What Is an FTP Connection?
An FTP connection record stores everything Standard Time® needs to connect to a remote file server: the hostname, port, protocol, and login credentials. Once saved, the connection is available by name in any scheduled operation — exports, imports, scripts, or reports — so you never have to re-enter server details for each schedule.
A single FTP connection record can be referenced by any number of schedules. If the server password changes, update it once in the connection record and every schedule that references it picks up the change automatically.
Opening FTP Connections
FTP connections are managed from within the Scheduled Exports grid (or Scheduled Imports, Scripts, or Reports — any of those pages works). Right-click any row in the grid and choose Admin > FTP connections from the context menu.
The FTP connections manager opens as a standalone grid listing all saved connections. From here you can create, rename, duplicate, delete, and test connections using the right-click context menu on any connection record.
Creating a New Connection
Create a connection record once, then reuse it across any number of scheduled operations. Give each connection a descriptive name — for example, Production SFTP or Customer Portal FTP — so it is easy to identify in the dropdown when building a schedule.
- Open the FTP connections manager (right-click any Scheduled Export row → Admin > FTP connections).
- Click New in the toolbar, or right-click in an empty area of the grid and choose New FTP connection.
- A new row appears. Enter a unique Name for this connection.
- In the Properties panel on the right, fill in FTP server, Port, Protocol, Username, and Password.
- Click away or press Enter to save.
- Right-click the new connection record and choose Test connection to verify credentials before using the connection in a schedule.
Property Reference
Properties are split into two categories in the Properties panel: Connection (server address, port, protocol, and status) and Credentials (login details). All properties except Description and Active are required for a working connection.
Connection
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A unique display name for this FTP connection. This is the name that appears in the FTP connection dropdown on Scheduled Exports, Imports, Scripts, and Reports. Names must be unique across all FTP connection records. Choose a descriptive name that identifies the server and its purpose — for example, Production SFTP or Weekly Report Server. |
| FTP server | The hostname or IP address of the server to connect to. For example: sftp.example.com, files.yourcompany.com, or 192.168.1.50. Do not include a protocol prefix (ftp:// or sftp://) or a trailing slash. If the server address is blank, any test or upload attempt will fail immediately. |
| Port | The TCP port number to connect on. Set to 0 to use the protocol default: port 22 for SFTP, port 21 for FTP and FTPS-Explicit, port 990 for FTPS-Implicit. Enter a specific port number only if your server is listening on a non-standard port. The default when a new connection is created is 22 (SFTP default). |
| Protocol | The transfer protocol. Select from the dropdown — see FTP Protocol Options below for a full comparison. The default for new connections is SFTP, which is the most secure option and the most widely supported on modern servers. |
| Passive mode | Applies to FTP and FTPS only — has no effect when Protocol is SFTP. When set to Yes (the default), the client opens the data connection instead of the server. This is almost always required when Standard Time® is behind a NAT router or corporate firewall, because most firewalls block inbound connections from the FTP server. Set to No (active mode) only if your network explicitly requires it. If uploads work on your internal test server but fail on an external server, try toggling this setting. |
| Description | Optional free-text notes about the purpose, owner, or maintenance notes for this connection. Not used by the scheduler — for administrator reference only. Useful for recording who manages the server account or what schedules depend on this connection. |
| Active | When set to Yes, this connection is available for use. When set to No, the connection is disabled — any scheduled operation that references it will fail pre-flight validation and will not run. Use this to temporarily disable a connection without deleting it, for example during server maintenance. |
Credentials
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Username | The account name used to authenticate with the server. For SFTP this is the SSH login name. For FTP and FTPS this is the FTP account username. For security, create a dedicated server account for Standard Time® with write access restricted to the specific upload directory only — do not use an administrator or system account. |
| Password | The password for the FTP, FTPS, or SFTP account. The password is stored in the Standard Time® database and is never echoed back in the Properties panel after saving — the field always appears blank when reopened. To change the password, simply type the new value into the field and save. If the server uses public-key authentication (SFTP key pair), this field is not used; key-based authentication is not currently supported. |
FTP Protocol Options
The Protocol dropdown offers four choices. Choose the one that matches what your server requires — if you are unsure, check with your server administrator or hosting provider.
| Protocol | Default port | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| SFTP (default) | 22 | SSH File Transfer Protocol. Encrypts both the command channel and the data channel using SSH. This is the recommended choice for any internet-facing server. Requires SSH access on the server — not available on servers that offer only FTP. Uses a single TCP connection, which typically passes through firewalls without passive-mode issues. |
| FTPS-Explicit | 21 | FTP with TLS/SSL encryption, negotiated explicitly. The client connects on port 21 and then upgrades to TLS using the AUTH TLS command. Use this when your server supports FTPS-Explicit (also called FTPS or FTPES). This is the most common form of FTPS on web hosting platforms. Passive mode applies to this protocol. |
| FTPS-Implicit | 990 | FTP with TLS/SSL encryption, applied immediately on connection. The server expects TLS from the very first byte — there is no plain-text negotiation. Use this only when your server specifically requires FTPS-Implicit. This mode is less common than FTPS-Explicit. Passive mode applies to this protocol. |
| FTP | 21 | Plain unencrypted FTP. Credentials and data travel in clear text. Use only on isolated internal networks where encryption is not required and the server does not support SFTP or FTPS. Do not use plain FTP over the internet. Passive mode applies to this protocol. |
Testing the Connection
Always test a connection before activating any schedule that uses it. Right-click the connection record in the FTP connections grid and choose Test connection. Standard Time® attempts to connect and authenticate, then shows the result in a dialog.
If the test fails, the error message includes the server address, port, protocol, and username as Standard Time® used them — making it straightforward to identify the misconfigured field. Common causes of test failures:
| Error symptom | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Connection timed out or refused | Wrong FTP server address or Port, or the server's firewall is blocking the connection. Verify the hostname resolves correctly and the port is open. Try pinging the server from the same machine. |
| Authentication failed / invalid credentials | Incorrect Username or Password. Re-enter the password — note that the password field always appears blank in the Properties panel even when a value is saved. Try logging in manually (via FileZilla or another FTP client) with the same credentials to confirm they are correct. |
| SSH / protocol mismatch | Wrong Protocol for this server. A server expecting SFTP will reject an FTP connection, and vice versa. Change the protocol to match what the server advertises and re-test. |
| Upload succeeds in test but fails in schedule | The FTP remote path on the Scheduled Export does not exist on the server, or the account lacks write permission to that directory. The test only checks authentication, not the target path. Verify the remote path and directory permissions separately. |
| Works on internal server, fails externally | For FTP/FTPS, try toggling Passive mode. Corporate firewalls often block the additional data-channel connection that FTP opens in active mode. Switching to passive mode (Yes) resolves this in most cases. |
Assigning to a Schedule
Once an FTP connection is created and tested, assign it to any scheduled operation by selecting it in the FTP connection dropdown in the Properties panel for that operation.
Scheduled Exports
In the Scheduled Exports Properties panel, the FTP connection and FTP remote path fields appear under the Export Information category.
- FTP connection — select the saved connection name from the dropdown.
- FTP remote path — the destination path on the server (e.g.
/exports/timelogs.csv). If left blank, the filename from Export path is used. If the remote path points to a directory on the server (SFTP), the export file name is appended automatically.
When both Export path (local file path) and FTP connection are set, Standard Time® writes the file locally first and then uploads it to the FTP server. When only FTP connection is set, the file is built in memory and sent directly without writing anything to disk.
See FTP Delivery details in the Scheduled Exports guide
Scheduled Imports, Scripts, and Reports
The FTP connection dropdown is also available in the Properties panels for Scheduled Imports, Scheduled Scripts, and Scheduled Reports. Select the connection from the dropdown in the same way. The FTP remote path field on those operations controls either the source file to download from the server (for imports) or the destination path for the output (for scripts and reports).
- Advanced: Scheduled Exports — complete property reference including the FTP connection and FTP remote path fields
- FTP Delivery section in Scheduled Exports — protocol tips and remote path behavior
- FAQ: Import and Export
- FAQ: Integrations & Data