File Transfer

File transfer is the process of moving files between your PC and the host. You can transfer a file from your PC to the host so that other host users can access it. Conversely, you can transfer a host file to your PC where you might, for example, bring it into a word processing program or spreadsheet application.

To transfer files, you must communicate with a file transfer tool on the host. Each host type has certain types of file transfer tools that are designed to support it.

All sessions support FTP, which is the Internet standard File Transfer Protocol. FTP is generally the fastest method for transferring files, because it always makes its own connection, except for any active display session. If you want to use FTP to transfer files, your host must have an FTP server.

You can transfer files in the background in one host session while you continue to work uninterrupted in another. You can also monitor the progress of your file transfer and even send a file to the mainframe in one session while receiving a file in another session.

Here are the general steps required for a file transfer:

  1. Determine your session type and start a new session.

  2. Configure your file transfer options, which creates transfer schemes.

  3. Open the Transfer File dialog box.

  4. Select a scheme.

  5. Start File Transfer and observe the progress.

In this chapter