Binary vs ASCII FTP Upload

Many recent FTP program automatically detect your file type and upload them correctly without any problems; however, if your FTP software does not do this or if your file is unique and cannot be detected correctly, you will need to set either an ASCII or Binary upload method.

A binary file is a file that contains data, but that data is encoded in some type of binary form. This means that if you open up the file, you will not understand most of the contents, although some text metadata may be included. A computer, on the other hand, can read the file just fine. Examples include images, videos, and compiled software.

ASCII files are just the opposite. These files are human readable, even if they contain software code. They are in plain text format. Examples include html, txt, and php files. Your FTP program will have a selector that lets you choose which type of file it is or select automatic to have the program attempt to automatically determine the right type of uploading required.

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