I've been spending a lot of time looking for a way to do something, and haven't been able to find a specific solution. So I thought I'd try asking here.
I have built a website for a client and everything is working fine. This client wanted to add an FTP server with two discrete functions. Function #1 is to provide a way for them to send and receive files to and from their clients without having to send them as email attachments, or leave the site. In this case, each client has their own user name and password to access an account set up for them. I embedded an FTP client into a page on the site and it works beautifully.
Function #2 is to provide files that are available for the general public to download with no user-specific account required. No uploading is allowed, however. Only downloading. The way I have it set up now works, but is overly complicated and a bit too labor intensive to be really useful. What I did is set up a special FTP user account with very limited permissions and included the username and password on the publicly visible page. So, if somebody comes to the page and wants to download a file, they enter the displayed username and password which then gives them access to the "public" directory. They can not see other directories, nor can they upload to the directory. It's a one-way street! The problem is that there a lot of steps involved, and my client is spending a lot of time explaining to people how to use the system. I have been trying to come up with a simpler way for the public end user to access the files.
Now that I've laid out the backstory, this is what I want to be able to do:
Instead of the embedded FTP client, I want these public users to be presented with simply a list of files available for download (preferably with each one in a table cell). Each of the listed items would be a link to the file itself which still resides on the FTP server. The user can then simply click the link to download the file. No access to the embedded FTP client is necessary (but it will still be there, albeit deeper in the site, for the registered users who will still need it).
Of course, I can just set the page up in HTML and add links manually whenever they put something in the folder. But that means they'll have to tell me each time, and, well, I'll have to manually add each link. Another option would be to set it up as a Contribute page (the site is built with Dreamweaver), but then I'll have to train them to use Contribute, and they'll have to pay for the software. The ideal solution would some kind of script that monitors the public folder on the FTP server and automatically adds a link to the download page whenever a file (or directory) is added to the folder. Additionally, if a file is deleted this script would also remove the link from the download page.
I have limited PHP authoring skills, so I'm hoping for some guidance in setting this up. If anybody knows a tutorial they can simply link me to, that would be great. Or, if there is another way to do this that I haven't thought of, I'd love to hear it!
