This is a specific guide on how to install and using ftp client in Ubuntu Desktop. We are going to use gftp as an example, which is a quite familiar ftp client in Linux community. The gftp doesn't included by the default, so you need to install it first. Below is a brief information about gftp:

gFTP is a multithreaded FTP client. This version of it runs under X and was written using GLib/GTK+.  
gFTP features:
* simultaneous downloads,
* resuming of interrupted file transfers,
* file transfer queues,
* downloading of entire directories,
* FTP and HTTP proxy support,
* remote directory caching,
* passive and non-passive file transfers,
* drag-n-drop support,
* bookmarks menu,
* support for SSH and SSH2 file transfers,
* support FXP transfers,
* stop button, and many more features. Author: Brian Masney 

Homepage: http://www.gftp.org/

Install gftp in Ubuntu

You can use Ubuntu Add/Remove program in the Applications menu to install gftp. If you prefer package manager, you can use Synaptic Package Manager which can be entered from System menu and then Administration. Here are step by step screenshots example on how to install gftp in Ubuntu using Add/Remove:

1) Click Applications menu and choose Add/Remove.

2) In the new Add/Remove pane, type gftp in the 'Search' text box:

3) Tick on the gftp result:

4) Click 'Apply Changes' to install gftp:

Here's the full picture of the Ubuntu Add/Remove pane and the complete steps:

gftp basics tutorial

You can open gftp by clicking the Applications menu and then choose gftp from the Internet menu. Below is the gftp interface. There are main menu, remote login shortcut, local section, remote section and ftp progress section.

gftp main menu:

gftp login shortcut:

gftp local section and remote section:

gftp progress section:

Basically, to start using gftp, we need the remote ftp server address and user account information, which is the ftp account username and password. The remote server address can be domain name or IP address. Once you have the information, use the gftp login shortcut to login. Enter remote ftp server address in the 'Host' text box, username in the 'User' and press keyboard 'Enter' key to key in ftp account user password.

If you successfully connect to the remote ftp server, you can see the home directory in the remote section. You can always check the 'Progress section' to see what happened if you fail to connect. Double-click the directory that you want to enter in the remote ftp server. The arrow between local section and remote section shows where you can transfer file (local to remote and remote to local).

Here is an example on how to transfer file from local computer to remote ftp server:

1) Navigate to the directory you want by double-click in the 'Local section'. Click the '..' at the top to go back to the parent directory (previous directory).

2) Do the same for the 'Remote section'.

3) Click the directory that you want to transfer and then click arrow to begin transferring the directory. If you want to transfer a file, double-click will also do the job.

When you are done, click 'Remote' menu and choose 'Disconnect' to terminate the ftp connection.