Downloading and Preparing Files

One of the best things about the Web is that you can download files from it. These files can be applications, graphics, audio files, text files, updaters, or any other file you can think of. Downloading files is simple; the only two areas that might give you some trouble are finding the files you download and preparing them for use.

The general process for downloading and preparing files is the following:

1.	Locate the file you want to download.
2.	Download the file to your Mac.
3.	Prepare the file for use by decoding and uncompressing it.

There are two basic ways to download files. You can use a Web browser to download files, or you can use an FTP client (or the Finder) to download files from FTP and other sites. Using a web browser to download files is simpler, but it is also slower. A dedicated FTP client can dramatically speed up file downloading.

For information on using the Finder to download files from an FTP site, p. 489.

Configuring a Downloads Folder

By default, your web browser stores files you download in the Desktop folder in your Home directory (and thus, they appear on your desktop). If this isn't where you want downloaded files to be stored, you should create a folder into which your web browser will always download files. That way, you will always know where to find the files you download and they won't clutter your desktop.

NOTE

Because a directory is modified when you store files in it, you must use a directory that you have permissions to write to. On your Mac OS X startup volume, you are limited to downloading files to a directory within your Home directory. However, you can choose a location outside your Mac OS X startup volume if you want.

If you want other users of your machine to be able to access the files you download, you can use your Public folder as your downloads folder.

After you have created your downloads folder, open the General pane of the Safari Preferences dialog box and use the "Save downloaded files to" pop-up menu to choose that folder.

Downloading Files Using Safari

Downloading files is as simple as anything gets. Safari uses its Downloads window to show you information about the files you are downloading. To start the download process, just click the download link for the file you want to download.

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You can download multiple files at the same time. Start one; then, move back to a web window, move to the next, and start it downloading.

You can also continue to browse the Web while your files are downloading. The speed decreases a bit (or a lot if you are using a dial-up Internet account), but at least you can do something while the file is downloading.

Some sites simply provide the file's name as its link, whereas others provide a Download button. Whichever way it is done, finding the link to click to begin the download process is usually simple.

After you click the link to begin the download, the Downloads window opens showing the progress of the file you are downloading (see Figure 16.15). As a file is downloaded, you see its name, the download progress, and the file size. During the download process, you see the stop button for the file you are downloading; you can stop the process by clicking this button.

Figure 16.15. The Downloads window provides the information and tools you need to manage your downloads.

When the download is complete, you will see the file's icon in the Downloads window. Also, the Stop button becomes the Find in Finder button, which contains a magnifying glass. Click this button to move to the file you downloaded in the Finder.

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If the download process is interrupted for some reason (such as a connection problem or if you clicked the Stop button), the Stop button becomes the Retry button, which contains a circular arrow. Click this button to try to download the file again.

As you download files, Safari continues to add them to the list in the Downloads window. You can clear them manually by clicking the Clear button. You can have Safari remove them automatically by selecting either When Safari Quits or Upon Successful Download on the "Remove download list items" pop-up menu on the General pane of the Safari Preferences dialog box.

After the download is complete, Safari tries to prepare the file that downloaded so you can use it. Most of the time, this works automatically, but in some situations, you must perform this task manually. This process can be somewhat complicated depending on the file you download.

Preparing Files for Use

Most files you download are encoded and compressed. Encoding is the process of translating an application or other file into a plain-text file so it can be transferred across the Internet. Compressing a file is a process that makes the file's size smaller so it can be transferred across the Internet more quickly.

Before you can use a file you have downloaded, it must be decoded and it might also need to be uncompressed. Depending on the type of file it is, these two actions might be done at the same time or might have to be handled separately. An application is required for both tasks; a single application can usually handle them, but occasionally the file might need to be uncompressed with one application and decoded with another.

Understanding File Extensions for Compressed Files

Knowing what will happen in any situation requires that you understand the types of files you are likely to download. You can determine this by the filename extension. The most common extensions with which you will have to deal are listed in Table 16.1.

Table 16.1. Common File Extensions for Compressed or Encoded Mac Files
File Extension	What It Means	Comments
`.bin`	Binary file format	A common encoding format for the Mac.
`.gz`	Unix compression format	The dominant compression format for Unix files.
`.hqx`	Binhex encoding	Another very common encoding format for the Mac.
`.img`	Disk Image file format	A file that is a disk image and must be mounted with the Disk Utility application before it can be used.
`.pkg`	The package format	Package files are installed with the application installer.
`.sea`	StuffIt compression format that can be uncompressed by double-clicking the file	Useful because the recipient of the file doesn't have to have a decompression tool. He simply double-clicks the file to decompress it.
`.sit`	StuffIt compression	One standard compression format for Mac files.
`.tar`	Tape Archive format	An archiving format for Unix computers that is used for some files you might want for Mac OS X.
`.zip`	Zip compression format	The dominant compression format for Windows PCs and Mac OS X's standard compression format.

If the file you download is in the .bin, .hqx, .img, or .pkg format, you don't need to do anything to prepare the file for use. Safari will handle that for you. Some of the other formats, however, will require some manual intervention to prepare the file for use.

Manually Preparing a File for Use

Although you can usually rely on Safari's preconfigured helper applications to handle most of the files you download, it is useful to know how to manually decode and uncompress files you download so you can handle them yourself and better understand how to configure a helper application to do it for you.

By default, Safari attempts to launch the appropriate helper application to handle files you download. If a file you download can be handled successfully by the helper application, it is prepared and a usable version of it is placed in the same folder into which it was downloaded.

If you download a .zip file, double-click it to uncompress it. A usable version of the file or a folder containing usable files (if the .zip includes more than one file) will be created.

If you download a .sit or other file type, you'll need to also download and install a copy of the freeware StuffIt Expander to be able to expand and then use the file.