Downloading Files - Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I don't have any idea how to download files. Help!A: Let's take this one step at a time...
Before you begin downloading, I would recommend that you create a NEW folder (directory) on your hard drive for TEMPORARY download files. It would be best to create this new folder directly underneath the C: drive and call this new folder DOWNLOAD. This is where you can place newly acquired downloaded files.
So...let's get started...
1) If you are using Windows 95/98, open up Explorer. You can find Explorer
by clicking the Start button, then choose Programs, then choose Windows
Explorer.
2) Left mouse click on your C: drive icon located in the left side panel
so that it is highlighted.
3) Choose File from the Main Menu.
4) Choose New, then choose Folder.
5) Name the folder Download
Note: You will only need to create this Download folder once.
Once this procedure has been accomplished, in the future you can proceed directly to the following steps:
Once you have created a folder named Download, you can now surf on the Web
until you find a file you wish to download. You could practice now by downloading this page you are
reading so you can print it out for future reference. We have called this file Dloadhelp.txt.
and we have put it into a self extracting .exe file. This file is called Dloadhelp.exe and this is the file
you will download.
For practice, let's download this program/file.
(The following illustrates the steps you take with Internet Explorer. Netscape is quite similar)
1) Just below you will see a link, or to be more precise, the words "CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD". If you move the mouse over these words the mouse pointer will change to a small hand. This tells you it is either a link to another page, or in this instance, a file you can download.
Double Click the mouse to begin downloading. After a few seconds, the following window will appear.
2) You should make sure the "Save this program to disk" is selected and then click "OK".
3) You browser will then display a window asking your where you would like to store (or save) this new file.
4) Click on the new Download folder that you created minutes earlier. The Dloadhelp.exe will then be downloaded (copied) to your C:\Download folder.
5) Once the download process has completed, simply use Windows Explorer or My Computer to go to the Download folder, and double click on the Dloadhelp.exe file. This will launch the Dloadhelp.exe program.
6) A "Winzip Self Extractor" window will appear and you should click on the top button marked "Unzip".
It will then "unzip" a file called dloadhelp.txt and put it in your C:\WINDOWS\TEMP folder
Use Windows Explorer to look in the C:\WINDOWS\TEMP folder and find the dloadhelp.txt file. If you double click on it you will see it open in Notepad.
7) That's it. You should now be enjoying your new download.
Q: I just downloaded one of the files from your site. The
download appeared to go smoothly, however, I can't find the file I
downloaded and therefore can't open it or install it. Help!
A: You need to be attentive when you download a program. Downloading a
file means that you are transferring a file from an Internet server (a
computer located in some far away land) to your computer. The problem
is,... just downloading the file to your hard drive does NOT install the
program. It's like receiving a delivery package in the mail,... Just
because the box has arrived at your front door does not mean that the
contents of the package have been unboxed. Obviously you must open the
box and take the contents of the package out before it becomes useful to
you. Likewise, YOU must RUN the program (file) after you download it.
It is very important to make a mental or written note as to where you
downloaded the file on your hard drive. Just saying "I saved it to drive
C" is like saying to your employer that the lost keys to the filing
cabinet are "somewhere in California". The question is, "WHERE on your C
drive? Which folder did you save it in? What was the name of the file
you downloaded?"
I suggest that you make a temporary directory for all your downloads, and
save your downloads there. (See example above)
If all this advice is too late, and you have indeed already downloaded a
file but you don't know where you put it, then there is still a
possibility you can find it.
If you wish to find your recently downloaded file, and you are using Windows 95 or Windows 98,
then click "Start > Find > Files or folders" then type the name of the file you downloaded, and
choose "C:\" for the "Look in" location. This will locate any file on your hard disk.
If you have forgotten the filename, then you are definitely are making things difficult for yourself.
Best thing to do - go back to the website where you downloaded from and look at the filename.
If you still can't find it - Download Again!
TIP
If you download text files you will often get them in WORD format (a .doc File)
Fine, if you have WORD.
If you don't you can get WORDVIEWER FREE from Microsoft. This is a 'freeware' program that you can use to Open, View and Print Word documents.
Highly recommended if you do not have WORD
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