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Panic Inc. forced by Apple to drop non-FTP file transfers from Transmit for iOS
Transmit for iOS, a wonderful FTP app we've covered before, has released a new update today that fixes a few bugs and removes a big feature, the ability to send files from the app to other services including iCloud, Box, Documents, Dropbox, Transmit, and more. Developer Panic Inc. released a blog post explaining the situation which can be summed up in the excerpt: ...at Apple's request, we had to remove the ability to "Send" files to other services, including iCloud Drive. In short, we're told that while Transmit iOS can download content from iCloud Drive, we cannot upload content to iCloud Drive unless the content was created in the app itself. Apple says this use would violate 2.23 - "Apps must follow the iOS Data Storage Guidelines or they will be rejected" - but oddly that page says nothing about iCloud Drive or appropriate uses for iCloud Drive. While the issue is supposedly just with iCloud Drive it becomes more complicated than that due to the fact that destinations sheet in iOS includes iCloud Drive, and cannot be edited by anyone but Apple. This means that while Apple is telling the company it just has to remove iCloud Drive they've made it impossible to do so without removing all other content upload options as well. Panic has released the following gif explaining the problem visually. Panic Inc. hopes to return this functionality to the iOS app in the future, and wants to make it clear that it doesn't blame everyone at Apple for this frustrating development. Head over to Panic Inc. to read the full blog post about the situation. H/T to @macguitar
Don't Panic: Transmit for iOS is here for your FTP client needs
There are some apps that 98 percent of the general population would never take a look at, but are critical for the other 2 percent. That's the case with this new FTP client from Panic Software. Transmit for iOS ($9.99 for a limited time) is the mobile version of Panic's classic Transmit app for Mac ($33.99). Why do I call the Mac version "classic"? It's been around for quite a long time, and has been my go-to FTP client since the late 1990s. So what's an FTP client? FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a time-honored method of transferring files from one device to another. When I say time-honored, the original FTP specification was published in April of 1971, when I was still in junior high. It's primarily used by webmasters, designers, system administrators and the like who need a way to ensure that code and files sent to servers securely. The app is definitely made for iOS 8. For one, you can set up Touch ID to lock the app - something that system administrators will love, especially if they're prone to leaving their iPhones or iPads out in public. Transmit for iOS also supports another iOS 8-friendly app, 1Password 5.0, so you can retrieve passwords for your websites and servers from that app with a few taps. Similar to the Mac app and most other FTP clients, Transmit for iOS provides views for both local (on-device) and remote (server) directories. What's great is that Transmit for iOS actually lets you have your own file manager on your iPhone or iPad. You can create both files and folders - I like the ability to create a text file and actually edit it from within Transmit for iOS. If you want to use another text editor, there's a handy "Send to..." button that shoots it to a compatible app. On my iPhone, for example, I could send a text file to Byword or Pages for editing. Once editing was done, Byword supports sending the file back to Transmit for iOS for upload to a server. That Share button integration is powerful and incredibly useful. It means that you can essentially take a file from just about any app - like Apple's own built-in Photos app - and send it to a server with a few taps. Likewise, you can open files off of servers in apps that support iOS 8's extensible Document Picker. For those of us who like to get into servers and tinker with file permissions, there's even a full permission editor available. Just tap the appropriate radio buttons for Read, Write or Execute permission for User, Group or World, and it sets the correct permission on the file. If you love the onboard file manager, then you might want to consider uploading a lot of files from your Mac to an FTP server using Transmit, then pulling those files into folders on your iOS device. It's as easy as dragging and dropping. Whut? Yeah, Panic has built drag and drop into Transmit for iOS. Just make sure that you're in the proper folders both on the local and remote sides, then grab a file with your finger and drag it. Immediately, you're asked if you want to upload it to a that destination folder. Let go, and the upload is done. Transmit for iOS also introduces a new service called "Panic Sync" that will eventually be rolled out to other Panic apps, including Transmit for Mac. I honestly wish they had rolled it out for the Mac version first; it would have been nice to have had immediate access to all of my Transmit favorites instead of manually having to enter just the ones I really need. In landscape orientation, Transmit for iOS reverts to the wonderful side-by-side format Mac users are familiar, with the local folders on one side of the screen and the remote directories on the other. Note that this does not work with the "Zoomed" mode on the new iPhone 6 Plus; I can't vouch for other iPhone models. One other very professional touch - Panic has created colorful icons for many of the common file types (.gif, .ico, .php, .html, .xml...) so it's easy to recognize those types with a glance. Finally, for those who want to know, Transmit for iOS supports FTP, SFTP, S3, and WebDAV. The team at Panic software did an awesome job with Transmit for iOS, and it's one app that is definitely worth the price. If you need an FTP client, you need Transmit for iOS - it's that simple.
Panic teases a new iPad app, probably Panic Status Board
Panic is one of our favorite Mac developers -- they make the excellent Coda web editor, and Transmit, which is my OS X FTP client of choice. They have a new iPad app arriving this week, and word around the Internets is that it's an iPad version of Status Board, the internal tool the company developed for tracking projects, appointments and Twitter messages. As you can see above, the Panic tool is meant to be used by multiple people and can track updates and to-dos for multiple projects and products, but presumably a more personal iPad tool would be applicable to more than just the Panic team. Panic has tweeted teases that the app has something to do with "status," and of course we'll get to know exactly what it is when the app arrives tomorrow. There's no word yet on price, but given that Panic likes to (deservedly) pick a premium price for its software, like Diet Coda for US$19.99, odds are it'll be a nice chunk of money for a solid amount of value. We'll wait and see what the team has come up with.
Use Transmit to create 'quick upload' droplets
Transmit by Panic is one of my favorite apps. If you ever move files from one computer to another, you owe it to yourself to test this one out. Today I want to highlight a feature called "Save To Droplet" which is not new, but is very handy. However, it's not immediately obvious how to use it. The first step is to open a new window: A dual-pane window will open, showing your local files on the left, and server settings on the right. Be sure to change the server type at the top to SFTP. You do not want to use FTP across the Internet, as it will send your password in plain text. Bad bad, very bad! This image just shows the right pane. Fill in your information, including the hostname of the server you want to connect to (shown as "nightwing.dreamhost.com" in this example), your username on the remote server ("tjluoma" in this example), password and "Initial Path" which is the folder on the remote server. Note that "Initial Path" is relative to your Home directory when using SFTP. Port 22 is the default port for SFTP and should be used unless you know that the server does not use it: Once you have have the information filled out, click the Plus Sign (+) just to the left of the "Port" field, and the pane will flip around and show this pane: This image just shows the right pane. You should not need to change any settings here, but you can change the visible ones, or click "More Options" to see, well, more options. Click "Save As Droplet..." and you will see this prompt: I recommend changing the "Where" to "Applications" and change the "Save As" to whatever you want your app / droplet to be called. If the "Save Password in Droplet" button is checked, anyone who can launch this application will be able to connect to the server. Use with caution. When you are done, select "Save" and a new application will appear in your /Applications/ folder with an icon like the one shown here. "Ok, but now how do I use this?" This droplet is meant to do one thing: quickly upload files to the server. Simply drag and drop files onto the app icon (I recommend dragging the app to the dock) and Transmit will launch, upload, your files and then quit. Whammo, presto, done! You can make as many of these as you want, for different servers and different folders. Unfortunately, I can't find any way to edit these droplet apps and change the settings once you have created one, but since they're so easy to create, it's not difficult to make a new one.
Replacing iDisk with online storage of your own
With the June 30, 2012 death of Apple's MobileMe service looming just a little over two months away, some Mac users are still wondering what to do to replace one of the keystone pieces of the service -- iDisk. Macworld's Glenn Fleishman provided some tips today on how to replace iDisk with your own online storage using some common Mac apps that let you treat a remote FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, or Amazon S3 server like a Mac volume. The trick, says Fleishman, is to get file-sharing access via a hosting company or a storage system like Amazon S3, Google Storage, or Rackspace Cloud Files, and then use either Nolobe Software's Interarchy (US$30) or Panic's Transmit ($34) to create a Mac-mountable volume. Of the two Mac apps, Fleishman notes that Transmit works most like the default mode of iDisk. It provides a glimpse into the remote server's file structure, but doesn't download or sync files locally. As such, if you need to open a large remote file to edit it on the Mac, you must first wait for the file to be downloaded. After an edit is made, saving the file requires the file to be uploaded back to the source. That can definitely take some time. Interarchy's Net Disk feature is more like iDisk with synchronization enabled, allowing a Net Disk to synchronize changes to your computer, from your computer to the server, or in both directions. This ends up working more like Dropbox, where files are stored locally instantaneously, but then synchronize with the server behind the scenes. Fleishman includes instructions on how to create a mountable disk using either Transmit or Interarchy. Just remember to get your iDisk replacement into place prior to June 30th!
Cyberduck adds cloud file management improvements
My FTP app of choice, Cyberduck, has updated to version 3.6, and as you can see on the changelog, it's a nice, chunky update. The developers have added in support for Google Storage, made things easier for Amazon S3 users, and added a lot of little features and bugfixes that make the whole experience easier and more compatible with other apps and platforms. I still like Cyberduck as an app -- a lot of Mac users praise the heck out of Transmit, and it's also a very nice app, but I like supporting open source (and don't mind the free downloads, either). And Cyberduck is still growing -- they just recently announced that a Windows version is coming soon, so if you need to do some FTP'ing on Microsoft's platform, but want a Mac-quality app to do it with, Cyberduck could be the one. That version is in beta now, and should be out for release soon. Cyberduck, as open source software, is a free download, with the option to make a donation to the hardworking developers over here.
Transmit 4 offers new features, faster performance
Transmit is the FTP client by Panic that has won legions of fans (myself included). After 5 years of version 3.x, Panic has finally released version 4.0 with a new UI, faster performance, and a slew of hot new features. Transmit 4 is a near-total re-write of the application. The most notable change is the UI. Gone is all the white and Aqua-style drop-downs. This version offers a nice path bar and custom icons for your favorites (use theirs or supply your own). There's a new sync button and for the first time, Coverflow and thumbnail view. Finder classics like disclose folders and color-coding are now in place, and the beefed up progress bar tracks both overall progress and individual files. Nice! I've only used the demo briefly this morning (we'll have a full review up at a later date), but it's noticeably faster than its predecessor. Panic claims a speed increase 25 times greater than version 3, and I don't doubt it. Not only does Transmit seem faster when transferring files, but just moving between directories is very snappy. The most impressive feature I found during my brief testing this morning is Transmit Disks. This allows you to mount any favorite in the Finder, even if Transmit isn't running. You're free to interact with the disk as you wish once it's mounted. It's quite nice. As I said, we've got a full review forthcoming. For now, we can say that Transmit 4 is well worth your attention. A sleek, modern look, greatly increased speed and new features like Transmit Disks make version 4 a must-update for all users. A full license costs US$34. Users of version 3.x may upgrade for $19. Anyone who bought Transmit 3 on or after March 1st, 2010 can upgrade for free.
Ask TUAW: Prepping a Mac for transfer, adding words to spell check, updating Boot Camp, and more
Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about preparing a Mac that you're transferring to a new owner, updating Boot Camp, adding words to the built-in spell check, dealing with flaky network disks, FTP clients, and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.
Prices so low, they're practically insane: Panic 3-day sale is on
It's been hinted at for a few days, but Cabel Sasser and the rest of the crew at Panic Software may have accidentally slipped some mind-altering substances into their last batch of Coda Cookies; how else to explain a three-day, 50%-off sale on all of the company's well-designed and well-regarded apps? The FTP/SFTP client with the often imitated icon, Transmit, is $14.50US; Web authoring jack-of-all-trades Coda is $49.50. Interface tweaker CandyBar 3 and newsreader Unison are also discounted at $14.50 and $12 respectively. The sale page notes that these licenses are also good for discounts on future paid upgrades to the product line, which are expected soon. Sale pricing is in force until 11:59pm PST on May 29.
Transmit 3.6.7 is available
Earlier this week, one of the applications that I use every day, Panic's Transmit, was updated to version 3.6.7. Since the previous version was 3.6.6, this seems like a minor update, but it does bring some welcome bug fixes, including Re-worked preview drawer to avoids possible transfer stalls Fixed S3 uploads with files greater than 2 GB Fixed a problem in which files may be deleted when moving them into a subfolder Improved S3 copied URLs when connecting to the EU S3 server There's more, of course, and you can read the full change log here. We've written about Transmit several times, but I'll briefly tell you why it's my choice for an FTP application. First, changing permissions is ridiculously simple. The droplets are great as well. If you're unfamiliar, Transmit will let you create shortcuts to often-used directories on your server and save them as "droplets" on your desktop.I also appreciate the tight integration with another Panic product, Coda. Simply right-click on a html or PHP file, for instance, and select "Edit with Coda."Finally, the UI is so friendly and Mac-like that even a person who has never used an FTP app before will feel comfortable.Thanks, Robert!
Coda updated to 1.5.1
Lost in the din of yesterday's Apple announcements, Panic has updated Coda, its all-in-one website editing tool, to 1.5.1. The update largely fixes possible crashes, issues with source control, and squashes several bugs. CFML syntax coloring has been improved, and the release notes promise more syntax coloring improvements to come. Coda 1.5, released on August 26, added Subversion source control, multi-file find and replace, custom books, and a host of other additions and improvements. Coda 1.5.1 is available by selecting Check for Updates... from the Coda menu, or via their website. Thanks, Gordon!
Transmit turns 10, we Panic
Milestones come and go, but the big milestone of the day was 10 years in the making. Panic's Co-founder, Steven Frank, noted on his personal website that their flagship product, Transmit turned 10 years old.Transmit, originally called "Transit," was released on September 8, 1998. Who knows, without the success of Transmit we might not have the other beautiful applications from Panic. If you want to relive the old days of Transmit, Panic offers up a free version (you must be running a pre-OS X Mac, or have a classic mode enabled Mac) for your downloading pleasure. Join TUAW in saying, "Congratulations, Panic." We cannot wait to see what is next!
Panic releases Coda 1.5
Panic has released Coda 1.5, a free update to my favorite all-in-one web development application. Coda 1.5 adds several major new features, including find-and-replace across multiple files and a fully-integrated Subversion client. Also included in the update is a user-customizable bookshelf, which allows you to specify any given website as a "book." You can also enter a sample search URL with a wildcard character, and command-click on terms to look for them in the book you created. Syntax highlighting has also been improved, as well as performance running under Leopard. Full release notes are available, too. The update is free for all registered Coda users, and $99 for new users. Discounts are available for registered Transmit owners, too.
Transmit 3.6.6 relieves .Mac sync problems
Panic recently updated their Transmit software to version 3.6.6 after the previous (3.6.5) update caused problems with syncing over .Mac. Steven Frank (co-founder of Panic) wrote on his personal blog about the issue. According to Steven, "TransmitSync," a service that syncs Transmit favorites with .Mac, would crash when certain configurations were in place. The other change made in the 3.6.6 update is restrictions of dot characters when uploading to Amazon S3. Transmit 3.6.6 is a free upgrade to all Transmit 3 users and can be downloaded from within Transmit or from panic.com.[via Steven Frank]
Dockdrop 1.0
Dockdrop isn't necessarily something new to Mac OS X, but it's a simple and a cool application none-the-less. Dockdrop allows you to drop files on top of it and perform an action. You can use the following protocols to send files: FTP, Flickr, WebDAV, or SCP. Dockdrop reminds me of the "droplets" that you can create in Panic's Transmit FTP application (and is pretty much the same). I tested the FTP and Flickr upload functions and they both worked seamlessly.Dockdrop works with both Mac OS X "Tiger" (10.4) and "Leopard" (10.5). You can download Dockdrop for free from the developer's website.Thanks John!
Panic releases Transmit 3.6.3
Earlier this week, Panic released Transmit 3.6.3. If you're unfamiliar, Transmit is the FTP application that's loved by many (including us). Version 3.6.3 offers improved Leopard and Amazon S3 compatibility, French and German localization and several bug fixes.If you haven't tried it out, take this opportunity. It's a great application. This update is free for registered users of version 3.x. Transmit requires Mac OS 10.3.9, and a single license will cost you $29.95.
Upgrade roadmap from Panic covers Leopard compatibility
I know we aren't supposed to play favorites when it comes to Mac developers -- remember, we're all basically on the same team here -- but I have to admit to a slight geek crush on Cabel Sasser. Sure, he & the rest of the Panic crew code a pretty mean FTP client and a well-regarded multitasker for Web development, but that's just business: if any other Mac hacker could compose the world's most hilarious musical about video game bugs, well, I'd be a fan of theirs too.Cabel, thoughtful dude that he is, posted a status update for Panic's applications and Leopard compatibility that runs down what works and what doesn't come Friday night. Most of the Panic apps will continue to work in Leopard, some with minor issues (Transmit) and some just fine (Coda); the one major exception is system icon tweak tool CandyBar 2, which unsurprisingly is not yet compatible with the new Leopard "big icon" format. The good news for CandyBar fans is that version 3, with full Leopard goodness, will be available by the end of November.As other Mac developers announce Leopard compatibility info (like RealMac did earlier for Rapidweaver), we'll be sure to let you know. (Pssst. Developers -- over here! Be sure to let us know when you update your apps for Leopard, and we'll pass it along.)
Panic releases Transmit 3.6
Panic has dropped Transmit 3.6, the latest version of the FTP app that we freakin' love here at TUAW. Included in the new version is all the great old stuff (droplets, and the "edit anything anywhere" ability), and the new features of Amazon S3 support and a "Copy URL web preview" (in which you can right click any file to automatically get a URL for it). There's also a whole host of bugfixes and improvements.Transmit, as always, is available from Panic's website free with a 15 day trial, and $29.95 to purchase.[ Thanks, Jonathan M! ]
Clear out 3rd party .Mac sync items with Syncrospector
.Mac Sync Services leave much to be desired in the management department - Apple provides no UI for removing them once you no longer use an application, and you don't have many options for troubleshooting when things go south. Until now. A user named kohlmannj at the indispensable macosxhints figured out how to use an app at the ADC site that can actually remove 3rd party sync items and reset your .Mac syncing to a 'never synced before' status. The hint is actually very simple to implement, but be sure to read the entire post to understand exactly what you're getting yourself into. In summary: this tool and hint will set your .Mac Sync Services back to square 1, meaning that 3rd party items will get removed (though your data in those apps will remain unscathed), and the next time you sync (I recommend performing one manually) you'll be asked all those 'brand new Mac' questions like "you are about to sync your calendars for the first time, do you want to merge, replace, etc." Soon after you perform this reset, your 3rd party .Mac-aware apps *should* ping Sync Services to get on the list again, and I can personally say this worked for Yojimbo, but not Trasmit - yet. Ultimately, this might be a bit like using a sledgehammer to strike a nail, but it works - which is better than Apple's former solution of 'nothing.'
Interarchy 8.5 & Interview
I'm a Transmit fan myself, but we seem to have a house policy of noting updates of the old-school (if you will) Mac FTP client Interarchy. Well it has been bumped to version 8.5, and has a new owner: Nolobe. In addition, TUAW favorite John Gruber has an interview up with Interarchy's original author Peter N Lewis and the new one Matthew Drayton. Perhaps the most interesting revelation is that the app is still mostly written in that bane of my middle school years: Pascal!Version 8.5 has some interesting new features like integration with the Terminal, AppleScript support, and a new Dock Menu. Check it out at Nolobe.[Via Daring Fireball]
