via FTP there we also offer plain vanilla ftp. This is traditionally FTP using the INTERDUBS systems.

how to upload data via ftp

The easiest way to upload data via FTP into INTERDUBS is to go to target folder in the INTERDUBS admin interface. You will find there create ftp folder function.

Start by clicking on the link saying click here to create it if the corresponding FTP folder does not exist already.

Once you have done so INTERDUBS will show you the specific ftp parameters that can be used to upload data that will end in this INTERDUBS folder.

general concept

INTERDUBS keeps it's data in a database. During an upload with a web browser it seems natural and intuitive that the meta data around the files gets built.

When using ftp this is slightly different: An integration loop scans the ftp folders of your segment and copies new files into the INTERDUBS segment, and then removes the source file. The meta data is being build similar to the defaults of the web browser upload. There is a slight delay -usually less than a minute- between the completion of the upload and the appearance of the file in INTERDUBS.

actual implementation

INTERDUBS ftp uses so called anonymous ftp. The user for this can be either ftp or anonymous. In order to keep peoples data protected from each other the actual folder names that are used for each segment are invsible. They are the name of the segment followed by an _ and a long number. In order to access your folder you have to log in via:

server: ftp.interdubs.com
user: ftp
password: your email address - or anything you like

Then you would see a directory called interdubs. Navigating into will not be that helpful: it appears to be empty. You need to obtain the folder name for your Interdubs segment. Go to utils and select ftp access parameters to retrieve the directory name for your segment. Please do not share this information with people that should not have access to your admin interface either. Files that get copied into Interdubs can remain in the ftp directory for a little while. And they could be downloaded from there, if the directory name gets out.

folders

In an INTERDUBS folder you find the create ftp folder function that allows you to see if a corresponding folder exists in the ftp path. If not then you can create it on the ftp side with a simple click of a button.

The folders that you create in your initial folder will also be created in the INTERDUBS structure for you. The ftp segment will have a folder called ftp_inbox already created. The moment you upload a file into it, INTERDUBS will create a folder with the same in its own structur. Feel free to remove this folder in INTERDUBS once you move the content to it's finaly destination. INTERDUBS will recreate it when it is needed again.

folders in the ftp side will be removed 48 hours after they have been used last.

Timing

After a file has not been modified for 60 seconds INTERDUBS will process it. Depending on the size of the of file this might take a little while. The 60 second time out value can be reconfigured on a per segment basis. Please get in touch if this needs to be changed for your company. Also have a look at the _idx_done_ flag above.

alternatives

A droplet might be a viable alternative to the ftp gateway.

You can also upload via the python API

meta data

INTERDUBS will use the file name like it does during a browser upload. You can also add meta data via specially named files. All these files start with _idx_. It is therefor not possible to upload a file with this name. See Meta data for a complete list.

With the exception of _idx_done_ upload the _idx_ files before the actual file into the same directory. Then upload the file itself. Once processed INTERDUBS will remove the file and all _idx_ meta data files it was able to process from the directory.

_idx_done

INTERDUBS waits for one minute before it considers an upload to be done. This can be configured for different segments different. Please get in touch if we should do so for your company.

You can however also let the system know that the file is uploaded. If you are done uploading the file FILENAME then simply upload an empty file to _idx_done_FILENAME. INTERDUBS will integrate the file no matter how long ago the file got uploaded.

_idx_title

If you upload a file called _idx_title_FILENAME before you upload the file FILENAME then INTERDUBS will use the contents of this file as the title in the database.

_idx_isci

If you upload a file called _idx_isci_FILENAME before you upload the file FILENAME then INTERDUBS will use the contents of this file as for the isci / AdID field in the database.

_idx_note

If you upload a file called _idx_note_FILENAME before you upload the file FILENAME then INTERDUBS will use the contents of this file as the note of the file.

_idx_tags

If you upload a file called _idx_tags_FILENAME before you upload the file FILENAME then INTERDUBS will use the contents of this file as tags for the uploaded file. Each line will be treated as one tag.

_idx_credits

If you upload a file called _idx_credits_FILENAME before you upload the file FILENAME then INTERDUBS will use the contents of this file as credits for the uploaded file. Each line will be treated as one credit. The format for credits is:

credit-role: person

"person" can be also a company etc.

_idx_expiration

If you upload a file called _idx_expiration_FILENAME before you upload the file FILENAME then INTERDUBS will set the expiration of the file to the time specified in the file. The time gets specified via the epoch time. Which is a large number that counts the seconds since January 1st 1970.

_idx_sortval

An arbitrary order of files in a folder in INTERDUBS in being controlled via a sortval number. If you update a file called _idx_sortval_FILENAME before you upload the file FILENAME then INTERDUBS will use the number contained in this file as the sort value.

_idx_icon

A jpg or png file uploaded to the _idx_icon location will be used as the thumbnail file for movies. If you uploaded file is:

example.mov

then upload

_idx_icon_example.mov.jpg

if the icon file is a jpg file or

_idx_icon_example.mov.png

respectively. Other image file types will not work. Currently this functionality does not exist if the actual file is a PDF or image file. Only clips can receive an image file like this.