Teleport Pro

Tennyson Maxwell describes its Teleport Pro client as part Swiss Army knife, part chainsaw. Both are apt descriptions of this multi-faceted package. Like the Swiss Army knife, Teleport Pro offers tons of features in a small package. Not only can you download a complete website to your local computer (something nearly all Web agents can do these days), but you can also retrieve specific files or documents from web sites; create an exact duplicate, or mirror, of a website (complete with subdirectory structure, HTML, graphics, and Java applets); use keywords to search a remote site for matching HTML documents; search a site for specific types of files; explore external websites that are linked from a central site; and much more. But what good is a deluxe web agent client if it can't do most of the work for you? This is where the chainsaw metaphor for Teleport Pro comes in. Teleport Pro relieves you of much of the grunt work in several ways. First, the client is multi-threaded which will allow you to conduct multiple searches concurrently or to work on other projects while Teleport runs in the background. Second, for each of Teleport's six major functions, there is a Project Wizard that will guide you through the entire process, saving you both time and energy. Third, for each function, you can restrict the searching or retrieving process. By establishing the maximum number of files to be retrieved, by setting a limit of external levels to be analyzed, or by restricting searches to specific web pages or sites, you can fine-tune your 'Web Chainsaw' to meet your particular needs. Additional Teleport Pro features include Java applet retrieval capabilities (allowing you to download Java classes and base classes), project scheduling for running projects at automatic intervals, access capabilities for password-protected sites, file type and size filtering, proxy server and firewall support, and support for up to ten simultaneous searches. Two additional features that merit attention are Teleport Pro's Domain Dispersed Querying and Server Overload Protect which are designed to improve either the speed or the reliability of your web searches. Domain Dispersed Querying ensures that slow servers do not slow down your entire retrieval process, while Server Overload Protection prevents remote servers from overloading and dropping your connection. While Teleport Pro's solid combination of automated features and powerful overall functionality will attract many followers, the client does lack some tools and options that would make it even better. For example, the project scheduling feature lacks an advanced scheduling agent, which means you won't be able to program Teleport Pro to perform tasks at times when you're away from your computer. Teleport Pro could also benefit from being able to check a web site for revised information and then downloading only the files or documents that are more recent than the ones stored on the local site. Such a feature would also help to synchronize mirror sites in a much more efficient fashion. Overall, despite a few minor setbacks, Teleport Pro is another super agent that, like NetAttache and WebWhacker, can make the web a whole lot faster and more enjoyable to use. Pros: Quick, easy to use client; great selection of features for searching and downloading web sites Cons: Lacks several features, including advanced scheduling and synchronization agents Version Reviewed: 1.1 Date of Review: 9/7/96 For the latest Teleport Pro information, check out: http://www.stroud.com/95agents.html#teleport