Download Manager

This page is primarily related to defining and planning the Firefox 3 PRD line item CON-004a, possibly also involving CON-005a, CON-006a, CON-007a.

Possible Goals

• Make it easier for users to organize files they download from the Web.
• Make it easier for users to find files they download from the Web.
• Make it easier for users to flag and download files at a later time.
• Reduce the pain caused by downloading over slow dialup or unreliable network connections.
• Allow users to automatically download Web feed enclosures (audio, video, images, etc) associated with Live Bookmarks.
• Make it easier for users to revisit the original source of downloaded files.
• Make it easier to archive/save web pages for offline use and organize those as if they were downloaded content.

Possible Non-Goals

• Do not build a full file manager system into Firefox.

Use Cases

• I use Google Image Search to find and download hundreds of images from the web for personal use in scrapbooking.

• I download a videoblogger's posts to watch offline -- these are daily postings but I'm only on the web via dialup once per week and cannot wait at the machine to download them all one-by-one.

• I download dozens of articles off the Web to use in thesis research. Some articles are PDFs, some are Word documents, some are scanned images from old out-of-print journals, others are HTML with images and multiple pages. I must be able to archive these for later use if necessary, and also must cite them accurately including original download location.

• I download 6 specific TV shows every week via Bittorrent.

• I download at least 10 new (legal!) indy tracks from artist and label sites every day.

• I download and print dozens of posted photos of my nephew to show off to friends and family.

• I archive dozens of real-estate listings from MLS.ca -- including private realtor information, maps, and linked photos -- to a laptop for offline use. (Bonus points: automatically updating the archived listings when reconnecting to the network.)

• I download dozens of useful applications and utilities to install or use when diagnosing friends' computer problems. I store these on a USB key so I always have them regardless of network connectivity.

• I download and install dozens of new (often alpha/beta) applications and extensions often enough that original sources for these are lost or forgotten. I need to be able to check for updates, find documentation, or report bugs, so I need that original source information.

• I forgot that I downloaded this file before, and Firefox sees that the files are the same after I've downloaded it and offers to delete the excess copies

• I have a download going when I restart to apply an update, and Firefox resumes my download when my session comes back up.

References

• Firefox:Download_Manager - Ben Goodger's (old?) page
• Download_resuming - Biesi's page