Major version release of CompleteFTP

CompleteFTP 9.0 released

We've recently released CompleteFTP 9.0, and it has many enhancements and fixes that are explained in more detail below.

Real-time log viewing

One of the most useful new features is real-time log viewing in the CompleteFTP manager application. This means you can easily watch the server log as things are happening, rather than reloading and viewing the log file (which is still available, of course). An example is shown below.

Script-based extensions

The other big new feature is script-based extensions. CompleteFTP is extremely customizable, and up until 9.0 has allowed authentication, file-system and custom command extensions to be written in .NET languages such as C#, C++ and VB (in the Enterprise Edition only).

Now, extensions can now be written in Javascript and entered directly into the CompleteFTP manager. This is far simpler than building a DLL and loading it - scripts can be written and tested dynamically. We've supported server-side Javascript (JSS) for some time (our customer portal uses CompleteFTP and is written in JSS as described here) - but this takes JSS to a new level and makes writing extensions far easier.

It's worth noting too that JSS has been significantly improved by its adoption for our user portal - there's nothing like using your own product in anger to ascertain what features should be prioritized. Most notable is the introduction of JSON-DB - an indexed database where objects are stored in individual JSON files.

Improved usability

We've also conducted a detailed usability review of the CompleteFTP manager, and subsequently spent a lot of time fixing small bugs and annoyances, and making numerous minor enhancements. To a user familiar with the manager, no one fix will stand out, but the end result should be an interface that is easier and more productive to use.

Miscellaneous features

There's some additional miscellaneous features that CompleteFTP users may find useful.

We've added read-only sites. Sites can be switched to read-only using a single checkbox. This means all uploads to the site are instantly prevented.

We've added the FTP STAT command for compatibility reasons, and we've added the passwd command to the SSH shell so internal users can change their password.

We've also upgraded the log4net DLL to the latest stable version. With the previous version, users were unable to direct logging output to syslog. This now works.

CompleteFTP 9.0 is available now from the customer portal (for existing customers with a current support agreement), and the 9.0 trial is available below.