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Unable to use backslashes (\) as directory separator in paths; 501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments

Karla Marsh
EFT

THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE APPLIES TO:

  • EFT, v7.x and later
  • EFT v4.x to v7.4.x stores advanced properties in the registry.
  • EFT v8.x stores Advanced Properties in a JSON file.
    • When you upgrade from EFT v7.4.x to EFT v8, the non-default settings that you have defined in the registry will be added to the Advanced Properties file during upgrade. (Default settings are part of the EFT configuration files.)
      Please refer to the EFT help for a spreadsheet of advanced properties for your version of EFT.

SYMPTOM

Unable to use backslashes (\) as directory separator in paths, causing a "501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments" error message.

RESOLUTION

Create the registry entries described below.

32-bit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\GlobalSCAPE Inc.\EFT Server 7.0\

64-bit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node\GlobalSCAPE Inc.\EFT Server 7.0\

Create the DWORD values described below:

ReplaceBackslashWithSlashInPathsForFTP

ReplaceBackslashWithSlashInPathsForSFTP

Values:

1 = enabled; that is, backslashes (\) in paths are replaced with forward slashes (/)

0 = disabled

Default = 0

It may be necessary to restart the EFT server service.

MORE INFORMATION

The SFTP specification (https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-02) says: "File names are assumed to use the slash ('/') character as a directory separator." EFT v6.5 does not precisely follow the RFC in this regard and allows using a backward slash ('\') as directory separator.

EFT 7.0 and later work according to the RFC. We've implemented this registry key to make EFT v7.x and later work the same way as v6.5 for backward compatibility.

Details
Last Modified: 3 Years Ago
Last Modified By: kmarsh
Type: ERRMSG
Rated 1 star based on 9 votes.
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