If you have used FTP protocol to upload files, Ascii and binary modes might have confused you a lot. This might have created problems while uploading or downloading files. Now Most modern FTP clients have ‘AUTO’ mode for upload and download, but still some times it could create problem, it is also good to know which mode should be used for what kind of files.

Ascii mode FTP Transfer

Ascii mode FTP File upload or download is used for files which are readable by human , example , .bat files, .txt files, .sh files. To make it simple , if you can read the file then those should be uploaded as ASCII

Binary mode FTP Transfer

Binary mode File transfer is best suited for those files which are compiled or coded for system example , .class files, .exe files etc. Those files which human beings can’t read should be uploaded as Binary mode.

If you upload a ascii file in binary mode then the formatting  would be lost or some special characters may be added to the files.

Tags: Ascii, FTP type