# Can I FTP using WinXp Pro and nothing esle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241 "2004-09-27T03:01:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241/1 "2004-09-27T03:01:50Z")
If so, how? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241/2 "2004-09-27T03:11:01Z")
You certainly can. Just go to a command prompt and type ftp followed by the IP address or ftp site name, enter the password, and do all of the unix style commands like mget and ls. If you type ? at the ftp prompt it will give you help on the commands. I think it works with any version of windows starting at least with win95. If you want a fancy graphical ftp though you are out of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Saranga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Saranga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saranga)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241/3 "2004-09-27T03:14:23Z")
If you want the graphical interface but fewer features, use Internet Explorer. Just enter ftp://username:password@ip address/ as the URL. AFAIK you can even upload using drag and drop. ---
**Author:** ![Saranga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Saranga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saranga)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241/4 "2004-09-27T03:16:35Z")
For the record, I unchecked the Automatically parse links in text checkbox. ☹ Here I’ll try the spammer’s trick: f t p://username:password@ip-address/ will work just fine as an ftp client. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241/5 "2004-09-27T03:28:06Z")
Saranga that is a good trick. I wish I know about it a year ago. Instead I tried a bunch of ftp programs settling on smart ftp. A fine program but more than I needed at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241/6 "2004-09-27T03:31:31Z")
Just confirmation that you can drag and drop. Also, default login is anonymous (if you just open ftp://ftp.xyz.com, or even [ftp.xyz.com](http://ftp.xyz.com)). To change the login, choose File/Login As… ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-ftp-using-winxp-pro-and-nothing-esle/266241/7 "2004-09-27T05:32:49Z")
Cool. Thanks all.