Make your first transfer

This guide walks you through uploading a file to S3, then downloading it to your computer. You will use a copy, which keeps the source file in place.

Prepare your access and file#

You need a configured account in S3Client and an existing bucket where you can upload and read files. To add your connection, follow the account creation guide, starting at File > Accounts… > New…. Use Test connection, save with OK, then click Close in Accounts. The account must be enabled to appear in the browser.

The connection test checks a read request. Passing the test does not guarantee that you can upload or download a file: those actions need their own permissions.

For this walkthrough, your credentials must allow you to view the bucket’s contents, upload the file and download it. For a general purpose Amazon S3 bucket, these actions require s3:ListBucket, s3:PutObject and s3:GetObject. Additional permissions may be required by the bucket’s configuration, such as its encryption settings. See permissions for Amazon S3 operations.

Prepare a small local file, such as test-s3client.txt, and another local folder for the download. Choose a name that is not already used in the destination S3 folder. Replacing a file can overwrite existing content, or create a new version if the bucket is versioned. The service may charge for storage, requests and transfers according to its pricing.

Open the source and destination#

1. In the main window, choose View > Left view > List view, then View > Right view > List view to display a list in each pane.
2. In the left pane, open Root and choose the drive containing your file.
3. Double-click folders until you can see test-s3client.txt.
4. In the right pane, open Root and choose your bucket under the account you want to use. You can also choose the account, then double-click its bucket.
5. If the Show versions toolbar button is selected, click it to return to the bucket’s current files.
6. If you want to upload into a folder in the bucket, open that folder.
7. Check Address in both panes: the local source folder on the left, and the destination bucket or S3 folder on the right.

If no buckets appear, check that the account is enabled and correctly configured. When your credentials cannot list all buckets, you can enter the names of accessible buckets in the account’s Buckets tab. This list does not create buckets or grant permissions. See the explicit bucket list.

Upload the file to S3#

1. Click test-s3client.txt in the left list to select it.
2. Choose Edit > Copy, or press Ctrl+C.
3. Click in the right list to activate the destination pane.
4. Choose Edit > Paste, or press Ctrl+V.

The transfer appears in the operations list at the bottom of the window. Paste uses the default transfer options. For this upload, S3Client uses the service’s defaults for the object’s storage class, encryption and permissions. If your bucket requires specific settings, see transfer options and use Edit > Paste with options….

If Confirm overwrite appears, check which file it concerns. For this first attempt, click No to keep the existing file, then try again with an unused name. The same dialog may appear if the service refuses to check whether a file exists; this does not guarantee that the destination filename is unused.

Check that the upload succeeded#

Wait for the transfer to finish and check for errors before downloading the file.

1. Hover over the transfer’s Operation column in the operations list to see its status. Pending means waiting, Running means in progress and Finished means ended. Aborted indicates an interruption.
2. If an error is reported, select the row with the error and choose Show error message from its context menu. Expand the operation if the error concerns a child operation. Fix the cause before trying again.
3. In the right pane, choose Refresh from the list’s context menu to reload the S3 folder’s contents.
4. Check that test-s3client.txt appears with the expected size.

A Finished operation can contain an error. See monitoring operations if the result is not what you expected.

Download the file to your computer#

1. In the left pane, open the local folder you prepared for the download. Use a different folder from the one containing the original file.
2. In the right list, select the file you uploaded.
3. Choose Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C).
4. Click in the left list, then choose Edit > Paste (Ctrl+V).
5. Wait for the operation to finish and check for errors as you did for the upload.
6. Refresh the local folder using Refresh in the list’s context menu. Check that the file is present, then open it from Windows to check its contents.

You now have the original file, the file uploaded to the bucket and the downloaded copy. To transfer multiple files or folders, see Copy, move and rename.