Downloading Files from the Internet
3 Basic Issues
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How do I download a file?
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Where does the file go when I download it?
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How do I open or view it once it's downloaded?
An organizational tip:
Create a "downloads" folder, then create a Desktop Shortcut (Windows 95/98)
to this folder. Save all files you download from the Internet to this Downloads
folder for quick and easy access to these files!
To create a new folder:
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In the My Computer Window, double-click the C: drive icon.
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In the C: drive window, on the Menu Bar click File, select New, then click
Folder.
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Type a name for your folder (i.e. Downloads) and press Enter.
To create a desktop shortcut:
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In the C: drive window, right-click and drag the new folder to an
open area on the Windows 95/98 Desktop, then release the right mouse button.
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Select Create Shortcut Here from the popup menu that appears.
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Right-click the folder's icon on the Desktop and select Rename from the
popup menu. Type a new name for the shortcut (i.e. Downloaded Files) and
press Enter.
How do I download a file?
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Click a link to a downloadable file in any Web page.
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Choose a folder to save the file in
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Click Save
You can minimize the downloading window and open other browser windows
to do other things while this file is downloading.
Tip: Look for a listing of the file's size and approximate
download time at the site before downloading. Some sites will give you
this information, others will not. Files larger than 1.44 Mg. will not
fit on a single floppy disk!
Virus Issues:
When you download files from the Internet you run the risk of spreading
viruses to your system. It's a good idea to install up-to-date virus scanning
software on your system and then check each file you download BEFORE you
open the file. It's also important to make sure you keep your virus scanning
software updated with the most current release of the program.
If the file you download is small enough to fit onto a single floppy
disk, download it to disk, then scan it with your virus software before
copying the file to your computer's hard disk.
How do I open or view a downloaded file?
How you open and view a downloaded file depends on the type of file it
is. Look at the file's extension (the 3 character file ending after the
period). The easiest way to open a downloaded file is to locate it in either
My Computer or Windows Explorer and double-click the file name. If the
file's extension is recognized as a file type associated with an application
installed on your computer, the application will load and the file will
open.
.pdf files - Portable Document Format - can be
opened and viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. (Acrobat Reader
can be downloaded for free from the ITS Help Desk Archive pages at http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/csg/software/
).
Word processing, spreadsheet, database files can be opened and viewed
using the application software the file was created in; for example, files
ending in .xls are generally Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files and files
ending in .doc are generally Microsoft Word documents.
Graphic files can be opened and viewed in any graphic editing application
such as Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Photo Editor, etc. Graphic files ending
with the extension .jpg or .gif can also be opened and viewed with any
web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer.
Files ending with .exe - Executable files - may either be programs that
run when you double-click the file in My Computer or the Windows Explorer
or they may be self-extracting compressed archives file which will automatically
decompress to their original state when double-clicked.
Files ending with .zip - several files compressed into one smaller file
for transfer over the Internet. Zip files must be "unzipped" using an unzipping
utility before the files can be opened.
Popular "unzipping" utilities:
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WinZip (Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98 versions available) - Shareware
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SuperZip (Windows 95) - Freeware and Shareware versions available
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PKUnzip (DOS) - Shareware
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Aladdin Expander 5.0 - Windows and Macintosh versions available - Freeware
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Stuffit Expander - Macintosh - Shareware
Freeware vs. Shareware:
Freeware is absolutely free for use by anyone.
Shareware is a "try it before you buy it" system. Some shareware authors
request that you send a small registration fee if you decide to keep the
software installed on your machine after trying it, but is completely on
the honor system. Other shareware has built in programming that will disable
the software after the evaluation period has passed or is set to allow
only a small amount of data to be accessed or entered before forcing registration
and payment.
Be aware that not all shareware and freeware available for download
will have the full functionality of a commercial version of the same software.
Some good sources of freeware and shareware:
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ITS Help Desk Software Archives - http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/csg/software/
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CNET - http://www.shareware.com/
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File Mine - CMP Media - http://www.filemine.com
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Hotfiles - ZDNet - http://www.zdnet.com/swlib/
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download.com - http://www.download.com
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SoftwareNow.com - http://www.SoftwareNow.com
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Tucows - http://www.tucows.com
Try searching the WWW using the keywords "freeware", "shareware" and "software";
you'll be amazed at the huge amount of software available for download.
Be aware that the University is occasionally audited for unregistered
and/or unlicensed copies of software installed on University owned computers.
Please be sure to properly register any shareware applications you install
on University owned machines according to instructions included with the
software when you download it. If you don't intend to register the software,
be sure to remove the application when the evaluation period has expired.