Overview

Setup Wizard

The BearShare Setup Wizard appears the first time you launch the program, after you delete, rename, or move your settings file, or after you upgrade to a newer version of BearShare that requires re-configuration.

The Setup Wizard uses the connection information you provide to automatically configure your settings to their recommended values. If you change the settings after completing the Setup Wizard, you can return to the recommended values by going into the Setup dialog, Connection page, and checking the box for reconfiguring your settings based on the connection type.

You can also restart the BearShare Setup Wizard by exiting from the application, deleting the "FreePeers.ini" settings file, and relaunching BearShare.

Getting Started

When you run BearShare, it will automatically try to connect to the network by consulting a Gnutella service provider. Gnutella service providers grant you the IP addresses of several other computers in the network for you to connect to. BearShare then tries to connect to those computers, and collect the addresses of more hosts. This process continues until the number of connections you specify is reached.

When you have a few steady connections, it is time to move on to the Search Page. You enter in the key words or phrases for files you are searching for into the Search Edit box, then start your search. After a little while, the results will appear in the Search Results List. Due to the nature of the Gnutella network, and depending on your connection speed and the number of hosts you are connected to, some searches may take a little longer than expected. Be patient! Issuing your search multiple times will not cause results to come back any faster. In fact, it might take even longer or not bring back any results at all.

When you find a file you want, double click it in the list. Your file will be queued for downloading and you will automatically be switched to the Downloads page. The Downloads page shows you the status of all of your pending, in progress, and completed downloads. Sometimes you will not be able to download a file from a host, for a number of reasons. You should try the download again in a little while, or get the file from another host.

Sharing your files is a rewarding experience. The Uploads page shows you the files other people have requested from you. Sharing forms the basis of the Gnutella community, and is strongly encouraged. Don't share anything illegally though. The BearShare Setup Wizard configures your settings to automatically share completed downloads by adding your downloads directory to the list of shared directories.

The BearShare Monitor page shows you all of the files you are sharing, along with the number of times each file has been downloaded, requested, or returned as a search result. You can also see what other people are searching for from here. The BearShare monitor ranks files according to their popularity, so this is a good way to get an idea of what kinds of files people are looking for. You can open or play shared files using the program associated with the file type directly from the Monitor window. BearShare automatically 'watches' the shared folders for changes, so if you add or remove files from the folder using the Windows Explorer or desktop, the Monitor will update to reflect the new status.

The next sections explain each of the pages in the main window in more detail. Read them thoroughly to give yourself a good understanding of how the program works, and you will have a powerful tool for sharing files on the Internet.