Web browsers download data all the time—
each page you view is a downloaded copy of code stored on that Web site’s server. Down- loading other files is a little more complicated, but it’s getting simpler all the time. Mozilla Firefox 3, available in beta as of this writing, adds a few small improvements to the downloading process that makes saving files from the Internet easier than ever. A refined Download Manager provides ready access to files, quickly locates downloads, and even keeps track of downloads gone wrong. If downloading files sometimes seems a little mysterious, get to know the Firefox Downloads window.
Click & Receive
Most of the time, starting a download is a simple business: Just click the link. A file intended to be downloaded is likely coded into the Web page in such a way that merely clicking the link
in the standard fashion causes those bytes to start flowing. Sometimes, you must right-click a file link, choose Save Link As, and then choose a location on your hard drive to save the file. Although getting the download started is usu- ally easy, one frequent frustration is losing track of the file after it arrives on your hard drive. Browsers might be set to save downloads into particular, obscure folders, or you might accidentally tell the browser to save to some random folder. You’re not alone if you’ve ever downloaded a file a second time just because you
gave up trying to locate the first copy. The Firefox Download Manager dispenses with that particular problem. Before spending time hunting for a downloaded file, just open the Downloads window from the Tools menu or by pressing CTRL-J. The Downloads window should display all recent downloads by file name. Right-click the file in question. Choose Open Containing Folder, and the folder where the file resides will open on your screen. You can also simply double-click a
file name right inside the Downloads window to open it. If you’ve downloaded so many files that you don’t immediately see the one you want, try the Downloads window’s Search function. Type the file’s name or the name of the site where you found the file. Downloads that do not match your search disappear as you type until the correct file remains.
Custom Features
To alter options relating to Download Manager, click Tools and Options. On the Main tab, you’ll see a section called Downloads. From there, you can choose whether the Download Manager appears automatically when you begin to download a file and whether it closes on its own as soon as a download is complete.You can also choose the default location for dumping downloaded files. The default is your Desktop folder. If you can’t stand even temporary Desktop clutter, you can change the download destination to any other folder you like. You can also click the option to always have Firefox ask you where the downloaded file should be saved each time you begin a download. One more download-related setting to keep in mind is on the Privacy tab. Here, you can choose whether Firefox remembers your downloads at all. Deselect the Remember What I’ve Downloaded checkbox, and files will no longer appear in the Downloads window. If you don’t want to go that far, you can always delete individual items from the list by right-clicking a download in the Downloads window and choosing Remove From List.
Do Over
Firefox also supports resumable downloading. That means if a long download is cut off halfway through because of a computer crash, network problems, or browser freeze, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off once the problem is fixed. You can also pause the download by opening the Download Manager and clicking the Pause button next to the download you want to continue later. Resumable downloading didn’t always work in our tests. Sometimes a paused file would generate an error message when we tried to resume the download. However, the Downloads window will continue to list the file so that the file is not left be- hind. A handy Retry button next
to the file name restarts the download from the beginning. Downloading files doesn’t really get any easier.
each page you view is a downloaded copy of code stored on that Web site’s server. Down- loading other files is a little more complicated, but it’s getting simpler all the time. Mozilla Firefox 3, available in beta as of this writing, adds a few small improvements to the downloading process that makes saving files from the Internet easier than ever. A refined Download Manager provides ready access to files, quickly locates downloads, and even keeps track of downloads gone wrong. If downloading files sometimes seems a little mysterious, get to know the Firefox Downloads window.
Click & Receive
Most of the time, starting a download is a simple business: Just click the link. A file intended to be downloaded is likely coded into the Web page in such a way that merely clicking the link
in the standard fashion causes those bytes to start flowing. Sometimes, you must right-click a file link, choose Save Link As, and then choose a location on your hard drive to save the file. Although getting the download started is usu- ally easy, one frequent frustration is losing track of the file after it arrives on your hard drive. Browsers might be set to save downloads into particular, obscure folders, or you might accidentally tell the browser to save to some random folder. You’re not alone if you’ve ever downloaded a file a second time just because you
gave up trying to locate the first copy. The Firefox Download Manager dispenses with that particular problem. Before spending time hunting for a downloaded file, just open the Downloads window from the Tools menu or by pressing CTRL-J. The Downloads window should display all recent downloads by file name. Right-click the file in question. Choose Open Containing Folder, and the folder where the file resides will open on your screen. You can also simply double-click a
file name right inside the Downloads window to open it. If you’ve downloaded so many files that you don’t immediately see the one you want, try the Downloads window’s Search function. Type the file’s name or the name of the site where you found the file. Downloads that do not match your search disappear as you type until the correct file remains.
Custom Features
To alter options relating to Download Manager, click Tools and Options. On the Main tab, you’ll see a section called Downloads. From there, you can choose whether the Download Manager appears automatically when you begin to download a file and whether it closes on its own as soon as a download is complete.You can also choose the default location for dumping downloaded files. The default is your Desktop folder. If you can’t stand even temporary Desktop clutter, you can change the download destination to any other folder you like. You can also click the option to always have Firefox ask you where the downloaded file should be saved each time you begin a download. One more download-related setting to keep in mind is on the Privacy tab. Here, you can choose whether Firefox remembers your downloads at all. Deselect the Remember What I’ve Downloaded checkbox, and files will no longer appear in the Downloads window. If you don’t want to go that far, you can always delete individual items from the list by right-clicking a download in the Downloads window and choosing Remove From List.
Do Over
Firefox also supports resumable downloading. That means if a long download is cut off halfway through because of a computer crash, network problems, or browser freeze, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off once the problem is fixed. You can also pause the download by opening the Download Manager and clicking the Pause button next to the download you want to continue later. Resumable downloading didn’t always work in our tests. Sometimes a paused file would generate an error message when we tried to resume the download. However, the Downloads window will continue to list the file so that the file is not left be- hind. A handy Retry button next
to the file name restarts the download from the beginning. Downloading files doesn’t really get any easier.
0 comments:
Post a Comment