WebDrive

I am giving this program a try, WebDrive

I have Zend Studio for editing PHP files on the server, where you can do a direct SAVE/OPEN through FTP/SFTP. However, it does get a tad annoying at how it can bog down when it is trying to restablish the connection.

For work, I need to use a secure connection, and the host I use auto disconnects you after 5 minutes of inactivity via SFTP. Even CuteFTP's keep alive system seems to not work...

Anyhow, I came across a thread somewhere, which lead me to another thread somewhere else, that led me to someone recommending this program to be able to map a FTP / SFTP connection.

So I install this and do a test, two files in same directory open in Zend Studio, one via it's built in SFTP connection, one throught the drive letter mapped by WebDrive via a SFTP connection.

I wait 10 minutes, the WebDrive onnection was isntant save, the other had to wait to log in. Now, I'm still checking to see if maybe webdrive just caches the save until it reconnects, but in the mean time, zend seems to respond faster.

Now, here is where it really seems to be faster, using a file OPEN/SAVE dialog box, and browsing around, and creating a new direcotry while doing so. Zend's connection seems to chose a bit when creating a directory, using the WebDrive connection seems nice.

Also, one thing I'm thinking of trying is a feature they suggest on their site, setting up a secure ftp server on my home server, and using webdrive to automatically map it when my laptop boots up. Even over a open wireless connection it remains secure for transfering files to and from home.

Anyhow, thought I would share this with people. I saw on two threads over a year old this program was mentioned as FTP alternatives, so I created a new one to act as a "review". I will post anything I see at noteworthy about my trial here.

-Greg