You download hundreds of files to your computer on a
weekly—and sometimes daily—basis, a practice that can take
forever and has the potential to turn your organized filesystem into a
cluttered nightmare. On Tuesday we asked you to share your
favorite download manager, and now we're back with the five most
popular tools our readers use to manage, organize, and speed up their
downloads. Keep reading for a detailed rundown of the top five, then let us
know which you like best.
DownThemAll (All Platforms)
Firefox extension DownThemAll (dTa) is a powerful
download manager with a stable of advanced features to enhance your
download experience. As the name suggests, one marquee feature of dTa is
the ability to download every image or linked file on a page in one fell
swoop; if you don't want every file, dTa has advanced filtering criteria to
help you get exactly what you want. What's more, dTa can also boost your
download speeds up to 400% by splitting files into multi-part downloads. If
you're new to dTa, check out our guide to supercharging
your Firefox downloads with DownThemAll.
FlashGet (Windows)
FlashGet is a free,
standalone Windows download manager. The application delivers tons of
advanced features like DownThemAll, including pause and resume, file
splitting, and download acceleration. FlashGet can organize your downloads
once they're saved to your computer and it supports multiple transfer
protocols, from HTTP and FTP to BitTorrent. If you like the look of
FlashGet and you're a Firefox user, be sure to grab the FlashGot Firefox extension to integrate
FlashGet directly with your Firefox downloads. It also has specialized
features for downloading flash video from the likes of YouTube.
Free Download Manager
(Windows)
Free Download
Manager (FDM) is a beefy open-source download manager with an
impressive feature set similar to DownThemAll and FlashGet. It supports
download acceleration, file splitting, and multiple transfer protocol
support. FDM and FlashGet both display an always-on-top translucent drop
box on your desktop so you can easily drag new downloads into the app, and
like FlashGet, you can integrate FDM directly with Firefox with the FlashGot extension.
The Download Statusbar
Firefox extension streamlines and supercharges Firefox's default
download manager and doesn't use a separate window do to it—instead
it places downloads and progress bars in Firefox's statusbar (fitting name,
isn't it?). That's not all that Download Statusbar offers, though: The
add-on also integrates with your anti-virus application for automatic
download scanning, has several configurable options, and is totally
customizable. If you liked the streamlined look of downloads when we took
you on a screenshot
tour of Google Chrome, Download Statusbar brings
the same basic look and feel to Firefox.
Sometimes the built-in tools are all you need, which is why many
readers still prefer Firefox's built-in download manager to handle their
downloads. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the other featured
download managers—the most notable new features in Firefox's download
manager are as-you-type search and pause and resume of downloads—but
it's solid, and that's all many people are looking for.
You've
seen the five favorites your fellow readers chose; now it's time to pick
the best.
This
week's honorable mention goes to Orbit Downloader, a
free Windows download manager that just missed the cut. Let's hear more
about your download manager of choice and why you love it, whether or not
it made the top five.
