File Transfer Options

This page details the file formats, compression and encryption, and file transfer protocols supported by the Rhode Island New Hire Reporting Directory

File Formats

We accept new hire reports in a variety of file formats, listed below. Choose which ever file format is most convenient.

Fixed-Width Text Format (Recommended)

Fixed-width is a text file format where each line of the file represents one record, and each field is a fixed length. When preparing a fixed-width file for submission, please refer to the fixed-width file layout.

Excel File

An excel file is a table where the first row designates the fields that make up the file. Data that matches each field is located under each field in its column. For changes to layout, see excel file layout.

Encryption and Compression

Some employers choose to compress and/or encrypt data files which are sent to us. Before implementing either, one should consider:

• Encryption is usually unnecessary when transferring files using a secure method which provides encryption itself.
• Compression is usually unnecessary for all but the largest of files.

We do accept encrypted and/or compressed files according to the following guidelines.

Encrypted Files

We can only accept files encrypted with PGP or GnuPG. You can download our public key.

Compressed Files

We currently only accept ZIP files. No other compression formats are currently supported. Further, we cannot accept password-protected or encrypted ZIP files.

File Transfer Methods

We offer the following options for securely transferring your files to us.

To utilize any file transfer method, you must first register your company and to receive a login ID and password.

Secure Web Upload

Probably the simplest option, secure web upload does not require any special software or configuration. Simply login and click the 'Upload' link on the navigation menu, select your file, and click the 'Upload' button. Your file is processed and you'll receive an email confirmation within minutes.

SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

This method is recommended if you upload many files, upload very large files, or wish to automate file transfer.

To use SFTP you will need to download special client software. Many free file transfer programs which support SFTP are available. Some examples:

• FileZilla (Mac, Windows, Linux)
• WinSCP (Windows)
• PuTTY (Windows)
• Cyberduck (Mac)
• OpenSSH (UNIX, Mac, Windows, etc)

Some of these are command-line oriented, meaning they're best suited for scripting/automation purposes. Others provide an interactive user interface or GUI, and are more suited for manual use. We encourage you to evaluate several client software options to determine which is best for your specific needs. Also note that the list above is not exhaustive - you may find many other free and commercial products which support SFTP, for example, by searching Google.

Once you have chosen, downloaded, installed, and configured your SFTP client software, you are ready to connect. The parameters you will want to use when configuring your connection are as follows:

If you have any trouble configuring your software, establishing a connection, or transferring files, please contact us.

Public Key Authentication

We support public key authentication for advanced users wishing to automate an SFTP-based transfer in an environment where supplying a password interactively is impractical (from a script or batch process, for example).

To enable public key authentication for your account, simply generate your public key, then copy/paste it into our contact page and send it to us. We will let you know once it's been installed. The key may be either RSA or DSA, but must be in one of the following formats: OpenSSH, PEM, PKCS8 or RFC4716.