Yellow Software's YFTP by TANKERx

This review has been twice updated to reflect the changes made from version to version. Changes to the original review (made 16/05/2002) are in green, and further changes (made 30/05/2002) are in red.

Introduction
I've been using a free FTP client to upload files and articles to this site. It was good, but I needed more flexibility, so I sniffed around to see what I could find.
And I chanced upon Yellow Software's YFTP. Unfortunately, I could't get my hands on a demo so I had to buy it before trying it.

Using YFTP
The first thing you see, when you start the application, is a list of your local files. This list can be navigated and does split when you connect to the remote (though you can remove the split and switch between full screen Local and Server displays, should you prefer).

Before connecting, you need to set up the name, server, username, password, port number, account and the default path. Some may say this is too much configuration, others will say it gives better control. You decide, but it is important to get the settings right, particularly if the server you ar connecting to automatically takes you to a specific folder, since YFTP can sometimes get confused.

Once connected, you can upload and download one file, many files or whole folders. You even get a measure of control over your remote files. You can move deeper into a folder structure, but moving up isn't as easy.

My Problems
The problems mention below have been resolved by Yellow, but I have kept the original critical comments for future reference. If you are using version 2.0 or below, these comments will apply, otherwise, if you have version 2.01 or above, be glad that Yellow have finally delivered the goods!

YFTP seems to get confused over which remote folder (or directory) you are in. I navigated to a folder public_html/mm, but would only upload to public_html. This is annoying, to say the least, however, changing the default path in the settings fixed this. Why doesn't YFTP know where it is?Who knows, but at least a bit fiddling with the settings does seem to improve matters.

If it does find the right folder on the remote server, it acts strangely on the upload. Too often have I tried to upload a file called reviews.htm and YFTP tries to find a folder called YFTP. If this happens, the application , but it does seem to me that the file is uploaded.

When you spend some pretty pennies on an application because you think that it will do a better job than the freeware version you have..... and it doesn't, it's reasonable to get frustrated. I contacted Yellow regarding these problem in version 1 and this review should reflect the fixes and improvements that have been made to the appliction. I now feel more confident in trusting YFTP to help me run this web site.

As stated above, Yellow software have fixed these problems and YFTP is now a far more robust application, and far less prone to crashing. I feel a little like I've been a beta tester, but that's Ok, at least I now feel that I've got what I paid for!.

No demo version is currently available (the version I am now using was cleverly and clearly registered via SMS, so this opens up the likelyhood of a demo version being made available), but you can find out more about how to purchase the product by visiting http://www.yellow.de/e_default.stm.

Score ***** (5/5)

For
Intuitive GUI
Easy access to various pre-defined servers
Finally does what it says on the box

Against
No demo version