http://www.commun-it.org/community/timh/weblog/232.html

Every once in a while I stumble across a nifty little tool or utility that makes me think - "Why didn't I think of that!".

Here is a great example of what I mean: Over the years I've done a lot of web site developing. I've spent time with just about every FTP client out there, but have always been frustrated by having to maintain a local copy (on my hard drive) of my site and then transfer it up to post changes. Its especially annyoing when its a really minor edit, or when I'm just testing/debugging something. I was thrilled when I first started hearing about WebDAV (www.webdav.org) and how it would bring proper file access over the 'net, but webdav still haven't taken off as it should and the vast majority of web hosting providers offer limited (if any) support for this standard.

Enter NetDrive...

A couple of years ago, Novell got on a roll with an idea I loved (though they gave up this strategy it seems) called "Native Files Acceess". The idea was to let any operating system (Win, Mac, *.nix) access Novell services using their respective built in protocols (SMB, AFP, or NFP) without needed the novell client software. In working on this, they licensed a neat piece of technology that they release for free called NetDrive. NetDrive allows a Windows user to "map" (assign a drive letter to) an FTP server. Basically, it lets you edit files on the FTP server as though they were on your local hard drive). This is a hugely convenient way to work and makes managing sites a whole lot simpler.

Novell has let their license lapse, but their older version of this tool is still floating around (as is free). I found my copy here.

The company that developed the tool have continued to evolve it and sell an updated commercial version here.

Other great FTP tools:
Fetch (Mac - free educational license available)
Filezilla (Win, now Mac too! open-source)
FireFTP (mozilla Firefox extension - very cool and free)