How to Manage Downloads From Your Web Browser

For all their differences, major Web browsers include similar download-management features.

Downloading files forms an integral part of your online activity. Whether they're software updates and application patches, tutorial and instructional PDF files, photos from your friends' and family members' image libraries, or any other form of content, you want to access and archive them through your Web browser. Use some common – and not-so common – tips to get a handle on how your browser processes downloaded files, then look at browser enhancements that can extend your access to downloaded content.

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Instructions

1. Internet Explorer

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     Press "Ctrl-J" or click on the "Tools" button -- the gear icon at the top right corner of an Internet Explorer 9 browser window -- and choose "View Downloads" to bring up the Download Manager. With the release of IE9 in March 2011, Microsoft debuted the first generation of its long-time browser software to include an integrated download-management module, the lack of which had led to criticism when compared to other browsers that had included the functionality for numerous versions.
     
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     Check your download progress in the Download Manager. Each download displays its completion percentage, per-second download speed and time remaining. It shows where the downloaded file comes from and where you've told IE to put it. Each download listing includes context-sensitive buttons that enable you to pause, restart or cancel a current file transfer, run or save a Microsoft software installer, and open a file directly from the Download Manager. If you don't see a download speed indicator unless you hover your cursor over the completion percentage, you're using a very early version of IE9 and should update your browser.
     
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     Keep IE up to date, especially for security fixes but also to assure proper download functionality. IE9's initial release included a bug that caused Download Manager to appear stuck at 99% completion with one second left in a download, although the files had actually finished downloading. This phenomenon occurred if you closed the Download Manager 15 seconds before a download completed. Security updates resolved this issue.
     
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     Use IE's Download Manager to screen out malware. Its SmartScreen protection against malicious files relies on file-reputation data and virus scans to alert you to bad files and spare you bogus alerts about known good downloads. SmartScreen debuted in IE8 as a guard against malicious websites, a function it still performs in IE9.
     
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     Change IE9's default download location. Click on the "Options" link at the bottom right corner of the Download Manager interface to set a new default, which defines where files wind up when you're not given a choice of destination. Click on the "Browse" button to navigate to and set a location other than your Downloads folder.
     
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     Right-click on a file listing in Download Manager to manage your downloads. You can go directly to the folder that contains a file, copy the link from which you downloaded it, delete the file or test it with SmartScreen.
     

   Google Chrome

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     Click on the wrench icon in the Chrome toolbar to access Options and set your default download location. Click on the "Under the Hood" link at the left side of the Options window, then scroll down to the Downloads section at the bottom of the window. Click on the "Change" button to navigate to and select a default location for all your downloaded files. Alternatively, you can activate the "Ask Where to Save Each File Before Downloading" check box immediately below the "Change" button. This preference tells Chrome to bring up a dialog box asking for a download location each time you retrieve a file.
     
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     Use Safe Browsing to defend yourself against malware. Like Internet Explorer's SafeScreen function, Safe Browsing checks websites and files against a list of known good and bad destinations and downloads, then flags potential problems. The viability of this feature depends on a list that Google maintains, so don't assume it offers protection as robust as a standalone safety add-on.
     
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     Monitor download progress right in your Chrome tab by watching its downloads bar, located at the bottom of the tab. The button that accompanies the download bar lets you open the file with a single click. As a safety measure, executable files require extra intervention on your part before they'll download in Chrome. Click on the "Save" button in the downloads bar to confirm that you want the file downloaded to your computer. If you're unsure, click on the "Discard" button instead.
     
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     Pause, resume or cancel a download, or reveal it in its downloaded location, in the Downloads window, which shows a chronological list of your download activity. Press "Ctrl-J" to bring up the Downloads window, then locate your download in the list or use the search field to find it. Use the "Pause" and "Cancel" links next to any active download to interrupt or halt it, and the "Resume" link that replaces "Pause" to continue downloading. A "Show in Folder" link replaces the activity links once your download finishes, giving you one-click access to the downloaded file. The Downloads window also shows you how much time remains before your download completes and how fast it's downloading. If you right-click on an entry in the Downloads window, you can copy the file, its path or its download link.
     

   Firefox

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     Manage and monitor your downloads in Firefox's Downloads window. From the Tools menu, choose "Downloads" to open the window. Each active download displays a progress bar, live download speed statistics, and time- and data-remaining status displays, along with Pause and Cancel icons. Completed downloads show the file name, size, source website and date.
     
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     Right-click on a Downloads window entry to open the file, show it in its location on your hard drive, copy the link from which you downloaded the file or open the download page. You also can remove the individual download entry from the list.
     
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     Search the chronological list in the Downloads window using the integrated search field at the bottom right edge of the window. You can locate current or completed files by name, and completed files by the name of the site from which you downloaded them.
     
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     Open the Firefox menu and choose "Preferences" to bring up Firefox's Preferences window and establish your download settings in its General tab. You can bring up the Downloads window automatically each time you download a file and use a separate check box to tell Firefox to close the window after your downloads finish. The same Preferences section also allows you to establish a default downloads location or force Firefox to ask where you want each file downloaded on a case-by-case basis. Unless you set your own default location, Firefox places files in your Downloads folder.