Explaining Downloads
Downloading is transferring data from another computer (the remote location) to your computer (the local location). Every word or image you see with your Internet Browser and every email you receive is a download. A Web page works by your Internet Browser downloading text and images, along with formatting information, and then re-assembling it all into the Web page that you see. You can also download specific files, rather than Web pages, from the Internet as well. This is useful for getting all kinds of things - for example, operating system updates, anti-virus updates, game updates, and pictures - from the Internet.
Don't confuse downloading with uploading, which means sending files out from your computer.
Before downloading everything in sight, please read about viruses & spyware first!
To download a file, simply click on the appropriate link, for example, this link allows you to "Download" a movie trailer - try it, if you like. You'll need Real Player to view it, which is another example of a useful download. Quite often Internet content requires a "Plug-In", a type of helper application, for your Browser to be able to view it. These need to be downloaded from the Internet, before you can use the content. You can download Real Player for Windows here as a plug-in download test. Click OK and you will be presented a "Save As" dialogue. Decide on where you would like to put this file, and then save it. It's usually good to keep its original name, to ensure you are warned if you attempt to download the same file again later.
Generally, it's best to save the file to disk, rather than just open it, so you have a permanent copy of it if you need it, and also so it can be checked for viruses before opening it. Often, saving it to your Desktop is a good idea, as you can find the file easily once it has finished downloading. Or, create a folder called "Downloads" to store downloaded files in.
If you get an "Open With" dialogue box, when you try to open a downloaded file, this means that Windows doesn't know what the file is. Look at the filename extension. For example, if your file was named pricelist. pdf, Windows needs Adobe Acrobat to be able to open the file, or if it was named movieclip. mov, Windows needs Apple QuickTime to open the movie.
There is a huge database of filename extensions, and which programs are required to open them at filext.com