Minitab Connect®  Support

FTP and SFTP Connectors

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Use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) to communicate and transfer files between a server and Minitab Connect. You need the username and password for the server to access the files and import them into Connect. For a SFTP connector, you can alternatively use a Secure Shell (SSH) key instead of a username and password.

Both SFTP and FTP connectors interact with Connect the same way; however, the SFTP connection provides more security than the FTP connection.

In This Topic

Set up a new connection

Complete the following steps to set up a connection in Minitab Connect.
  1. From the Home screen, select the Add button under Tables.
  2. Enter a Name that identifies the table and select a Folder to save the table.
  3. In Datasets, enter FTP or SFTP and select the appropriate connector from the results.
  4. On the Setup tab, enter the following:
    • Under Beacon, specify which beacon you want the connection to go through if you have multiple beacons. Usually, the default works best.
    • Under FTP Host or SFTP Host, enter the host of the server.
    • For a SFTP Port, you usually use port 22.
    • If you use a FTP connection, you must enter the Username and Password for the sever. Contact your IT department if you do not know the database username and password.
  5. Select Next.
  6. For an SFTP connection, use Authentication Method to select whether to authenticate the server using a password or an SSH key. If you use an SSH key, Connect creates a unique public key that you must add to the authorized keys on your SFTP server.
  7. Under FTP Path or SFTP Path, enter the path to the connection. The path name must end with a backslash (/). If you want to connect to a subfolder, then enter the path to an existing subfolder. Leave a single backslash to connect to the root folder.
  8. Select Next. Connect communicates with the server to ensure that the credentials and directories are valid. If the connection is successful, Connect displays a list of files and folders that are found on the server.
  9. Select Save .

Import a table

Complete the following steps to import data from a file on a server and create a new table in Connect.
  1. From the Home screen, select the Add button under Tables.
  2. On the Dataset tab, enter a Name that identifies the table and select a Folder to save the table.
  3. Under Documents, Collaboration, File Sharing & Email, select either the FTP or SFTP connector.
  4. Under Connection, select the FTP or SFTP connection that you previously set up. If you have not previously set up a connection, select New Connection.
  5. Under Update Frequency, specify how often you want Connect to update the table. You can import the data one time or have Connect continuously import the data at a set time interval. Connect automatically creates a flow for your import. If you select Once, you can use the flow at a later time to automatically run the import again.
  6. Under FTP Path or SFTP Path, enter the path from which to import the file. The path name must end with a backslash (/). If you want to import from a subfolder, then enter the path to an existing subfolder. Leave a single backslash to import from the root folder.
  7. Select Next.
  8. Under File, select the files that you want to import. Connect displays a list of files and folders that are on the server. The list of folders is only for reference. If you select a folder, Connect does not import any files.
  9. Under Delete Files, select to delete the file from the server, move it to the Historic folder, or do nothing. If a Historic folder does not exist on the server, Connect creates one.
  10. Under File Pattern, enter a string to match files for subsequent imports. Enter a percent symbol (%) before and after the string. For example, each day you import a file named "Measurements" that also has the date appended to it. You can enter %Measurements% to import any file name that has the word "Measurements" regardless of the date that is appended to it. If you leave this blank, subsequent imports look for files that are identical matches to the name of the original import.

When you save the import, Connect creates a flow with the settings that you selected. For more information on how to schedule a flow and add more data processes to clean data, go to Overview of the Flow Tool .

Export a file to a connection

Complete the following steps to export data from a Minitab Connect table.
  1. Open the Outputs tab of the Flow Tool .
  2. Select the plus sign beside Export to add a new export.
  3. From Export, select New Export to set up an export to a server. If you select One Time Download, Connect downloads the file to your computer and does not create an export.
  4. Enter a Name for the export.
  5. Under View, select a saved view of the table. If you select None, Connect exports all the data from the table.
  6. Under Delivery, select Connection.
  7. Under Connection, select the FTP or SFTP connection that you previously set up.
  8. Under FTP Path or SFTP Path in the Delivery column, enter the path to store the file. The path name must end with a back slash (/). If you want to export to a subfolder, then enter the path to an existing subfolder. Leave a single back slash to export to the root folder.

You can specify the file type and file name along with other options. After you save the export, Connect adds it to the list of exports in the Outputs tab. Select Run to run the export.

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