Should retrieveFile of commons FTPClient remove file from remote server

Question

We are using Commons FTPClient to retrieve files from an ftp server. Our code is similar to:

FTPClient ftpClient= new FTPClient();  
ftpClient.connect(server);  

ftpClient.login(username, password);

FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream(localFile);  

ftpClient.retrieveFile(remoteFile, out)

When we run this code the file is moved from the FTP Server instead of copied. Just wondering is this expected behavior?

If this is expected behavior what is the best approach to retrieve a copy of the file from the server but leave a copy of the file on the server? (We do not have access to write to the FTP Server so we cannot write the file back to the server)

Any help appreciated,

Thanks

AlexR AlexR · Accepted Answer · 2010-12-16T17:49:53

It is very strange behavior. I have just examined the code of FTPClient and did not see something that may remove the remote file. I believe that this is a configuration of your FTP server.

To check it I'd recommend you to try other FTP client. For example unix command line utility ftp or fget or regular web browser.

I wish you good luck.

Should retrieveFile of commons FTPClient remove file from remote server

1 Answers