To download a file, enter its URL (all ftp URLs must start with ftp://, all http URLs with http://), login and password if necessary (Speed Download will login as anonymous if you don't give a login). Instead of typing or pasting a URL, you can drag it onto Speed Download's main window (This works with plain text or Apple's Internet shortcuts). You can also use the supplied contextual menu plugin (more about this later)
"Ports to Open" is the number of simultaneous connections to use. On a modem, using more than 4 is probably pointless. If your fortunate enough to have a high bandwidth connection then you should try using more connections. Speed Download supports up to 32 connections per file being downloaded.
Buffer size is the size (in kilobytes) that is used for each connection. The default, 32k is more than enough for modems. If you got something like cable or ADSL, you might want to try something around 64 or 128. If you have high buffer settings and/or lots of simultaneous connections, you may need to increase Speed Download's memory allocation. A buffer size that is too small won't stop Speed Download working, but it may slow downloads a bit, especially on high bandwidth connections
Once you have done this, click "Get it !". You will be asked where to
save the file and Speed Download will try and get it (unless you have defined
a default folder, which you are strongly advised to do see section 4.3
for more details)
Speed Download will first check that it is able to download the file,
and will then proceed to open the connections. It will create a folder
in which it will place segments of the file, which are named "Segment1",
"Segment2" etc
It will also create another file, this is the log file
for this download that contains details about the download.
If you click the "Resume Download" button, you will be asked for this
log file. Note that to resume a download, you can also double-click on
the log-file.
