Best FTP client released?
October 29th, 2008
I discovered my favorite FTP client, Flow, 6 months ago, and I instantly fell in love with it. Unfortunately I couldn’t use it because of one issue. But a couple days ago, Extendmac released a major update…
The main purpose of a FTP client is to transfer files, but it needs more features as our use of online servers is increasing. FTP clients must provide an easy navigation, a quick and easy file preview, and file editing. I’ve tried a lot of FTP clients. They all offer the previously mentionned features, but I’ve never found one that really satisfied me… until Flow.
Transmit is too old-school
Transmit is probably the most liked FTP client by web designers, but I don’t like its old-school interface that shows 2 trees, with local files on one side, and with server files on the other one. So even though it’s packed with lots of features, I’ve never used Transmit because of its interface. I just don’t like it.
Cyberduck’s bookmarks can get messy, and it crashes sometimes…
Being a web designer, I work on a lot of projects. And for each project, there’s a different FTP server, so it doesn’t take long to get a very long list of bookmarks. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to sort bookmarks within folders in Cyberduck. So after a while, finding a bookmark is a pain. Also, it frequently crashes, mainly during file transfer. This just sucks.
But Cyberduck is free, and it works pretty well overall.
How about Flow?
The main thing I like about Flow is its interface. It’s beautiful, simple and very easy to use. You can organize your bookmarks in folders, preview file using QuickLook, and edit them within the included editor or your favorite one.
So what’s that issue that prevented me from using Flow?
Well, it used to crash a lot during file transfer. Much more than Cyberduck, so that I couldn’t rely on it.
What about the new version?
Flow 1.1 includes a lot of new features, like a local file browser. I’ve barely used it so far, so I can’t tell if it crashes as it used. I really hope it won’t.
Final Word
I’m gonna use Flow now, and I’m pretty confident the 1.1 version is THE ONE. The one client that will make my FTP experience the best I’ve ever had.
Flow is really worth its price ($29), and I highly recommend you give it a try.