Panic.com's Transmit
I have been a long time fan of Panic's Transmit software. I first purchase Panic 3, on September 27, 2006. Today it's my day-to-day application for transferring files from my computer to any remote server.
Panic.com description of Transmit:
Why Transmit?
Macintosh users are a lot of choices when it comes to transferring files via sftp: Cyberduck, Interarchie, Forklift, Yummy FTP, Fetch, Flow and some others.
Back in 2006, when I was looking at various sftp applications, I felt that Transmit interface and functions were better than anyone else. I haven't found any issues with the application that has made me switch to a different application.
Specifically there are three cool features that I like using with Transmit; DockSend, Droplet and Transmit Disk.
DockSend
DockSend automatically uploads files or folders dropped on Transmit's icon in the doc. The file gets sent to the correct equivalent location on a server.
This allows you the ability to send files to a server quickly. You don't need to open up Transmit, then pick the server and then drag the file to the server.
I use DockSend to easily upload my blog images to the server:
Droplet
If you have multiple services that you upload files to all the time, then Droplet is perfect for you.
You simply drag and drop a file on the droplet application icon and within seconds the file is uploaded to the server.
Droplets are a convenient way for non-technical users to upload files to a pre-set location. You can set up a droplet and have someone else upload files to your server.
The neat thing about droplets is that you can change the icon to something different, so it's easy to figure out where the file is going.
Transmit Disk
Transmit Disk allows you to mount your SFTP as a disk on your Mac Desktop. You can easily move files as you would any other Macintosh folder.
The neat thing about this, is that when you copy files from the server to your computer it keeps the file create date the same as the one on the server. I like this because I can back up old files on the server and know that my backup version will have the correct file date and not the date of the backup.
Transmit makes it easy to access your favorite remote servers from the menu.
Transmit Supports AppleScript!
AppleScript gives you more flexibility to perform certain tasks without having to remember them. Don't think AppleScript is useful for an FTP application? Check out three examples of how I integrate AppleScript and Transmit:
- Every morning I get the latest server.log file
- On the server, I have a cron job to do a weekly archive my database files and I use AppleScript to get the database dump so I don't have to think about it.
- I use AppleScript to log files that I put on the server.
AppleScript is a bit complicated to setup for everyday users, but I certainly help to understand some of the fundamentals. If you want to get the basics I highly recommend Up and Running with AppleScript on Lyndia.com.
Make the Move
I would highly recommend Panic.com's Transmit application, it's certainly worth the $33.99 cost in the Apple store. This is a great utility to have and worth the investment, if you manage any website.
What about Panic Coda?
I have been very interested in Panic's Coda, an all in one FTP/Editor/Mysql application. (I even set up a Google News Alert if it goes on sale) I haven't made the switch because I am a big fan of BBEdit and I don't see switching to another text editor anytime soon.