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There are numerous ways to download files from the internet. Before you do any
downloading there are a couple of things you should do first. Number one, and
most important, is know your site. There are viruses out there just waiting
to wreak havoc with your system. Most commercial sites perform virus checking
on a routine basis. If you are going to be downloading from more obscure sites,
universities, bulletin boards etc., you should have a virus checker of your
own on your computer. It is a good idea to have an antivirus software on your
computer for email borne virii also. The second thing you might want to do is
create a special directory to hold anything you download from the net before
installing it on your computer. Name this directory downloads. If you don't
know how to create a directory on your hard disk, check your manual, it's not
very difficult.
Once you have a place to put files, how do you get them? Let's
take web browsers first.
- Netscape Navigator: When you click on something you want to download, Netscape
will pop up a window informing you that you have clicked on something for
which it is not configured. That's fine. Click on the button that says Save
to Disk. Another window will pop up asking you where you want to save the
file. Click on the download directory you created. The file will be sent to
you and the download will begin.
- Microsoft Internet Explorer: Click on the file you want to download. The
Internet Explorer will pop up a window that offers you the option of opening
the file or saving it. You want to save the file. After you click on save,
a directory window will pop up. Choose your download directory, click on save
and the download will start.
- The rest. All browsers perform in much the same manner. Just make sure you
have save to disk clicked somewhere and you should be all right.
You can also download files using an ftp (File Transfer Protocol) program.
Most of these programs include a number of sites to connect to using them. The
tricky part of ftp downloads is figuring out what the file you want is named.
The names can be pretty obscure. However, there is usually an index.txt file
that will explain all the arcane names. If you know what you want, make sure
your download directory is active in the left hand window and double-click on
the file you want in the right hand window. If this sounds confusing, see the
page on ftp downloading.
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