Fetch Help > Concepts > Automatic Upload Format

The Automatic upload format, like the Automatic download mode, tells Fetch to use the information available to it to make the best choice of format when uploading a Macintosh file to a server. The formats are: Text or Binary (Raw Data).

The goal of the Automatic upload format is to properly transfer the file as a text or binary file.

When the Automatic upload format is selected, Fetch will choose the best format for each file by following these rules in order:

- Fetch determines if the file is a text file or a binary file. It uses information such as filename extension and the file's Finder type to make this determination.
- If a file is determined to be a text file, Fetch transfers the file in Text format, discarding any resource fork the file may have. Line ending conversion will take place on FTP connections (but not SFTP), and an extension may be appended to the file's name, depending on the Add filename extension when uploading Text files preference.
- If the file is determined to be a binary file, Fetch transfers the file in Binary (Raw Data) format. An extension may be appended to the file's name, depending on the Add filename extension when uploading Other files preference.

If you want to preserve the resources of a file that Fetch would normally discard when using Automatic upload format (such as Photoshop resources), you will have to temporarily choose another format, such as MacBinary, from the Remote > Format menu, and then upload that file.

See the upload formats help topic for more information about each format.

Related topics:

- Upload formats
- Upload Preferences
- Download modes