FTP: directory does not exist

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rfajman

FTP: directory does not exist

Post by rfajman »

After a long interval, I'm trying to use FTP directory comparison again. I keep getting a message saying that the directory does not exist. I've enabled the FTP directory plugin and enabled plugins for directory comparisons. My URL is:

ftp://roger@fajman.org:password@ssarpc.org:21

Is the problem that the userid contains @? I don't recall a special way to enter that. The same question would arise if the password contained @ (it does not in this case). The password does contain other special characters and is 20 characters long. The site requires passive FTP.

The FTP plugins are not very clearly explained. In the feature description, it sounds like the plugin has to be defined by the user. If you are aren't familiar with Exam Diff Pro plugins, the description is not very clear. An example would be a big help.
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psguru
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Re: FTP: directory does not exist

Post by psguru »

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rfajman

Re: FTP: directory does not exist

Post by rfajman »

Thanks. However, I tried replacing @ with %40 in the userid with no success. So then I tried replacing the special characters in the password (# and ! with %23 and %21, respectively). That didn't help either. The password is a quite long series of random characters. Does the length matter? Any more thoughts?
JeremyNicoll
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Re: FTP: directory does not exist

Post by JeremyNicoll »

Is the dot in the username the problem?

Does the plugin produce an FTP session log?

Leaving aside EDP, what happens if you use something like Filezilla to make a connection? Your problem is described as 'directory does not exist' which, it seems to me, might be because the server is not sending you a directory listing, but you ARE connected to it alright... in which case altering the password's format isn't the solution... but seeing server error messages would help a lot.

Looking at my FileZilla FTP log, I see for example connections to servers where the initial connection works, then there's a ceetificate error, then it disconnects. If something like that is happening you'd only know if you can see the FTP log, or if the problem also happens with an FTP client.

Also, different servers implement different commands, and they don't all do it according to the FTP standards (ie RFCs). A while ago I got errors when trying to get directory listings from one particular server and my notes on the reason say:

The RFC-mandated form of the LIST command is that it either
has no parms, or a pathname. (I think.)

Some servers implement a non-standard version where switches
appropriate for a unix/linux 'ls' command are allowed. Some
clients then issue eg

LIST -a

to request such servers to include in their returned directory
listings details of ALL files (ie hidden ones as well as others).
But servers are meant to do that anyway.


So, FZ's default is just to issue: LIST

But if you tick Server -> Force showing hidden files, Filezilla
will display a warning about this, then instead issue: LIST -a
Servers which do not understand this extension may then return
invalid results!

So, something like that mght be tripping you up.
rfajman

Re: FTP: directory does not exist

Post by rfajman »

Thanks, you were right, the "." in the userid was also a problem. Only when I replaced the "@" and "." in the userid (my email address) and, in my case, the "#" and "!" in the random password, would ExamDiff Pro accept the FTP URL. It's a very long comparison, so I didn't let it finish at that time, but will let it run to completion later.

I don't know how to get the FTP session log. That would be very handy to see.
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