Downloading

Download a text file - right-click this link and choose Save Target As

Download an audio file - right-click this link and choose Save Target As

Many files are made available through the Internet for you to download. This means that you fetch a copy of the file from the Internet and save it on your own computer.

Typical examples of files that are often downloaded are:

• New application programs bought on the Internet
• Program updates
• Product information
• Zipped files (.zip) - these are files that have been compressed to make them smaller and quicker to download
• Exe files (.exe) - these may be program files, or so called self-extracting zipped files
• Acrobat reader files (.pdf)
• Music, pictures and other multimedia files

The list is almost endless!

While you are downloading a file, you can continue to browse the Internet - you don't have to stop and wait.

Once you have downloaded a file and saved it, you can access it with a suitable application program.

File downloads often break down - bad quality communication lines or too much traffic on the Internet may cause this, for example. If this happens you will need to start again, although some programs allow a break in the download and can than re-start from where they left off.

Downloads can take a very long time. The two criteria are file size and speed of access. A 56K modem will download 1 Mb (1,000 Kb) in roughly 10 minutes if the line is good. Small files (100 - 200 Kb) are not really a problem. Some program files and program updates are as much as 6 Mb and will take an hour or more to download. ISDN lines are quicker, and broadband connections (such as ADSL) will alleviate the problem.

  How to download a file

You are normally guided to a link, which you need click to start the download procedure.

• Click the download link as instructed on the web page - the File Download dialog box is displayed
• You can then choose to open the file from its current location or save it to disk - it is advisable to choose the latter option
• If you choose to save the file to disk, the Save As dialog box will then be displayed
• In the File name box, enter a name for the file, or just keep the suggested filename
• Use the Save in list box and the list of folders and files to choose a folder for your file, or just keep the suggested folder
• Click Save or press Enter
• When the download is complete, click Close