Fetch Help > Commands > Mode submenu

The Mode submenu lets you choose the mode (automatic, text, or binary) Fetch will use when getting or downloading files.

This command is available as:

- The Mode submenu in the Remote menu
- The Mode button pop-up menu in the transfer window toolbar, if you've added it

The Mode menu lets you specify whether Fetch will download files as text files, binary files, or decide automatically. Most of the time the default setting of Automatic will do the right thing. However, if you know what kind of file you are getting, and know that it is likely to be misinterpreted by the Automatic mode setting, you can choose the appropriate mode instead. See the download modes help topic for a more detailed discussion of which mode to use when.

When you choose a setting from the Mode menu, it applies only to the active transfer window until you close it. Different transfer windows may have different mode settings. The initial mode setting for new transfer windows is specified by the Default download mode preference in the Download Preferences pane.

Download modes are related but different from upload formats. Download modes tell Fetch how to transfer files from a server (as text or binary), they do not tell Fetch anything about what format the files are in. Upload formats tell Fetch what format to use when storing files on a server and how to transfer them to a server.

Related topics:

- Download modes
- Upload formats