MAJOR Download Manager Update

MAJOR Download Manager Update

Okay, first off, the cons. Opera's download manager is probably the only remaining issue I have with the browser. In one word, it's bad. In one longer word, it's buggy. I will download a file, have it cut off halfway. Normal, a lot of servers have issues downloading at some times of the day. In IE it means my download is gone. In Firefox it gets stopped, I have to resume. In Opera I resume as well, only there's a chance that when it's done, I'll end up with a file that's corrupted (most noticeaby in installers). I try to re-transfer, and I get the same corrupted file. The only fix is to delete the download form the list, delete the downloaded file, and try again. That usually works.

That's a bug report, I know, but it's hard to reproduce. How many servers consistently die while sending installers, anyway?


However, that is only part of why I'm here. Opera's downloading code needs a MAJOR revamp, and given how good the rest of Opera is, this would make it the end-it-all browser for downloads. Up to now the only major addition I know of is the bittorrent client. That's great, but we need to go further.



1. Multi-source downloads. This is a BIG one, and could potentially make Opera the best downloader on every OS it's on. Let's say I start a torrent for a Linux Distro. Let's say there's not too many seeds, and it's downloading slowly as a result. So I click the download link on an FTP mirror for that distro. If the filenames and sizes match, Opera should automatically start downloading chunks of the torrent via FTP's resume feature that aren't actively being sent. This should work with multiple ftp and/or http sources. If a source doesn't allow resuming, its sub-bar is highlighted red, and eventually fades out.
2. If a download only makes it halfway, and I delete it from the list, delete the unfinished file. Ask me the first time if I want it to behave that way.
3. Automatically do a quick search for a file's MD5 sig (same folder?). Would make it easy to verify downloaded data.
4. If I hit re-transfer, delete file and download again. This should fix the current problem with re-transfer.
5. Alert me to servers that don't offer resume. Maybe highlighing the bar a flashing pink or something of the sort.

The following are nowhere NEAR as important as the previous ideas.

7. Replace the temp folder with a "My Opera Downloads" folder in "My Documents". Sort by file types, maybe? (videos, music, installers, archives, torrents, in progress). Auto-sort files when they're done downloading.
8. Section off the installer. Downloads and uploads. Makes is MUCH easier to see which downloads got cut off halfway and whatnot. Also keeps in-progress downloads at the top.
9. If I'm downloading a file that's a completed file and the exact same size as the one I just tried to download, and it's in the My Opera Downloads folder, alert me as to whether or not I want to just open the original file. Of course, a check box for "don't show this again" would be apt here. Good for accidentally downloading something twice.


I'll try ot have a mockup of all this out later this week. This would be a fantastic addition to Opera 10 or maybe even 11, and would put it leagues ahead of most other browsers. Heck, add ED2K/Gnutella/Gnutella2 support and that'd be THE END for downloading.

bug reports please to the opera bug tracking system
about the rest:

1) +1
2) +1 unfinished files that remain on HD allways annoy me
3) +1 could be useful, maybe also as a imput (right-click --> enter md5 or sthg like that)
4) +1
5) +1/2 as I don't like flashy pink
6) ... where is it ???
7) -10 don't take my temp folder
8) wtf? I don't get if
9) -1

and e-donkey/gnutella support is a little too much imho

Originally posted by MukiEX:

1. Multi-source downloads. This is a BIG one, and could potentially make Opera the best downloader on every OS it's on. Let's say I start a torrent for a Linux Distro. Let's say there's not too many seeds, and it's downloading slowly as a result. So I click the download link on an FTP mirror for that distro. If the filenames and sizes match, Opera should automatically start downloading chunks of the torrent via FTP's resume feature that aren't actively being sent. This should work with multiple ftp and/or http sources. If a source doesn't allow resuming, its sub-bar is highlighted red, and eventually fades out.
3. Automatically do a quick search for a file's MD5 sig (same folder?). Would make it easy to verify downloaded data.

Sounds like metalink support would fit. (See this thread). It's a file thats lists all the ftp/http/torrent/ed2k/magnet links for a file along w/ MD5/SHA-1 checksums. It makes downloading ISOs really fast & easy.

Right now, it's only supported by download managers but I see this usability enhancement being a major feature that will be noticed by regular users for its speed and convenience. So it will move from the niche P2P programs/download managers into browsers. We'll see if Firefox or Opera is more agile.

7. Tools-Preferences-Advanced-Downloading-Download Folder-Choose C:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\My Opera Downloads ?

You forgot queueing

Regarding 7. in your list:

I have two possible, and easy, solutions:

The right click menu (appearing when the file is rightclicked in the transfer list) should have one or both of the following options:

A) Open the folder that the file was downloaded to.

B) Save this file to... (which would open a save file dialog)

and yes, I agree that a major overhaul of the Download Manager is a must.

Thanks for a great browser, btw

Originally posted by MukiEX:

7. Replace the temp folder with a "My Opera Downloads" folder in "My Documents". Sort by file types, maybe? (videos, music, installers, archives, torrents, in progress).

-1. That would be not only annoying for some of us but also a complete mess regarding the management of the downloaded files. Not to mention the fact that the temp download folder also stores the mail attachments when you want to open them.

As for the rest of your wishes, you are asking for a feature rich download manager. It would be nice to have it but I'm not sure that is the aim of Opera.

Originally posted by guggikofod:

A) Open the folder that the file was downloaded to.

It's already available but you will have to edit menu.ini if you are running Windows, the Open transfer folder item is under the [Transfers Item Popup Menu] section, just remove the " Platform Unix," line.

I support all of these except the temp folder idea, it's really not appropriate to move it to the My Documents. But your other ideas are great and really should be on Opera's mind.

Originally posted by megamanXplosion:

I have never heard of metalink but the concept seems interesting and fruitful. I would also like to see something like metalink integrated into Opera. I’m frequently downloading ISOs for Linux and BSD distributions and various other large software projects so a feature like metalink would be incredibly useful.

metalink is pretty useful. Makes ISO downloads go as fast as your connection and their servers will allow. On my cable connection that means a CD ISO in 15 min and DVD ISOS in about 45. Pretty handy.

7 Linux & BSD distributions use it now for their ISOs, with more on the way. Major download managers on Mac/Unix/Win support it. But if Opera did, I think it would catch on more & be easier to use.

Originally posted by megamanXplosion:

I’m not quite sure what you mean here, but a way to input an MD5 hash into the download manager for verifying the download would be nice.

metalink also supports this. Besides listing mirrors, it lists checksums. If the download program supports it, it automatically verifies the checksum so you don't have to input anything or do any manual process.

Yeah, and while we're at major Download Manager updates, why not add uTorrent-like bittorrent features?
FTP uploading would be cool.

Alerting me to servers that don't offer resume, and queueing are two big ones to me.

Another issue that I noticed in older versions of Opera (but I don't know about 9.01) is that when you resumed, it didn't send the same referrer. Suffice to say, a lot of sites nowadays require a referrer to resume. No referrer? Start from the beginning again. Being on a dialup, this is really painful to me.

Something else that I would like to see to Opera's download manager is the ability to continue downloading the files from servers that don’t support to continue the download if something occurs. I’ve seen it in some download managers, I don’t know if it’s easy to make it, but is very annoying to have downloaded half of the file and have to start it again.
Besides that I agree with all the changes you propose except the 7th that I think it could only be as an option at the preferences.

Anyway opera is great

Originally posted by MukiEX:

7. Replace the temp folder with a "My Opera Downloads" folder in "My Documents". Sort by file types, maybe? (videos, music, installers, archives, torrents, in progress). Auto-sort files when they're done downloading.

+1 for ALL, except for number seven.

Originally posted by xErath:

You forgot queueing

+1 Indeed this should be on top.

Originally posted by xErath:

You forgot queueing

Yes, a +1. I tried downloading all the images from a site, it was 800+ of them. Well, since Opera tried to download ALL of them at the same time, the system almost froze...
Also, something better than DownThemAll! extension for Firefox would be great. The extensions allows to queue and also to split the downloading file in parts, so it downloads much faster. Something like this in Opera would make this browser a must-have (at least from the downloading point of view) for people.

On the Transfers list of downloaded files, I would like to "Open the Containing Folder" of any selected file in the list to delete, rename, copy to another location that file.

Today you have to read the location at the bottom of the page and navigate to there. In my case that is 9 levels deep!

So: Right-Click "Open Containing Folder" command.

To make Opera user friendly, the chance to change the "target download location" right in the transfers window, instead of having to navigate the Tools Preferences dialogs is needed. (In addition)
There is plenty of room at the top of the transfer window for a "settings" or a "target" button.

Originally posted by forcefive:

On the Transfers list of downloaded files, I would like to "Open the Containing Folder" of any selected file in the list to delete, rename, copy to another location that file.

Quoting my post above:

It's already available but you will have to edit menu.ini if you are running Windows, the Open transfer folder item is under the [Transfers Item Popup Menu] section, just remove the "Platform Unix," line.

Wow, there are some great suggestions here. All these suggestions would be fantastic

+1

Adding options to set Download/Upload speeds, like Azureus. So there is some bandwidth left for general browsing or other applications or users on the network.

Another wish of mine would be:
being able to change the destination of some already started but actually suspended download!

This is all the more important since OPERA started to have predefined download destinations. Sometimes disks run full and it's a PITA to change/recatch a whole list to finish at a new destination. Not to forget all the then lost already downloaded parts...

What I did in such a case was editing 'download.dat', which sometimes worked, but sometimes not, because it's a binary file presumably and I wrecked it...
Surely by this method, you also have to move the file stubs on disk to that new location manually, which makes it rather difficult to handle.

If this all could be done automatically and GUI controlled it would be a real advantage!

Originally posted by HaJotKE:

This is all the more important since OPERA started to have predefined download destinations. Sometimes disks run full and it's a PITA to change/recatch a whole list to finish at a new destination. Not to forget all the then lost already downloaded parts...

Interesting you mentioned this, I was in a similar situation few days ago, when I had deleted a partially completed download from the transfers list, but wanted to resume it from Opera but of course couldn't.

I get errors downloading in Opera way too often. It never happens with IE/FF. If there is some temporary error with downloading, Opera should resume automatically. (That is a requirement of any download software IMO, not a 'suggestion'.) The way it is now I have to keep an eye on the transfers tab.

+1 for all your suggestions, they are things I'd like to see too. Except bright flashing pink

+1 All (except 7, and no flash pink on 5 ;-) )
+1 queuing
+1 paste checksum (MD5, SHA1, etc.)
+1 changing name and folder in the middle of the download

Nobody said this one... but: how come when I rename a file, from inside opera (right click, properties), it looses it !?




Not so important... (i.e., can this be done in my lifetime??)
+1 emule/edonkey (other major networks)
+1 file resume in server which don't support it... (lol)
+1 bandwidth limitation
+1 stream downloads (video/music/whatever... if it's in the temp how come i can't save somewhere else???)
+1 multi thread downloads (I don't know how you say it... when the program downloads simultaneously different parts of the file form the same place... and different places too, if available)




Just make it the best download manager ever, since we already have the best browser!!

Originally posted by Kromitvs:

but: how come when I rename a file, from inside opera (right click, properties), it looses it!

How do you do that exactly, please?
I couldn't reproduce it, which 'Properties' and where?

I couldn't reproduce it, which 'Properties' and where?

From the transfers tab/panel (which ever you prefer) right-click a file and choose "Properties". It's a command from the explorer shell and not Opera's (speculating here...)

Then in the top most text box, next to the file icon you can change the name.
Although I thought I could just select rename... I can't find that option...


I'm using Windows XP, but I guess other system will have similar options... (speculating... again!!)

Just download a Free Download Manager and it will solve all your problem. Check the link in my signatures.

Originally posted by Kromitvs:

It's a command from the explorer shell and not Opera's (speculating here...)

Yes, that's correct.
And because of that, if you change the name outside of OPERA, the download/transfer panel/dialog looses the entry, because it isn't there anymore - a behavior I don't like - not automatically, M/B manually - and which I esteem to be overengineered...

Thanks for the info!

Opera is a great browser. For my use, it's got everything for browsing. I love it that gestures are built in, unlike Firefox. It's stable, looks good, doesn't use a lot of resources, standards compliant. The only thing it's missing is a GOOD download manager. It's could be so close to having this, I really think Opera should concentrate on it. The fact that people have to install external download managers is silly. Installing a clunky separate program keeps average people from taking advantage of these features which are pretty basic. Opera could easily be the first main browser to include one.

These are the features I'd like to see. Some are already in Opera, some aren't.

1. Multi-source/segmented/multi-threaded downloads.

The speed increase alone would make people want to use Opera. More power users might flock to it. I see 4x to 5x increase in download speeds when using this. Lots of people have broadband and 1 server downloads can't keep up with this most of the time. If you've got Fiber, forget it. Many people are downloading CD and DVD ISOs for free software too.

2. Download Resume between reboots and sessions.

3. Download queues.

4. Checksum verification (MD5 and SHA-1).

5. Torrents.

6. Metalink, which integrates segmented downloads and checksums, among other things.

7. Option to limit download bandwidth so you can still browse while downloading.

I'm sure there is more, but that seems pretty feature complete right there. Now all that has to be done is make it simple and easy for everyone to use I think Opera can handle that though. I would think that source from open source download managers could be examined for most of these features. It almost seems like there is some silent agreement between browser makers and download manager makers to not disrupt their turf.

I thought we already had Torrents. I don't use that feature though because it's too simplistic and the last time I checked, I couldn't read tracker messages.

Originally posted by antini:

2. Download Resume between reboots and sessions.

+1

+1 vote for metalink

In regard to additional features, Opera is a browser first and foremost. The download function is there for it to save small file quickly and easily. If you need to download large files or require advance features then you would be better off using a dedicated download manager. For freeware I recommend freedownloadmanager.org and for shareware I suggest Getright.

Don't forget FlashGet

I really like <a href="http://www.orbitdownloader.com/">Orbit Downloader</a> - it's new but has lots of features.

Free Download Manager (FDM) is good enough for now, till Opera updates itself.

Originally posted by MukiEX:

I will download a file, have it cut off halfway. [...] In Opera I resume as well, only there's a chance that when it's done, I'll end up with a file that's corrupted (most noticeaby in installers). I try to re-transfer, and I get the same corrupted file. The only fix is to delete the download form the list, delete the downloaded file, and try again. That usually works.

If this gets fixed, I'm more than happy. Having the bugs sorted out before introducing new features is the way to move forward. I also agree to every other suggestion you have, but fixing this annoying bug is definately on the top of my list.

Here's some more metalink info:

Metalink unifies Internet downloads

http://www.geospatialsemanticweb.com/2007/02/25/metalink-unifies-internet-downloads

---

Metalinks Tries to Simplify Downloads

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/25/144209

"Metalinks collect information about files in an XML format used by programs that download. The information includes mirror lists, ways to retrieve the file on P2P networks, checksums for verifying and correcting downloads, operating system, language, and other details. Using Metalinks details the Free Software programs you can use to download them with. There are also clients on Mac and Windows. With a list of multiple ways to download a file, programs can switch to another method if one goes down. Or a file can be downloaded from multiple mirrors at once, usually making the download go much faster. Downloads can be repaired during transfer to guarantee no errors. All this makes things automatic which are usually not possible or at least difficult, and increases efficiency, availability, and reliability over regular download links. OpenOffice.org, openSUSE, and other Linux/BSD distributions use them for large downloads."

interesting

Is any of this on Opera's upgrade radar?

1. +1
2. +1
3. +1
4. +1
5. +1 (except PINK )

And a new:
specify the number of downloads that can be active at the same time
I prefer only one download in time

7. Replace the temp folder with a "My Opera Downloads" folder in "My Documents". Sort by file types, maybe? (videos, music, installers, archives, torrents, in progress). Auto-sort files when they're done downloading.

Does every operating system have a "My Documents" folder?

I just wish for Opera to AUTO-resume without having to click on the resume button.

If server doesnt support resume then just AUTO re-transfer. Just get me that file i wanted.

Originally posted by ad4rum:

I just wish for Opera to AUTO-resume without having to click on the resume button. If server doesnt support resume then just AUTO re-transfer. Just get me that file i wanted.

Yes, definitely. A warning might be useful for the latter one (something like "error downloading file, now trying again")

Originally posted by RADicaLMMS:

Is any of this on Opera's upgrade radar?

Someone from Opera posted in a thread I made about Quick Download (link in sig) and apparently the whole download manager is being rewritten but it may take a while...

+1, Better download manager makes sense, though doesn't affect me much as I use GetRight.

1) +1, although I'm not too bothered.

2) +1, definetely.

3) +1
For files over a user-set value, I think this would be useful. For example when downloading a simple mp3 or music file, it isnt really needed; but for an iso of a Linux distro, it would be useful. Having a built-in md5 hasher to generate the md5 hash once a download is finished and giving it to user would also be useful, although I think this should only be an opt-in feature.

4) +1, Definetely yes.

5) +1, would be useful, but should be an opt-in feature.

7) I'm not so sure, maybe just a folder called 'unfinished' within the 'My Downloads' folder.

8) I'm not sure I understand this one.

9) +1, but also download the first few KB in the background and check that they are identical to the first few KB of the already downloaded file.

-1 for everything.

Yeah, I'm greedy. I want *my* favourite features to be implemented first, cause I can do all the above by third party programs. The Opera Team has limited time on their hands, I want to make sure that they get their priorities right.

1) +1
2) +1
3) 0 I don't care
4) +1
5) +1 (but I wonder how this could be implemented)

7) +1 (make it optional)
8) I don't get it.
9) +1

Opera needs to atleast add background speed enhancements, so Opera will have a download accelerator not just a manager. Most downloads don't even maxout my connection with Opera, but with Orbit downloader they come down blazingly fast.

Like everybody, I have problems too with broken downloads, the download manager doesn't have to have lot's of exotic features, but simple downloading should go without problems. That is currently not he case.

I (and others with me) always store specific files (like torrents or pictures of iso's) in a specific folder on the hard drive. It would be great when opera suggests as download location the place where a file with that EXTENSION was stored last time, instead of where a file was last stored. This saves people from always searching the appropiate special folder.

For the moment, until Opera "upgrades" its download manager, use oGet from Lex1, it uses FlashGot engine and supported up to 25+ Download Managers out there. So, whatever your current Download Manager is, oGet probably support it (it adds menu "download with oGet" and can be integrated into Opera).

I love Opera, although I am only a recent adopter, having only been using it for about a year.. I have serious problems with the download manager / transfers module. I live in Malawi where the comms infrastructure is woeful and interruptions are par for the course..

I'm all for the suggestions that have already been mentioned above, but I'd also like to query why it seems I have to manually resume interrupted downloads. Is there something I'm missing? Opera does not seem to resume them automatically - if it gets stopped, it won't resume unless I click 'Resume'. Is that how it's meant to be? What's wrong with a timeout limit or period for files that haven't completed e.g. 1 minute, after which if a download hasn't completed, it resumes automatically? I couldn't find anywhere to tweak this behaviour within Opera (Tools->Preferences->Advanced->Downloads? - Nothing!)..

I know the argument for dedicated download managers e.g. Getright, Flashget, etc. but there are times that they do not pick certain download links that Opera and other browsers exclusively seem to, especially script-based stuff, indirect links, links governed by access keys that timeout/become invalid if no transfer has occurred within a certain time period, etc..

I apologize if this has been addressed elsewhere - if so, please point me there!

An unattended, tweakable autoresume feature in Opera's DM, in addition to metalinks, queueing, etc... I capture the link in Opera, leave it unattended and come back to find that my large file transfer is complete, despite numerous interruptions - that's my dream.. please make it come true for me!

Originally posted by nukie:

For the moment, until Opera "upgrades" its download manager, use oGet from Lex1, it uses FlashGot engine and supported up to 25+ Download Managers out there. So, whatever your current Download Manager is, oGet probably support it (it adds menu "download with oGet" and can be integrated into Opera).

But not on linux....
So +1 for expanding download manager and supporting metalinks and even p2p;)

1) +1
2) +1
4) +1
5) +1 but not pink