Mihov Picture Downloader

Help for version 1.1


Contents of this file:
  1. Using the program
    1. Setting language
    2. Setting download folder
    3. Setting proxy server
    4. Saving settings for the next run
    5. Running another copy of the program
    6. Downloading from a single page
    7. Downloading from a list of pages
    8. Downloading pictures from a password protected site
    9. Saving the list of pictures to file
    10. Loading a list of pictures from file
    11. Creating a list of pictures
    12. Viewing downloaded pictures
    13. Command line parameters
  2. Questions
  3. Downloads
  4. Updates
  5. How can I help?

Using the program
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Setting language
Currently English and Slovenian languages are supported and English is the default language. If you would like to change the language, select the 'Settings' tab and click on the button in the 'Language / Jezik' region. This setting is saved and it is loaded every time the program is started.
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Setting download folder
By default the pictures you download are saved to the program folder. If you want to change this, select the 'Settings' tab and click on the 'Select folder' button. A folder tree window is opened that lets you select the folder for the images. When you've found it, select a folder and click the 'OK' button.
You can always see the path of the current folder in the blue title region of the main program window.
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Setting proxy server
If your computer is behind firewall or has to use proxy setting for another reason, you will have to turn the use of proxies on if you want the program to work.
Select the 'Settings' tab and enter the IP of the proxy computer and the port number that it uses. Then check the 'Use proxy' button.á

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Saving settings for the next run
If you want to save current settings for the next time you run the program, select the 'Settings' tab and click on the 'Save settings for the next run' button. Current settings will be saved to Windows registry and will be loaded every time the program starts. In this version these settings are saved:

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Running another copy of the program
If you want to run another copy of the program with the same settings as set in the original program (download folder, password settings, download page), select the 'Settings' tab and click on the 'Run another copy of the program' button.
This feature is useful when you would like to speed up the downloading process of the pictures from a long list. Instead of downloading 200 pictures at once run two instances of the program and download 100 pictures with each instance at the same time. The second case is in most cases faster than the first one.
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Downloading from a single page
After you've set the desired download folder you can start downloading the pictures. The program helps you doing this by showing you the steps you have to take. You can download all the images from a web page in five steps.

  1. Enter the URL address of the web page where the links to the pictures are. If the URL address is in the clipboard, you can click on the icon right to the URL box and it will paste into the field.. From the drop-down menu select the file type for the files that you want to download. You can choose from gif, jpg, htm, html, mp3, avi, mpg, rm, ram, or *.*
  2. Click on the 'Load page' button and wait for the page to be loaded. You will know that the page has loaded when you see a list of selectable picture files. This step is very important, so here are some explanations if something goes wrong:
    • No files found
    • Perhaps the page does not contain links to the picture files.You should choose another page for downloading.
      The files could be in a different format (have different extension) than you chose in the drop-down menu. Widen your selection of allowed extensions.
      It is also possible, that a page, that you are trying to reach, is password protected. In that case see the section 'Downloading pictures from a password protected site'.
      Some of the web publishers are 'hiding' their content and don't want to display the pictures unless you view them on their pages (and with their adds and pop-up windows). Mihov Picture Downloader has many mechanisms to trick such web sites. However, it is not perfect and some pictures may still be unreachable.
      Maybe the URL that you gave to the program contains frames - in that case give the program URL of the frame, that contains the links to the pictures.
    • Page not found
    • The URL you gave to the program does not exist. See if you've made a typing error and try again.
      Maybe the server is currently down. In that case try again after some time.
      You are not connected to the internet. Check the connection.
      If your computer is behind firewall, you will have to set up proxy settings. To read more about this see the section Setting proxy server
    • Other errors
    • If you have still trouble after checking all of the above, you should look for help in the online forum. If no such topic or problem solution is found you should ask the question yourself.
  3. When the page is loaded you will see links to all the images that can be downloaded. Select the images that you want to download. By holding down 'CTRL' key and clicking on image list you can select more images that are not listed together. By holding down the 'Shift' key and clicking you can select more images that are listed together. You can also select multiple images by clicking on one file and dragging it forward along the list. Buttons on the right side of the list can help you:
  4. If you want to add a prefix to each file name on your local computer, enter the text in the box above the 'Save pictures' button.
    Under the list there is a small counter, that tells you how many downloadable file were found.
  5. Click on the 'Save pictures' button to start downloading images. You can observe the process in the 'Message window' on the lower side of the program window, where you can see the name of the file currently downloaded, percentage complete of the current file, file size of the current file, and the number of files already downloaded.
  6. When the download is complete click on the 'Disconnect' button to disconnect from the download site and allow the program to start from step 1 again.


If the site that you're downloading images from is inactive for more than 60 seconds a 'timeout' occurs - the image automatically starts to load again. If the image is not available four times the program continues to download the next image.

Downloading from a list of pages
You can download images from several pages at one site at once. Supply the URL to the index page that has links to other pages and click the 'Load list' button. When the list is loaded you can click on 'Start!' button and every page will be downloaded as it would be if downloaded from the Download zone (see Downloading from a single page).

*** For more information on this feature please see the online version of this document. You can find a link on the bottom of this page. á
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Downloading pictures from a password protected site
It is also possible to download pictures from a password protected web site in you have a valid username and password. Select the 'Settings' tab and enter the username/password details in the appropriate fields in 'Page' region of the window. Press the 'Use this password' button and continue to use the program as you would if the page hasn't been protected.
Important: if you want to download pictures from a non-protected page, you have to reset the password. Select the 'Settings' tab, clear the 'user' and 'pass' fields and click the 'Use this password' button. Now the password is cleared and the program will not use it to download pictures.
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Saving the list of pictures to file
You might want to save the image list for future use or for sharing the list with your friends.
After you have already loaded the images from a page (after steps 1, 2, and 3 in the 'Download zone' tab) you can save the list to file by selecting the 'Save list to file' item from the 'Lists...' button in the 'Download zone' tab. The standard Save dialog will appear, where you can select a folder of your choice and enter the file name you want to use. The list will be saved with the .txt extension.
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Loading a list of pictures from file
You can open a web page with links to pictures locally from your hard disk. In 'Download zone' tab click on the 'Lists...' button and select the item 'Load from file'. An Open file dialog is displayed and you can select any file with .html extension. Found links are loaded into the picture list and from here on you can continue with step 3 of normal download process.
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Creating a list of pictures
If you click on the button 'Lists...' in the 'Download zone' tab and select 'Create list' a poweful tool will open. It is used to create custom lists of pictures. This can be very useful when the images have increasing names (i.e. 001.jpg, 002.jpg, 003.jpg or pic1.jpg, pic2.jpg, pic3.jpg or even img01big.jpg, img02big.jpg, img03big.jpg) and the index page doesn't exist so there is no way of getting the whole list from one page. With this tool you can create a list of pictures that can later be downloaded.

How to create a list

*** For more information on this feature please see the online version of this document. You can find a link on the bottom of this page. á
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Viewing downloaded pictures
After you hit the Download button a new button apears right to it. By clicking on 'View images' the download folder is opened where you can view the images that you have downloaded.



Command line parameters
The program supports four different ways of being run from the command prompt. You can pass to it between two and five parameters. The first one and the second one are always URL and Local Path. You can also supply username and password if a site that you're downloading images from is password protected. Third (or fifth, if you're downloading from protected site) argument can be word 'start' thates makes the program to start downloading images right away.

PictDL.exe URL LocalPath
PictDL.exe URL LocalPath User Pass
PictDL.exe URL LocalPath start
PictDL.exe URL LocalPath User Pass start



Questions
You can find answers to your questions in the on-line forum located at http://forum.mihov.com.
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Downloads
You can download the latest version of the program from the programs web page located at http://picturedownloader.mihov.com . If you would like to try other freeware programs written by me, check my freeware web page at http://freeware.mihov.com .
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Updates
I have a list of users e-mail addresses and when a new version or update comes out I send everyone a short note. If you want to subscribe to the list go to http://picturedownloader.mihov.com and enter your real e-mail address.
If you want to check if you are using the latest version of the program check the programs web page or visit the update center at http://update.mihov.com.
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How can I help?

  1. Spread the word about the program.
  2. To save my time, more experienced users can help users who encounter problems. Log into the forum at http://forum.mihov.com and try to answer some questions. This way you will be known as an 'expert' and you will feel good that you can help someone who needs help.
  3. Send me a postcard and tell me that you appreciate what I do (you can get my address here ). You can also send me a real letter and add your picture in there! But please don't send me e-cards or e-mails since my mailbox is already full all the time - if you want to say thanks on-line, use the forum.
  4. Try to persuade me that developing freeware will help me buy my own appartment and donate a few Dollars for a beer.



⌐ Miha PÜenica 2002
Updated: 2.7.2002