For FTP, I love FileZilla. After using WS_FTP for years, and then trying alternatives like SmartFTP and even FireFTP, the simplicity and straight-up speed of FileZilla (FZ) really makes things seem easy and clean. Then I discovered 'synchronized browsing' and knew I had a winner.
However, one thing that has eluded me (until today) was how to get FZ to start up with less clicks. I have just a few FTP accounts that I use most of the time, and even though it is still pretty quick, I've been thinking I could cut down the amount of time to 1) click FZ shortcut , 2) click on site manager and then the connection I want (or, the dropdown for saved sites, and the one I want from there).
The answer is so simple, I feel silly not doing this sooner. Using the info found here: http://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Command-line_arguments , I was able to easily tell FZ to start up with the 'site manager' open. Here's how (in Windows):
1) right click on the FZ shortcut on your desktop, task bar, whatever, and select 'properties'
2) edit the url shown in the "Target" box by simply adding "-s" after the quoted url (after the closing quote)
So:
"C:\Program Files\FileZilla FTP Client\filezilla.exe"
Becomes:
"C:\Program Files\FileZilla FTP Client\filezilla.exe" -s
3) Click "OK". That's it.
Now when you click your shortcut, FZ will open with the Site Manager displayed and your connection is just one click away.
To go one step further, and create a shortcut to a specific FTP connection (i.e. open up FZ and connect to this site with one click) the answer is a tad longer but just as simple:
1) right click on the FZ shortcut on your desktop, task bar, whatever, and select 'properties'
2) edit the url shown in the "Target" box by simply adding "-c/" , then a 1 if FZ-default connection or a 0 if user-defined, and the sitename, in quotes, after the quoted URL
So:
"C:\Program Files\FileZilla FTP Client\filezilla.exe"
Becomes:
"C:\Program Files\FileZilla FTP Client\filezilla.exe" -c "0/myftpsite"
where 'myftpsite' is the name of your site connection in FZ (see the wiki link above, if you put your sites in folders within the Site Manager the path will be a bit longer)
3) Click "OK". Test your shortcut.
I actually replaced my single taskbar FZ icon with two shortcuts - one for the site manager open, and another for the FTP site I use most of the time.
This will save me countless clicks over the coming months! The only thing that could make this better is a 'hot drop' feature like WS_FTP, where you can drag files onto a desktop icon and have them uploaded automatically... hmm.....
