I know I’m not the only designer (or developer!) with a healthy fear of not being able to access my projects in an unexpected pinch.
Sure, many of us have laptops, but what about those times when they aren’t accessible? Let’s say for instance you’re at your sweet Gran-nanny’s house for her 91st birthday and you get a frantic call from an anxious client who blurts out:
The CEO’s name is Freddie DAVIS! Not Freddie PRINCE JR!
Or maybe you’re familiar with the classic:
Oops! We moved a folder on our server and the site is GONE!
Now, I’m all for time with Gran-nanny, and keeping your phone off while with family, but if you know it’s a quick and simple fix, that would take you more time to explain to the client than to just fix yourself, here are two great solutions to add to your arsenal.
Check these out:
FTP On The Go
I actually came across this iPhone app when I had one of these situations try and snipe me. I was headed out on a 24 hour drive across country with my wife to Colorado to visit family. I received a call from a client for whom I had just finished a site. They were on the cusp of a celebratory launch party when they noticed they had given me the wrong contact info for one of the pages.
First thought? Where is the nearest Starbucks! But the wife and I were eager to make good time on our trip and I knew there had to be “an app for that”. A quick search turned up FTP On The Go with a pricetag of $6.99.
It was worth a try.
The Nutshell
- Quick access to my server (and allows you to save a server quick list).
- View of your servers file structure.
- Built in browser to view changes without leaving FTP On The Go.
- Upload and download access to your server.
- Text file find and replace, and go to line, for making fast fixes.
- Store files on your iPhone and email them (Os 3.0 +)
- Upload images from your photo library, or take a photo and upload.
- Upload videos filmed on a iPhone 3GS
- View documents – Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Pages, Numbers, PDFs
- Allows you to change file permissions (CHMoD)
That’s just a short list of the many features this killer app offers. I’ve found it well worth the premium price tag, and truth be told, it’s saved my tail feathers countless times. This app is so incredibly feature-rich, I’m tempted to make a whole site only from my phone. Just to say I did.
The Big High Five
- 3G/Wifi access to any FTP/FTPS server.
- Edit text files from any where, or any land velocity for that matter.
- Tweak file permissions.
The Limp Handshake
- Premium entry price, by iPhone standards.
- Raw, plain text only (would be nice if it did some simple color coding for html or css).
- Coffee shop with wifi is now unnecessary (anything that reduces access to coffee is a negative).
PHPanywhere
Although it’s still in beta, I’ve found this site really useful. Maybe you’re at a friend’s house and you need to make a quick edit, or maybe you’re at home and you’re just too lazy to grab your computer.
PHPanywhere allows you to access your projects from any browser (Safari for iPhone included!) and unlike FTP on the Go, it shows your markup color coded in all it’s splendid glory.
I don’t think I would find myself creating a whole site in this tool, but it’s an amazing alternative FTP client, with impressive cross-browser compatibility.
The Big High Five
- Access your servers from any browser.
- Edit text files in a near-native application development environment.
- Quick and easy setup.
- FREE!
The Limp Handshake
- A rich, local client is always preferred for ultimate flexibility and comfort.
- While this one doesn’t impede your ability to procure coffee, it doesn’t brew coffee either. That’s a bummer.
Happy Clients are Repeat Clients
Whether you are a freelancer trying to carve out a name in the digital space, or a permanent employee trying your best to honor the responsibilities you accepted with the job, the bottom line is you need to be prepared. Because if you don’t, a dozen other boyscouts are ready to step right up and take your place.
These are just two tools that have helped me rock out awesome customer service from the convenience of my everyday life. What tools have you used to get all MacGuyver-like on an unexpected problem?
Tom says
Jared just dominated.
Chris says
Yeah those look handy.
peace | dewde
Dees says
I use SQLBuddy a lot to do remote DB modifications for a few sites with custom databases. I believe the latest version has issues rendering on mobile Safari, but it’s still an excellent alternative to the more traditional web-based tools.
Jared Erickson says
Dees! what’s up man! yeah I think Tom is going to be doing a review of SQLBuddy, great features in that too.