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Downloading Files

Downloading Files

You might think of downloading as something special, but really, everything you see while browsing the web has already been downloaded to your computer. Downloading really just means that you loaded a file from the internet.

But, just because you've downloaded a file, doesn't mean that you can get it back again. All of the webpages and pictures that you see while on the internet are stored in your temporary internet files. This makes loading those pages faster next time you want to visit them. Your temporary internet folder is hard to get to, buried deep inside your computer. So, if you want to be able to keep one of these downloaded files, you will need to save it in a place that you can get to it again.

You will do this for almost every type of file by SAVING it, just like you would a text document that you had been working on.

Images

Computer Junk

You can save an image by right clicking on it and choosing "Save Image As"

Don't forget to check to see if an image can be enlarged before you save it.

Animated Images

There are also animated images that aren't movies:

You can save these the same way you save any other image.

Music

This is a song called Bee's Wax Rag, it's in a format called MIDI.

This is a sample of a celtic harp playing, but you (probably) won't be able to play it because you don't have Real Player installed on your computer. You could install Real Player, but then it would display ads on your computer until you un-installed it.

This is a traditional song called She Moved Through the Fair. It is in MP3 format, which means that you can play it on your computer without adding any extra programs.

There are also Online Radios that give you music in a live feed - you won't be able to save this music.

KVOD Classical

Programs and Zipped Folders

You need to be extra careful when you are asked about OPENING or SAVING a file. Always choose to save the file to your computer first, and then open it. This gives your Anti-Virus software a chance to look it over, as well and ensuring that you will be able to find the file again on your own computer.

Download Icy Tower!

Download PUTTY

A Zipped Folder is a collection of files that have been tied together to make it easier to download. Instead of downloading 20 separate images, you can download a zipped folder that includes all 20 images for you. After you download the folder, you just have to unzip it.

Download a zipped folder

Movies

Movies are a huge exception to the usual rule for saving from the internet.

Movies ARE NOT stored in your temporary folder, instead, they are only very temporary loaded while you are watching it (this is called buffering). You can tell how much of the movie has been loaded by an extra lighter or darker band that goes before the time cursor. If you are having trouble because your movie jitters and stutters, you just need to pause your movie so that the pre-downloading has time to get far enough ahead of you that you can watch it smoothly.

The reason it is set up this way is for two reasons. 1) you don't want to wait 10 minutes for a movie to download completely before watching. But, with buffering, you don't have to - you watch WHILE it downloads. and, 2) so that you can't save the video to your computer.

That's right, most movies are set up so that you cannot just save them as you would a picture or a song. There are a couple sites that give you the option of downloading the movie, but that will be separate from the actual movie (like a link underneath it).

From YouTube

From Google Video

Download here

PDF (Portable Documents)

A PDF is a special way of sharing printed pages. Instead of actually printing them, they are sent over the computer, and appear on your screen using a PDF reader.

You can just click on a PDF link, and it will open in your browser.

This is a PDF