Today's tip is on adding an FTP "drive" to Windows Explorer... Adding an FTP site to Windows Explorer will allow you drag & drop, copy, delete, and edit files as though your space on the FTP server was another local drive... If you don't currently have access to an FTP server for file storage, you can search on Google for "free hosting" to find a host who will provide FTP space free of charge...

An important thing to keep in mind before proceeding with this tip is that you shouldn't place anything on your FTP account that you wouldn't want others to see, such as personal or financial information... After ensuring that the data you'll be placing on the server is not confidential, is sufficiently encrypted, or is intended for public consumption, let's begin...

First, start by opening Windows Explorer by clicking on Start/My Computer...

Next, click on Tools/Map Network Drive from the menu bar at the top of the window...

For our purposes, we are not concerned with the Drive or Folder assignment... We will instead be clicking on the link at the bottom of the window that says "Sign up for online storage or connect to a network server" which will in turn launch the "Add Network Place Wizard"...


On the first screen of the wizard, click Next to continue... On the following screen, click on "Choose another network location' and then click Next..


On the next screen, we'll be entering the name of the server we're connected to, for example ftp://ftp.somehost.com...


On the next screen, uncheck "Log On Anonymously", enter your User Name, and click on Next...




On the following screen, supply a name for this connection if you'd like to change it...


On the next and final screen, check the "Open this network place when I click Finish" box, and then click Finish...

You'll now be prompted for your password for this site...


After you have successfully entered your password, the contents of your FTP folder will be displayed, and can be accessed in the future by selecting your site from your "My Network Places"... You should now be able to edit, delete, and add files and folders without the need of a third-party FTP client...

If you have any questions, please leave a comment...