if I have a .netrc file that looks something like this:

machine fl.address.net
login myname


and I wanted to make it so that when I hit ftp fl.address.net it will open the connection, prompt for my password, and then automatically set the transfer mode to ascii. How can I do this? Maybe I dont need to add it to my .netrc file, I dunno

Thanks for your help !

I'm afraid you can't!

They only possibility I see for you is to define a macro in your .netrc file that will first set type to ascii and then transfer the files you want.

To define a macro, type the following in the line just after your "machine...":
macdef <name>
ascii
<commands>

Don't forget to leave a blank line after your macro, it tells ftp where your macro stops.

And if you want your macro to be automatically executed at auto-login, you have to set the macro name to "init". And you can also set your passwd in your .netrc file directly, did you know?

Hope this helps!

Cheers