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Download Mysteries
Solved
Downloading
is a simple process.
When you download, you copy a
file from another computer to your computer by way of a
wire or even a wireless connection. Compare downloading with the delivery
of the morning newspaper. Your paper is delivered with a toss, and it
lands on your front step. (If the paper delivery person's aim is good.) When you
download a program from the Internet, it's delivered to your computer. The
toss is performed when you click a link that starts the download
process.
Visualize the newspaper
flying through the air. Now visualize a stream of ones and
zeros speeding over the wires from the
server computer to your home or office PC.
The newspaper is a bundle of
stories. The program you download is a bundle of files. Each
file makes up the entire program you download. A program
can be anything - software, an electronic book, or a game.
Compression
saves time and space
Files are
usually compressed to make them smaller, and to decrease the time it takes
to download them. There are different types of
compression programs that create compressed files. One of the
most popular is the zipped file, or "zip" for
short. You'll see a dot and three letters (".zip") after
the name of the file; for example, "files.zip".
Learn more about zip files
by using our video tutorials. They're on the main tutorials
page.
Downloading
links are easy to find
Download prompts come in all
shapes and sizes. A download prompt can be a button such as
this: 
Or, it could be a text link that appears like this: Download
Now.
In any case, when you
click a download prompt, the first thing your computer
asks is, "What you want to do with the
file?"
What
do I do with the download?
Should it be opened from where it lies? Or should it be
saved on your computer's hard drive? Let's use a few
pictures to help explain.
If you use the Internet
Explorer browser, and click a download link, a dialog box
appears with questions about what you want done with the file:
Your options: Run the
program, or Save the
program to your hard disk. Always choose the Save
option. You want the file located on your hard drive, right?
The Netscape browser skips the preliminary questions and goes straight to the Save As
dialog box as shown below.
Making
sense of the Save As window
Regardless of which browser you're using,
the Save As dialog box or window is ultimately where
you'll do your business. This is the key screen you need to be aware of.
Here's a screen capture of the Save As window, with basic
instructions added in blue font.
This example assumes you're
downloading a program with the name
"tutorials.exe" and that you're saving it to your
computer's desktop.
Never
lose another downloaded file!
Take the following steps to
assure you do not misplace the file on your hard drive. You
can always move files off of your desktop later during
organizational activities. I always suggest downloading to
your desktop because the new download is so easy to find
there. You simply cannot lose the file if you follow this
tried and true method. Here's the step by step:
Step 1. Be
sure the Save in location says Desktop.
Step 2. Click
the drop down button 
and select Desktop if anything other than Desktop appears in the Save
in field. A field is simply an area in which you
can enter text by typing from your keyboard.
Step 3.
Remember the name of the file. Write it down on paper if
you need to.
Step 4. Click
the Save button to begin the download procedure.
Remember the newspaper delivery illustration above? Well,
this is where the paperboy tosses the news! When you click Save,
you'll see the dialog box below. It will look similar --
(you'll
see the beginning of the process instead of a 50% completed
one like this):
Step 5. When
the process finishes, you'll see a new window that confirms
the success of your download and displays some particulars
for your viewing pleasure. It looks like this:
| Practice
downloading right now! Get the FREE ebook I created that gives you a
slide show on how to set up a download system. Click
here to download the e-book. It works with Windows 98 and higher, and
Windows 95 if you have Internet Explorer version 4.0 or
higher installed. Continue reading this page while you wait
for the download to finish. -Tom
Glander |
Attention
to details is pretty important
Notice the information
provided in the dialog box above:
Saved: tutorials.exe from
www.newbieclub.com. This tells you the name of the
program you downloaded and the web site you got it from.
Downloaded:
2.26 megabytes in
1 minute, 8 seconds. That's slow for my cable modem. (Must
have been heavy traffic at the server, since download
speeds can easily hit 200 kilobytes, or 200 thousand bytes
on a good day.)
Download to:
C:\Windows\Desktop\tutorials.exe (this is also known as the path
to the file). You can write this down if you want to.
Transfer rate:
34.0 kilobytes
per second (KB/Sec). That's the speed of the download at the time it
finished. You'll see the rate vary as the download
progresses, depending on traffic and other factors.
If you want
to open the program and have it installed immediately, click the
Open button. The program
you've downloaded will be opened and installed. If it's an
e-book, the e-book will be opened.
If you click
the Open Folder button, then the folder into which you've
sent the downloaded file will open.
Click the
Close button to send the dialog box to bed. That is, to
close
it. You can then open the program you just downloaded by
locating it on your desktop (if you indeed gave Windows
instructions to save it there) and double clicking to start its unzipping,
unpacking, or opening routine.
Create
easy-to-remember folder names using
the Save As dialog box
Organize your
downloads by creating specific folders for them. Click the create
new folder icon--it looks like this: 
.
In the resulting window, create a new folder. Follow these
steps:
-
Type the
name of the folder you want to save your download into.
Use a descriptive name.
-
Press Enter
to save the folder name
-
Click Open
to open the newly created folder
-
Click Save
to save your download into the newly created folder!
Here's an
example of numerous folders being created in a primary folder
named "Downloads." Everything is organized for easy
retrieval. If you ever need to reinstall a program, just go
to your Downloads folder!
Download
to your heart's content
That's really all there is to
know about downloading files from the Internet. You simply save the file
to a folder location on your computer's hard drive. Then you double click
the file to start it.
Big Secret:
Nearly every program you download will contain an
installation vehicle. That is, the program you are interested in using is
packed with another utility that installs the program for you.
That utility program simply loads all the files that make
up the program into their proper folders. It also creates entries
in the Windows Registry. And that's the reason you should
always use the Add/Remove Programs function found in the
Windows Control Panel.
If programs
didn't come compressed, and include installation utilities,
you
would have huge programs with hundreds or even thousands of individual
files. The result
would be total chaos. So software developers have adopted a means whereby
programs can be distributed with an installer program. Double clicking
the file you download starts the installation or unpacking process.
ÜImagine
having 52 Tutorials just like this at your fingertips! The
Newbie Club Learning System is the most talked about
Tutorial method on the Web.
And it's guaranteed to get
you up to speed in hours instead of months.
No wonder everyone's raving
about it. With over 400 pictures, and 200 pages of detailed
Newbie-Speak advice, it makes every other PC manual look
distinctly average!
For a detailed description
of The Newbie Club's highly acclaimed Flagship Product--Windows
for Newbies™-- click
here. And make your PC your friend!
Help
your friend learn more
Click
here to
recommend The Newbie Club
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