---
schema_version: "1"
id: 6c09898368a9fdfc89ba32d896fba34106af7807a09040b37845ab3f2e59ac5b
title: How to Use the File Transfer Activity in Automation Studio
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/mktg/264-0-0/mc_as_using_the_file_transfer_activity.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_as_using_the_file_transfer_activity.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: a6396d1462cc63ff1a48fb06457ca90c72727270ae0d9eef2cbf76178eb5354f
description: In Automation Studio, you can unzip or decrypt a file found in the Enhanced FTP directory for Marketing Cloud Engagement. With the File Transfer Activity, you can securely transfer files from the Safehouse, a secure file transfer location, to a selected FTP location.
products:
  - Marketing
  - Marketing Cloud Engagement
release: "264"
---
# How to Use the File Transfer Activity in Automation Studio

In Automation Studio, you can unzip or decrypt a file found in the Enhanced FTP directory for Marketing Cloud Engagement. With the File Transfer Activity, you can securely transfer files from the Safehouse, a secure file transfer location, to a selected FTP location.

- If you used a Marketing Cloud Engagement Public Key to encrypt a file in the Enhanced FTP directory, use **Manage File**, to unzip, or decrypt it. If you used Key Management for encryption, contact your account executive for other options.
- To move a file from the secure file transfer location to a designated FTP location, use **Move a File From Safehouse**, formerly the Upload option.

## Considerations

Engagement assumes that the FTP Server in the selected File Transfer Location is reporting time in [UTC](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time) (no time zone offset). If the remote FTP server is not using UTC, adjust the specified hour limit to account for the variance. If the activity is used in an automation, use system buffer.

Check out these other documentation pages for more information:

- **[Create a File Transfer Activity in Automation Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_as_create_a_file_transfer_activity.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Use the File Transfer Activity in Automation Studio to move, unzip, encrypt, or decrypt a file.
- **[Manage a File with the File Transfer Activity in Automation Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_as_file_management_with_the_file_transfer_activity.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    In Automation Studio, unzipped or decrypted files using file transfer are typically named according to a filename pattern. If the file you’re unzipping or decrypting resulted from a data extract activity, the file name pattern must match the data extract pattern.
- **[Move a File with the File Transfer Activity in Automation Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_as_move_a_file_with_the_file_transfer_activity.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    In Automation Studio, files moved from the safehouse to an FTP location are typically named according to a file name pattern. If your moved file is from a data extract activity, the file name pattern must match the data extract that it was configured to produce.
- **[Substitution Strings Example](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_as_substitution_strings_example.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Use substitution strings in a File Transfer activity or Data Copy or Import (formerly Import File) activity in Automation Studio.

#### See Also

- [Filename Patterns Reference](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_as_filename_patterns_reference.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Review these guidelines for the design of a file naming pattern in Automation Studio.")