Copyright: Copyright © Al Shovkoplyas
Citation: Thanks for using extractions from Net Vampire Help


About...

View the program version and copyright info.


Add...

Open  Job settings dialog in Add New Job mode


All Jobs in parallel

If checked: multiple Jobs can run simultaneously.

If unchecked: only one of the active Jobs runs at any given time. When this Job completes or aborts,

the next Job is selected randomly according to Job Priorities.


Clear log

Clear the selected Job log.


Default Job settings
Default Job settinds

To open this dialog, select Options/Job defaults... menu item.

You can specify here default values for most of the Job settings. These values will be used when a new Job is created or a URL is dropped on the Job list.

For detailed description of Job options see Job settings dialog section.

General page

 Local directory: this field value is concatenated with file name extracted from Job settings/URL field to form the initial value for Job settings/Save as field

 Start Job: depending on the selection in this radiogroup, the initial value for Job settings/Start on+at will be set to either current time, current time + 10 min or current time + 24 hours

 Priority,  Authentication/User,  Authentication/Password: same as in Job settings dialog.

Error handling page

 Fail/after NNN connection errors, Fail/after NNN protocol errors, Connection timeout/Control, Connection timeout/Data: same as in Job settings dialog.

Proxies page

 Access WEB sites, Access FTP sites: these selections will be used to set the Job settings/Use Proxy selection when the resource scheme (determined from Job settings/URL field) has changed.

 HTTP proxy Name and Port, FTP proxy Name and Port, Force proxy to reload cache: same as in Job settings dialog.


Delete...

Delete selected Jobs


Detailed log

If checked: all client commands and server replies will be logged in addition to system events.

If unchecked: only system events will be logged.


Dialogs

Job settings

Default Job settings

Histogram options

System options


Edit...

Open  Job settings dialog in Edit Job settings mode


Exit
Menu:Exit

Close Net Vampire.


Features

Net Vampire allows you to:

 Download files:

 from FTP servers - directly, via FTP proxy or via HTTP proxy

 from HTTP servers - directly or via HTTP proxy

 from GOPHER servers - via HTTP proxy

 Resume download at current position for both FTP and HTTP protocols, if the origin server supports restart

 Specify several files to download. Job list will be saved on program exit

 Set numerous download options individually for each Job

 Run several Jobs in parallel or one-by-one

 Specify Job priorities to give more chances to some Jobs in one-by-one mode

 Start each Job at specified time

 View histogram-like data flow representation - great for TCP/IP fine-tuning

 View and save detailed or brief log

 Create new Jobs by dragging and dropping to the Job List window or floating Drop Basket:

 URLs from Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer;

 *.URL shortcut files from the desktop or folders;

 selected text from word processors.

 Receive a WinPopup message on Job completion or failure

 Be notified automatically when a new version of Net Vampire is released

 Enjoy Windows 95 look and feel


Grand Total
Grand Total...

Displays total kilobytes downloaded with Net Vampire


Help topics

Show Help contents.


Hints

 Doubleclick the Histogram window to bring up the Histogram options dialog.

 Doubleclick a Job in the Job list window to edit Job settings.

 Press <DEL> key in the Job list window to delete the selected Jobs.

 Right-click the Drop Basket window to access.the popup menu.

 Some HTTP proxies keep downloading the requested file even after the client-to-proxy link has failed. Uncheck Job settings/Force HTTP proxy to reload cache option to get the file from the cache the next time you request it.

 Move the mouse cursor over the Time and BPS fields in the info panel when the current Job is transferring data, to view hints with extra info.

 Automatic http redirection is not supported in this version. If a web server has replied that the requested resource has been moved to a different location (reply code 3XX), you have to doubleclick the Job in the JobList and put the URL returned by server ('Location:' header field in the log window) into the URL field.


Histogram options

This dialog opens when you select Options/Histogram options... menu item.

 Scale: 100% = NNN bytes - depending on the bandwidth of your connection to the Internet, you may have to change this value to make the histogram fit into the window

 Sampling: every NNN s - you can increase this value to cover a longer period of time.

 Color - changing this value doesn't affect program performance, but in some cases can improve your own performance.


Histogram options...

Open Histogram options dialog.


Job defaults...

Open Default Job settings dialog.


Job list popup menu

Start

Start on schedule

Stop

Add...

Edit...

Delete...


Job settings

This dialog appears when you select one of the following menu items:

Job/Add... to create a new Job;

Job/Edit... to change settings for the selected Job;

The dialog title changes accordingly.

 Specify the URL for the file you want to download in the URL field, for example:

 	http://www.kulichki.com/~vampire/index.html

Http:, ftp: and gopher: schemes are currently allowed. If no scheme is specified, but the server name starts with 'www.' or 'ftp.', 'http://' or 'ftp://' respectively will be added to the URL when you close the dialog.

.In the Save as: field you specify the fully qualified file name for the local file to store received data. Press [image] button to select an existing file or directory.
Note: This field is updated as you edit URL field contents to mach remote and local file names, but you can also edit Save as field manually.

.The Start on/at fields contain the Job start date and time. To change the date quickly, press the date dialog button [image] or use the incremental spinbutton [image] . Press [image] button to use the current date and time.

.The Cancel Job group of controls allows you to specify when to stop download attempts. If all checkboxes in this group are unchecked, the Job will keep trying until stopped manually or a fatal error (such as a local file write error) occurs. However, it's a good idea to limit the number of attempts in one or more ways. Check after NNN connection errors, after NNN protocol errors and/or if restart is not supported by server checkboxes to stop the Job when the specified condition is encountered. You can specify independently the maximum number of errors of each type.
Note: the maximum error number spinedit controls are disabled if the corresponding checkboxes are unchecked.

.Connection timeout can be set separately for Control and Data connections. To disable time-out, set it’s value to 0.
Note1: It is not recommended to disable time-out unless you have a good reason for it.
Note2: Data connection is established only if the FTP protocol is used, otherwise the Connection_timeout/Data spinedit control is disabled.

.Information in the User and Password fields is used to login to an FTP server. For anonymous login, it should contain the name 'anonymous' and your e-mail address as a password. The values in these fields are also used for user authentication with an HTTP server if HTTP Authorization option is checked.

.The Use proxy radiogroup can be used to select the way the origin server will be contacted.
None option means direct connection to the server. If you select HTTP or FTP option, the corresponding proxy server will be involved.
Note: some selections may be disabled if incompatible with the resource scheme determined from the URL field.

.Fill the Proxy edit box for the selected proxy type with full domain name or IP address of the proxy, and set Port value to the port number the proxy is listening at.

.Some HTTP proxies keep partially received files in the cache and return these parts when you request the file. If this is the case, check Force HTTP proxy to reload cache option to make sure the file doesn’t come from the proxie’s cache.


Latest version...

Every 10 days Net Vampire contacts its site and checks if a new version of the program is available.To see the results, select Help/Latest_version... in the Main menu.


Log window popup menu

Clear log

Save log...

Detailed log


Main menu

File

Exit

Job

Start

Start on schedule

Stop

Add...

Edit...

Delete...

Clear log

Save log...

Options

Job defaults...

Histogram options...

System options...

Show drop basket

Detailed log

All Jobs in parallel

Help

About...

Help topics

Latest version...

Grand Total


Menus

Main menu

Job list popup menu

Log window popup menu


Net Vampire

What is it for?

Features

What's new in v.2.4

System requirements

Quick start

Menus

Dialogs

Hints

Special thanks to...

 Current Version: 2.4

 Released: August, 1997

 Distribution status: FREEWARE

 This program is distributed 'as is'. The author shall not be held liable for any direct or indirect damage or claims caused by this software.

 Post your comments to   al@toko.dnepr.net

 Visit the Net Vampire web page:   http://www.kulichki.com/~vampire/

 © Copyright 1997 Alex Shovkoplyas


Quick start

1. Run Net Vampire

2. Rightclick in the Job list window and select Add... in the popup menu.to bring up the Job options dialog with "Add new Job" caption.

3. Type  "www.kulichki.com/~vampire/index.html" in the URL field.

4. Make sure the Save as field value points to an existing directory

5. Press [image] button.

6. Set Use proxy selection to None.

7. Press <OK> button. A new Job will appear in the Job list and start immediately.

Note: if you are connected to Internet via a proxy server, ask your network administrator how to set the proxy options.


Save log...

Save the log of the selected Job to a file.


Show drop basket

When this option is checked, a small window appeares on top of all other windows to make drag-and-drop easier.


Special thanks to...

 Larisa, my wife. Without her love, I would  never write Net Vampire (BTW, she gave a name to the program);

 the genius guys from Borland, for Delphi 2.0, the greatest programming tool;

 the MasterBank programmers for their outstanding RX component library;

 Christopher E. Proud, for his fix to the IDropTarget declaration bug in Delphi;

 Robert Skwirsk and Gary J. Shapiro, for numerous bug reports and many useful ideas;

 all users for their feedback - I would quit working on the project a long time ago without their messages.


Start

Start selected Jobs now, ignore Start Time specified in the Job options dialog.


Start on schedule

Wait for the Start Time, then start selected Jobs.


Stop

Stop selected Jobs and disable start at Start Time.


System options

To open this dialog, select the Options/System options... menu item.

 New Jobs will be... : press the button corresponding to the mode you want new Jobs to enter on creation.

 Restore Job state on program startup: if this option is checked, every Job in the list will restore its state (i.e., Completed, Starting, etc.) upon Net Vampire start.

 Send WinPopup message on Job completion: check this option to receive a WinPopup message on Job completion or failure. Leave '.' in the to field to direct messages to your local computer or type-in any valid computer name. On Windows 95 machines, winpopup.exe must be running for the Send Popup Message to work properly.


System options...

Open System options dialog.


System requirements

The program was tested with:

CPU: 486DX2-66 ... Pentium-180

RAM: 8M ... 96M

OS:   Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0

TCP/IP stack: standard Microsoft 32-bit ONLY


What is it for?

This program is a fully automatic FTP and HTTP file downloader. It will start at the time you specified and make as many attempts to download the file as you tell it. Vampire resumes broken connections and restarts download at current position for both FTP and Web servers. To start file retrieval,  just drag-and-drop a URL from your browser!

However, this is not just another download scheduler. Specially designed to deal successfully with noisy servers and unreliable links, full of low-level code, Net Vampire provides high stability and does the job when other programs fail. Full status info, including a unique histogram display, detailed log and many configurable options allow to fine-tune the program and retrieve virtually every file on the Net.


What's new

Net Vampire 2.4 has the following new features compared to v.2.0:

 <UserID>:<Pass>@ URL syntax support for FTP and HTTP;

 #<anchor> URL syntax is recognized;

 Job state (i.e., Stopped, Scheduled etc.) is restored on program startup;

 Multiple selection in the JobList is allowed;

 JobList selection follows the active Job;

 Delete dialog removed;

 WinPopup message is sent on Job completion or failure;

 New Job can be either Starting, Scheduled, or Stopped;

 The vampire.lst file lists all successfully retrieved URLs;

 'Active Jobs' warning appeares on program exit;

 A floating Drop Basket 'StayOnTop' window allows easy drag-and-drop.

 JobList columns are autoresized;

 Date/Time is displayed in the format set in the Windows Control Panel;

 Latest version autochecking;

 Hints over the Time and BPS fields in the info panel display extra statistics when the current Job is transferring data;

 The taskbar button now has a hint wich shows the selected job status;

 Grand Total statistics

The following bugs have been fixed since v.2.0:

 RichEdit error;

 GPF on program exit;

 Jobs are started/queued correctly on the 'All Jobs in Parallel' option change;

 The correct local IP address is used for multihomed hosts;

 Dynamic local IP change is now detected;

 'Can not load Jobs' message doesn't appear anymore;

 Histogram width is not affected by the Display settings in the Windows control panel;

 Connection Timeout values set to 0 now force infinite timeout;

 The Run/Minimized option in the Windows shortcut is treated properly;

 'Cancel Job if restart is not supported' now works with http too.


histogram sample