Thanks for the new build of DirectFTP; finally this application is reaching the heights it should have long ago. However, two minor issues still prevent it from being my go-to FTP application.

Firstly, the new build will not create an uninstaller during that phase of the installation process on my Windows 7 machines (x2) unless I specifically run the setup file as administrator. I am obviously using an administrators profile/account in the first instance but if I do not right-click and run specifically as administrator, the uninstaller creation fails every time. It is 100% replicable.

The second issue is one that I have moaned about before but is obviously way down on the list after nicer icons and other more important things. The columns do not self size like other windows apps and this is mighty annoying, especially since even if I set them they don't 'remember' the settings and soon collapse into the usual unreadable narrow columns. Also with this new build, whenever I set the widths of the columns, ghost lines (see images below) appear and will not go away with page refresh or anything else but closing and reopening the software. Not a show stopper but very annoying since a new ghost line is created every time one of the columns is adjusted and they soon make reading the files and folders impossible.

As I said, this is finally reaching what it should have been all along; with these two (or three) issues resolved I would be able to ditch CuteFTP for good. I don't know why, since CuteFTP is far more fully featured, never crashes or gives problems, but there is something about DirectFTP that makes it excellent and this is why I stick with it and am disappointed every time a new version comes out (and usually months or years between versions) and no actual bugs or annoyances are fixed, just cosmetic enhancements. These issues should be child's play for your coding team and since your site claims that DirectFTP is used by everyone, how come they don't see these issues? I notice them straight away, and that collapsing columns thing has been there for many years. I can only assume the coders either don't use it, or if they do, they don't see the problems like I do (and some others have mentioned it as well).

Thanks for the new version anyway, at least it is going in the right direction.

http://www.davethompson.co.nz/ghosts.jpg

Dave.

Thank you for these comments Dave. I will be talking with our developers tomorrow and see why these issues are still lingering on some systems.

This version actually had a lot of "under the hood" fixes which has greatly increased the stability of the program.

Here are the most noteworthy items:

6.7 Build 1712

Added: New modifications time options
Added: Check for updates feature
Added: New Quick Start Guide
Added: New software activation method.
Changed: The entire core of the software has been updated for faster performance.
Changed: Miscellaneous bug fixes and tweaks
Changed: Corrected issue with certain proxy servers.
Changed: Corrected problem with incorrect file size being reported on file transfer.
Changed: Corrected problems with resuming a file transfer.
Changed: Corrected problems with changing permissions of a file generating a cURL error.
Changed: Corrected random issues with code completion.
Changed: Corrected problem with color preferences not being saved.

I'll just stick with Direct FTP and get free updates for life.

Just for the sake of making sure others know this, although I too reported about the resizing problem, it actually does half way work if you manually resize. Don't do the double click on the edge of the title. Drag it instead, it will then stay put. Found this just recently as it's quite an annoyance for me too Dave. Hopefully that will help alleviate that issue for you and others until they can fix it so it will resize properly like the other Windows programs do

Hi everyone and thanks for the excellent suggestions.\

Jo-Ann, weirdly, my columns do not retain any size settings between sessions, regardless of how I alter them, though because it works for you, it could work for others, so that is valuable information.

Scott, the changelog is indeed comprehensive and I have noticed the better performance all round, hence the comments about it nearly 'being there'. The software opens and closes far more 'cleanly' if you understand what I mean (i.e. it doesn't mess about changing window sizes before disappearing on close and the reverse on startup) and transfers seem brisker, though this could be imagination as I have no speed tests or history/statistics to prove or disprove it. Certainly, navigation on both the local and remote servers seems to be much crisper, something I consider vital in an FTP client.

Most of those changelog issues didn't affect me directly; the only lingering problem for me is this column resizing/ghost issue and the lack of verbose server messages/logs when handshaking/connecting. While the latter is not a show-stopper, I like being able to view server messages and have occasion to enter commends manually, one of the very few 'advanced' CuteFTP features I actually use on that software.

@Tom; I purchased CuteFTP before DirectFTP so DFTP is 'catching up' so to speak. I certainly don't regret buying it, I just feel that with a teeny bit more attention it will rise above what CuteFTP does for me and I can finally have a single, trustowrthy FTP application. This is all totally subjective for me; I can't speak for anyone else's experiences. As I mentioned, something about DFTP holds my loyalty, whether its funkyness or its simplicity, I don't know; you can tell it has been built with passion and that may be the 'x' factor that keeps me coming back to it.

Thanks again people and have a great day.

Dave.
http://www.davethompson.co.nz

I am confident that Direct FTP will get where you want it to be and you won’t have to pay more to get it with the free updates. I hate it when I buy a website related product and they release a new version in short time that you can upgrade to for a fee. It has happened twice to me during the last two years. Fortunately for me, one of them happened to update within a week of purchase and they allowed me to upgrade for free without even asking.

Yeah that rips my shorts as well, although it is a double-edged sword. Charging a lower amount for an upgrade funds further development and I usually find this business model in companies with very few products, maybe one or two. In the company like CC, where they have 50 products, funding from one covers updates and developments on others.

If an upgrade has new features that are worth paying for, I don't mind paying for it, but what I do mind is 'new' versions that come out with nothing new but fancier icons or a ribbon-style toolbar. My old web editor went down this road and they were charging a fortune for upgrades when none of the original bugs had been fixed and no added functionality was introduced, only the interface/GUI had changed. I also used a very good utility suite for keeping my machine trim and fit and the latest version, which they are charging 49 US$ for an upgrade for, has absolutely no new features at all; the only thing different is new icons to look like Windows 7. Rude.

Free updates are a very cool thing and good on CC for doing it this way. That said, I don't think anyone is going without at that company and if other companies could afford to, they would probably do it too.

Dave.
http://www.davethompson.co.nz

I still can't get used to this in MS Office. I like my menu bars.

They say it's more productive but it only frustrates me when I can't find what I'm looking for.

We are so different Tom lol, I love the new Ribbon Toolbar, but.... I don't love that that is really the main thing they changed and there really aren't all that many updates to the program that added any features that I can find. I have the whole shebang and to be honest, I'm glad it was a Work Incentive thing at my husbands work so we have the Enterprise edition for 20 bux. I would be REALLY pissed if I had actually paid full price for this.

But all in all I actually like the new setup, and I used the old since it was created for the most part so I'm upgrading with the rest and found it very easy to use. Very easy to navigate IF you take the time to just browse around a while and get to know it. Most people are so upset with it that they don't bother to do that and then they get all huffy because they can't find anything. It's really not all that different in the end and is actually organized much more efficiently....

all in my opinion of course

I guess I have to get organized then...

I updat Office and Windows every few years just from the security aspect of running outdated MS products. THERE I SAID IT, Haters rejoice!