Neologic FTP is available in a fully functional shareware version on the usual FTP sites. Actually, the FTP program is just one part of a suite of TCP/IP products from Neologic which includes a very nice newsreader, gopher client, and an FTP daemon, which enables users to log into your computer and transfer files. All of these programs are in the shareware zip file and can be tested for 30 days.

The current release, version 2.1, was released in July. I have run the program under Warp as well as OS/2 2.1 with TCP/IP 2.0. The on-line documentation claims that it also runs on FTP Software's PC/TCP for OS/2.

Installation of the program is straightforward and allows you to install some or all of the suite. There is no uninstall program, but Neologic keeps all the files in the directory you specify, so uninstalling would amount to dragging the Neologic folder to the Shredder.

The program is very easy to use. Upon starting, the Control Panel (gif 2.3k) opens as well as the server list. Double-clicking on a particular server opens a connection. Adding new servers is also relatively painless. Pressing the 'Add' button brings up a window in which information such as server name and address, local and remote default directories, and username and password can be entered. For the user with more advanced needs, you can also enter the FTP port number for the remote site as well as the type of server (Unix, VMS, etc.). A nice addition to the program would be the ability to place folders in the server list with sites contained within (i.e. like the Tree view for the WPS Drives objects), but for now the list (gif 6.8k) is one-dimensional like the WebExplorer Quicklist.

Once you have requested a connection to a remote site, a window (gif 12.3k) is opened for that site. If all goes well, you will see a listing of files in the local directory on the left and a similar list for the remote site on the right. Displayed at the bottom of the window is a console showing exactly what is going on between the program and the remote FTP daemon, which is invaluable when you are having trouble connecting to a site. The console window can be turned on and off in the program's settings notebook. If the site refuses the connection because it is too busy, the program displays a message window and you can have it try to log in until it is successful or abandon the operation. Because of the program's multi-threaded design, you can open windows to multiple sites (even multiple windows to one site) simultaneously.

OK, so you have gotten connected. Now what? To download a file (or 'get' it in FTP lingo) you drag the file from the remote files container to the local files container. You can, of course, select and drag multiple files using the usual Ctrl-right-mouse-click action to select and drag. Or, if you prefer, you can initiate the download by choosing 'Get' from the 'Remote' menu under 'File' in the main menu. The program toolbar also has a 'Get' button for even faster access. Uploading a file ('put') is done in the same manner. As a file transfer progresses, a percent-done indicator is updated and the total number of bytes transferred is also shown. The instantaneous transfer rate is displayed in kb/sec.

Aborting a file transfer amounts to clicking on the bright-red 'Stop' button in the toolbar. The file containers default to the more useful Details view, but can be changed via the expected right-click to Icon view.

If you have to transfer files in several directories, Neologic FTP provides a handy way of doing so via its Download List. You simply add files to the Download List from each of the directories by right-clicking on the file and selecting 'Add to Download List' from the popup menu. You can edit the download list at any time, and then when you are ready to transfer the files, select 'Download from List' in the Remote window menu.

You can also create and delete directories (assuming you have permission to do so on the remote machine) as well as move around the directory structure. Most of the time you would do this by clicking on the various directories but Neologic FTP also gives command-line junkies like myself the ability to type in a path specification and jump straight to that directory. If your path traverses several directories, this is much faster than having to cycle through each directory using the mouse. This feature gives you the convenience of a GUI application with the speed of a command line program. Another very handy feature is the ability to sort directories by name or date.

Neologic FTP is a good citizen in the OS/2 environment, multitasking very smoothly. As I type this, I have a file downloading at 1.6 kb/sec over a SLIP connection. You can select a number of files to transfer, set the program in motion, and click it off into the background while it does its job. I have run the program on a machine with 8 megabytes of RAM without any swapping, and it loads very quickly (within a couple of seconds).

In conclusion, the Neologic FTP client is a good choice. Its interface is intuitive and easy to use and the program is rock solid. In over a year of daily use, I have never had the program crash or hang. Should you find yourself not knowing how to do something, good on-line help is just a mouse click away. And if you need further assistance, you can contact Neologic by post, e-mail, or FAX. The registration fee for Neologic FTP is $30 US.

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