Downloads

#What it is

Downloads (app id downloads) is Octoolo's app for what you download. It does three things:

• Your downloads lists every download in one place, newest first and by day, with the site each file came from, and lets you find, open, rename, move or recycle them. It also points out copies downloaded twice, downloads a browser never finished, and archives already unzipped.
• Sort your downloads puts downloads into folders by type (Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, Archives, Installers) inside the download folder, after showing what goes where, with Undo, and can keep new downloads sorted.
• Download manager downloads files from direct links: several at once, big files over several connections, paused and resumed, and retried when the connection drops. It downloads files such as a program, a PDF or a ZIP; it does not download from video streaming sites or streams.

Everything runs on the PC. It works with any browser through the folders browsers save to; it is not a browser extension.

#Opening it and what it costs

• On the home screen Downloads is in the Every day group. The home search finds it and its tasks by words like "download manager", "idm", "resume download", "where did my download go" or "organize downloads".
• Inside the app a list down the left has the tasks in two groups: Your files (Your downloads, Sort your downloads) and From the internet (Download manager). It opens on Your downloads.
• Addresses inside Octoolo: #/app/downloads, #/app/downloads/downloads-list, #/app/downloads/sort-downloads, #/app/downloads/download-manager. A shortcut can open it with Octoolo.exe --open=app/downloads/download-manager (or another task).
• It needs Octoolo Cloud (the subscription) or its free trial. Prices, the trial and the three free apps are in Prices and limits.

#Tasks

• Your downloads (downloads-list): every download, newest first; find one by its name or the site it came from. Open Your downloads and type in Find by name or the site it came from.
• Download manager (download-manager): download files from links, pause, resume after a dropped connection, several at once. Open Download manager, paste one or more links, press Download.
• Sort your downloads (sort-downloads): put downloads in folders by type, with a preview and undo, and keep new ones sorted. Open Sort your downloads, check the preview, press Sort N files.

All three tasks work in version 0.8.0. Downloads has no tasks marked Coming.

#Your downloads: the list

In Downloads, Your downloads shows what is in the download folders (see the next section):

• Newest first, in groups: Today, Yesterday, Earlier this week, Earlier this month, Older. A file's date is when it arrived in the folder (its creation time), so a file copied there counts from the copy.
• Each row: the file's type sign, its name, then its size, "from <site>" when Windows knows where it was downloaded from, and when it arrived ("14:05" today, "Mon 14:05" this week, "3 Mar" this year, "3 Mar 2024" before). Badges: In Documents (it is in a type folder Sort made), Copy of <name>, Unfinished, Already unzipped.
• Chips along the top filter by type: All, Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music and sound, Archives, Installers, Folders, Other files, each with a count. A type's chip shows only when there are downloads of that type.
• Needs a look chips: Downloaded twice, Unfinished, Already unzipped (see their own sections). "Looking for copies…" shows while copies are being checked.
• The total count and size of what is shown sit above the list. 250 rows show at first; Show N more shows more.
• Refresh looks again. The list also refreshes by itself when Octoolo's window comes back to the front, when the automatic sort moved files, and when the download manager finishes a file.

What is listed: the files and folders at the top of each download folder, plus the files inside the type folders Sort makes there (Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, Archives, Installers). The contents of other folders (for example folders you unzipped) are not listed: the folder itself is one row. Hidden and system files, desktop.ini, Thumbs.db and the download manager's own unfinished files are left out.

The site a file came from is read from the "Mark of the Web" that browsers attach to downloads on NTFS drives. Files on FAT32 or exFAT drives (many USB sticks), and files that did not come from a browser download (for example copied from another drive or PC), have no site.

#Which folders Downloads looks in

The bar at the bottom of Your downloads ("Looking in") lists them:

• Downloads: Windows' own Downloads folder, wherever it was moved to. It always stays on the list: it has no ×.
• Folders browsers were set to save to instead, when they differ from Downloads: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi (each profile), Opera, Opera GX, and Firefox (its chosen folder, or the Desktop when Firefox is set to save there). They show as "Chrome saves here" and so on. This is why a download that "vanished" can be found here.
• Folders you added: Add a folder (dialog "Look for downloads in"); they show as "Added by you".

The × beside a browser's or an added folder ("Stop looking in <path>") takes it off the list (a browser's folder is hidden, an added one forgotten). A folder that no longer exists shows crossed out. When there is more than one folder, a box at the top (Every download folder) shows one folder at a time.

#Finding a download

In Downloads, open Your downloads and type in the box Find by name or the site it came from. It matches the file name, the site it was downloaded from (for example "github.com") and the type folder it was sorted into. Combine it with the type chips. Clicking a name opens the file in its usual program; Show in folder (the folder button on the row) opens File Explorer with the file selected.

#What "Downloaded twice" means

In Your downloads, Downloaded twice lists downloads that have exactly the same bytes as another download, for example "report (1).pdf" next to "report.pdf". Octoolo compares files of the same size by their SHA-256 (whole files up to 512 MB; larger files by their first and last megabyte together with the size). The one kept as "the original" is the one whose name does not look like a copy (no "(1)", "(2)" or " - Copy"), otherwise the one that arrived first; the others get the badge Copy of <name>. Unfinished downloads and empty files are not compared.

With the chip selected, the note "Each of these has exactly the same bytes as another download (often the one without “(1)”). Keeping one is enough." and the button Move the extra copies to the Recycle Bin appear. The original is never in this list, and the copies go to the Recycle Bin, from where they can be put back.

#What "Unfinished" means

In Your downloads, Unfinished lists downloads a browser or another download program started and never finished, recognised by their extension: .crdownload (Chrome, Edge and other Chromium browsers), .part (Firefox), .partial, .opdownload (Opera), .download and .!ut. They cannot be opened; download them again if you still need them. The chip's button Move them to the Recycle Bin moves them all to the Recycle Bin. Clicking an unfinished file's name shows it in its folder instead of opening it.

A file a browser is still downloading also shows as Unfinished until the browser finishes it.

#What "Already unzipped" means

In Your downloads, Already unzipped lists archives (ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, TGZ, BZ2, XZ, ZST, CAB, ISO, IMG, DMG) that have a folder with the same name beside them, which usually means their contents were already extracted there: "photos.zip" next to a folder "photos". The chip's button Move these archives to the Recycle Bin moves the archives (not the folders) to the Recycle Bin. Octoolo only compares names: it does not check that the folder holds everything that is in the archive.

#Rename, move, Recycle Bin and open

In Downloads, each row of Your downloads has, on the right: Show in folder, Rename, Move to… and Move to the Recycle Bin. Tick the boxes at the start of rows to act on several at once: the bar that appears says "N selected" and the size, with Move to…, Recycle Bin and Clear.

• Rename: type the new name and press Rename or Enter (Escape cancels). The extension is kept apart so the file's type does not change by accident.
• Move to…: pick a folder in the "Move it to" dialog ("Move N downloads to" for several). A file with the same name there is not replaced: the moved one becomes "name (2).ext". Moving to another drive copies the file, checks the copy is whole, then removes the original. Folders can only be moved on the same drive.
• Recycle Bin: moves to Windows' Recycle Bin, from where it can be restored ("N downloads moved to the Recycle Bin. You can put them back from there."). If something is too big for the Recycle Bin, Windows itself asks before deleting it.

Downloads only acts on files inside the download folders listed in "Looking in" (and the folder the download manager saves to), never on the download folders themselves.

#Sort your downloads

In Downloads, Sort your downloads moves downloads into folders by type, inside the folder they are in:

So Downloads\report.pdf goes to Downloads\Documents\report.pdf. These folders are made inside the download folder; they are not Windows' own Documents, Pictures, Music or Videos libraries.

What stays where it is: files of no known type ("Other files"), folders, files inside subfolders, unfinished downloads, and files changed in the last 2 minutes (a download may still be arriving).

How to sort:

1. Open Sort your downloads. It shows "N files go into folders by type, inside the folder they are in." and one group per type folder with its count and size.
2. Untick a group to leave that type alone; See them lists its files (the first 200).
3. When there is more than one download folder, the Sort row at the top chooses which folders are sorted (at least one; Windows' Downloads by default).
4. Press Sort N files ("You can undo it."). The result says "Moved N files into folders by type."

A file whose name is already taken in the type folder is moved as "name (2).ext"; nothing is replaced. If a file cannot be moved (for example it is open in another program), the message says "N stayed where they were: ..." with the reasons. When there is nothing to sort, the page says "Nothing to sort".

#Undo a sort

In Downloads, Undo (after sorting) or Undo it (in "Last sorted ...: N files.") puts the files of the last sort back where they were: "Put N files back where they were." Type folders that sort made are removed again if they are empty. A file is not put back when it was moved or deleted since, or when a new file now has its old name. Undo covers only the last sort done with the Sort button, not the automatic sort; once undone, there is nothing more to undo ("There is no sort to undo.").

#Keep sorting new downloads

In Downloads, Sort your downloads has the switch Keep sorting new downloads and the choice once they are 10 minutes old, an hour old (the default), a day old or a week old.

• Only downloads that arrive after the switch is turned on are sorted; what was there before waits for the Sort button.
• They wait the chosen time first, so the browser can still open the file it just downloaded.
• Octoolo checks once a minute, and only while it runs: with its window open or in the tray.
• It sorts the same folders, into the same type folders, as the Sort button. These automatic moves cannot be undone with Undo.

#Download manager: how to download from a link

1. In Downloads, open Download manager.
2. Paste one link, or many (one per line, or a whole text with links in it: every http:// and https:// link is picked out, each once). Tip shown in the box: in the browser, right-click a download button and choose "Copy link address".
3. Optional: Check it with a SHA-256 opens a box for the SHA-256 the site gives for the file.
4. Press Download (or Download N files), or Ctrl+Enter in the box.

New downloads save to Windows' Downloads folder unless another folder was chosen: Saves to <folder> with Change beside it (dialog "Save downloads in"). A new folder counts for links added after the change; downloads already in the list keep the folder they started in.

Each download shows its state: "Waiting for a free place", then "<done> of <size> · <speed>/s · <time> left" (and "· 4 connections" for big files), "Checking the SHA-256…", and "<size> · done 14:05". A finished download has Open, Show in folder and SHA-256 (works out the file's SHA-256 and shows it). The total speed of everything downloading shows beside the Downloads heading.

The file's name comes from the site when it gives one, else from the link; characters Windows does not allow are replaced. While downloading, the file is written as "<name>.<code>.octoolo-part" in the save folder and renamed to its real name when it is whole. If a different file already has that name, the new one is saved as "name (2).ext".

Finished files get the Mark of the Web, as a browser download would, so Windows treats them like any other download (for example SmartScreen asks before running a downloaded program, and Office opens documents in Protected View).

#What links the download manager accepts and refuses

The Downloads app's download manager takes direct links to files over http:// and https://. What happens with everything else:

• Only http:// and https:// links are picked out of the box. Other links (ftp://, magnet:, file paths) and plain text are left out without a message. When the box has no http:// or https:// link, Download stays greyed out, and Ctrl+Enter shows "Paste a link that starts with http:// or https://.";
• A pasted http:// or https:// link that is not a valid web address: "That is not a link."
• Video and music streaming sites (for example YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, Twitch, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Spotify, SoundCloud, Deezer, Tidal, Apple Music) and stream playlists (.m3u8, .m3u, .mpd): "Octoolo does not download from streaming sites or streams. It downloads files from direct links, such as a program, a PDF or a ZIP." This is checked on the link and again on where the link leads.
• A link that opens a web page instead of a file: "This link opens a web page, not a file. On the page, right-click the download button or link, choose “Copy link address” and paste that here."
• A link already downloading: "That one is already downloading."
• A SHA-256 that is not 64 hexadecimal characters: "A SHA-256 is 64 letters and digits (0-9, a-f)."

Messages from the site:

• "The file is not at this link (the site answered 404)." (or 410): the link is wrong or expired.
• "The site refused (403). It may want you signed in: download this one in your browser." (or 401): the download manager does not use the browser's sign-ins or cookies.
• "The site answered <code>.": another refusal; the download stops.
• "The site is busy (429)." (or 408, 425), "The site has a problem (503)." (any 5xx) and "The site would not send the rest of the file.": these are retried by themselves.

#Pausing, resuming and retries

In the Downloads app's download manager:

• Pause stops a download ("Paused at <done> of <size>"); Resume continues it. Pause all pauses every download that is running or waiting; Resume all resumes every paused one (not the ones that stopped with a message: each of those has its own Try again).
• When the connection drops, the site is busy or nothing arrives for 30 seconds, the download is retried by itself: "<reason> Trying again in N s, from <done>." It waits 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, then 60 seconds between tries, up to 12 tries. After that it stops with "<reason> Octoolo tried 12 times; Resume tries again from where it stopped." and the button Try again (in place of Resume) tries again from where it stopped (when the site allows it), with 12 new tries.
• A download picks up where it stopped when the site allows it (it asks for the rest of the file and checks the file has not changed on the site meanwhile). When the site cannot resume, the paused download says "this site cannot resume, so it starts over", and it starts from the beginning. If the file changed on the site, it starts over too.
• Reasons shown while retrying include "The connection dropped.", "The connection went quiet.", "Could not reach the site. Is the internet on?", "The site took too long to answer.", "The connection ended early." and "The file came out the wrong size."
• × on a download in progress ("Stop and remove") stops it and deletes what it had downloaded; on a finished one ("Remove from the list (the file stays)") removes only the line. Clear finished removes the lines of all finished downloads; the files stay.

#Big files and several connections

In the Downloads app's download manager, a file of 16 MB or more comes down over 4 connections at once when the site allows partial downloads; smaller files, and files from sites that do not allow it, use one connection. The space for the whole file is reserved at the start. If the site stops sending parts, the download starts again over one connection ("The site stopped sending parts of the file, so it starts again."). The number of connections cannot be changed.

#Speed limit and downloads at once

At the top of the download manager's list, in Downloads:

• Speed: No limit (default), 256 KB/s, 1 MB/s, 5 MB/s, 10 MB/s, 25 MB/s. The limit is shared by all downloads together, so the rest of the internet stays usable.
• At once: how many downloads run at the same time, 1 to 6 (default 3). Others wait ("Waiting for a free place").

Both are remembered.

#Checking a download with a SHA-256

When a site publishes a SHA-256 checksum for a file, in the download manager press Check it with a SHA-256 and paste it into SHA-256 the site gives for the file before pressing Download. When the file is in, Octoolo works out its SHA-256 ("Checking the SHA-256…") and shows SHA-256 matches or SHA-256 does not match: the file is not the one the site meant. Without one given, the SHA-256 button on a finished download shows the file's SHA-256 ("Working it out…" while it reads), to compare by eye.

#"You already have this file"

When the save folder already has a file with the same name and exactly the same size as the download, the Downloads app's download manager does not download it again: "You already have this file: nothing was downloaded." Open it opens the file there; Download again downloads it anyway, saved under a new name ("name (2).ext").

#Closing Octoolo while downloading

Downloads continue while Octoolo runs, also when another app is open or the Downloads app is closed. Closing Octoolo's window quits Octoolo, unless it stays in the tray because Productivity has something planned (reminders, alarms, timers, a shutdown timer) or screen time on (see Productivity); in the tray, downloads go on. Quitting stops the downloads. The next time Octoolo starts, they are in the download manager's list as Paused: press Resume or Resume all; they continue from where they stopped when the site allows it. Downloads never start again by themselves after a restart.

#Browser integration

Downloads has no browser extension and does not take over the browser's downloads. It finds browser downloads through the folders browsers save to, and the site each came from through the Mark of the Web. To download a file with the download manager, copy the link from the browser and paste it in. It does not watch the clipboard.

#Options and settings

All of Downloads' settings are inside the app (none in Octoolo's Settings page): the folders it looks in (Add a folder, ×), the folders Sort works on, Keep sorting new downloads and once they are, the save folder (Change), Speed and At once.

#Keyboard shortcuts

#Where it keeps things

In %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.octoolo.app\downloads\:

• settings.json: the added and hidden folders, the folders to sort, the automatic sort, the save folder, the speed limit and downloads at once.
• jobs.json: the download manager's list, so downloads survive a restart (as Paused).
• last-sort.json: what the last sort moved, for Undo (removed once undone).

Unfinished downloads are the .octoolo-part files in the save folder. Uninstalling Octoolo keeps %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.octoolo.app unless Delete the application data is ticked in the uninstaller; the downloaded files themselves are never touched by uninstalling.

#Downloads it needs

None. Downloads does not need FFmpeg or any other part.

#Privacy

Your downloads and Sort work only on the PC: Octoolo reads file names, sizes, dates and the Mark of the Web of the files in the download folders, and nothing of it leaves the PC. The download manager connects only to the sites in the links you give it (and the sites those links send it on to, as a browser would), with a browser-like user agent that names Octoolo; it sends no sign-ins or cookies. Octoolo's usage statistics never include file names or links (see Privacy and data).

#Troubleshooting

#A download I made in the browser is not in Your downloads

Check where the browser saves: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera and Firefox folders are found by themselves, other browsers' are not. Use Add a folder in Your downloads for any other folder. Files inside subfolders (other than the type folders Sort makes) are not listed. Press Refresh after a download finishes. If the browser's folder was hidden earlier with ×, add it again with Add a folder.

#No "from <site>" on a download

Windows keeps the site in the file's Mark of the Web. It is missing when the file is on a FAT32 or exFAT drive, when the file did not come from a browser download (for example it was copied from another drive or PC), or when the browser did not record it.

#"This link opens a web page, not a file."

The link points at a page (with a download button), not at the file. Open the page in the browser, right-click the download button or link, choose "Copy link address" and paste that into the download manager. Some sites only start the file after a sign-in or a script: download those in the browser.

#"Octoolo does not download from streaming sites or streams."

The download manager does not download from video and music streaming sites (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Vimeo, Netflix, Spotify, SoundCloud and similar) or streams (.m3u8, .mpd). This is by design and cannot be turned off. It downloads files from direct links, such as a program, a PDF or a ZIP.

#"The site refused (403). It may want you signed in: download this one in your browser."

The file needs a sign-in, a cookie or a link made for the browser. The download manager does not use the browser's sign-ins. Download it in the browser; it then shows in Your downloads.

#A download keeps retrying or stops after 12 tries

"Trying again in N s" means the connection dropped, the site was busy or nothing arrived for 30 seconds. Check the internet connection. After 12 tries the download stops; press Try again to continue from where it stopped. If the site keeps answering "The site has a problem (503)." (or another 5xx number), try later.

#The download starts over instead of resuming

The site does not allow partial downloads, or the file changed on the site since the download started (the paused line says "this site cannot resume, so it starts over"). Nothing can be done on the PC side; the download completes from the beginning.

#"The drive is full. Make room, then Resume."

The save folder's drive has no room for the file (a big file reserves its full size at the start). Make room on that drive, then press Try again on the download. Or choose another folder with Change and paste the link again: a download already in the list keeps the folder it started in (remove its line with ×).

#"Windows did not let Octoolo write in that folder. Pick another one."

The save folder is protected or read-only. Choose another folder with Change (for example your Downloads folder), remove the failed download's line with ×, and paste the link again.

#"It is open in another program. Close it there and try again."

Renaming, moving or recycling failed because another program has the file open. Close it there and try again. "N could not be moved: they may be open in another program." is the same for the Recycle Bin.

#"Octoolo only changes files in your download folders."

Downloads acts only on files inside the folders it looks in. Add the folder with Add a folder first, or use File Explorer for files elsewhere.

#"Folders can only be moved on the same drive here; use File Explorer for this one."

Move to… cannot move a folder to another drive. Use File Explorer for that folder.

#Rename messages

"Type a name.", "A name cannot have any of these: < > : " / \ | ? *", "A name cannot end with a dot or a space.", "Windows keeps the name CON for itself." (also PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1-9, LPT1-9), "That name is too long." (over 240 characters) and "There is already something called “...” in that folder." Choose another name.

#Sort did not move some files

Files changed in the last 2 minutes, files of no known type, folders, unfinished downloads and files inside subfolders stay where they are. Files open in another program stay too, and the message "N stayed where they were: ..." says which.

#Keep sorting new downloads does nothing

It sorts only downloads that arrived after it was turned on, only once they are as old as chosen (an hour by default), and only while Octoolo runs. Use the Sort button for what was there before.

#"There is no sort to undo."

The last sort was already undone, or the files were moved by the automatic sort, which Undo does not cover. Move such files back with File Explorer.

#"The file is not there any more: it was moved or deleted."

Open or Show in folder on a finished download could not find the file where it was saved. Look for it in Your downloads.

#Limits and what it cannot do

• It does not download from video or music streaming sites or streams (YouTube, TikTok and the like, .m3u8/.mpd streams), and is not a video downloader.
• It has no browser extension, does not catch the browser's downloads, and does not watch the clipboard for links.
• It cannot download FTP, magnet or torrent links: only http:// and https://.
• It cannot download files that need a sign-in or the browser's cookies.
• Downloads do not continue while Octoolo is closed, and do not restart by themselves after a restart (they wait as Paused).
• It has no download scheduler, no per-download speed limit (one limit for all), and at most 6 downloads at once and 4 connections per file.
• It does not list the contents of subfolders of the download folders (except Sort's type folders), and does not search inside files.
• "Downloaded twice" finds byte-identical files only, among the download folders; it does not find similar photos or the same file in other folders.
• Sort only sorts by type, into its six fixed folders; the folder names and rules cannot be changed.
• Undo covers only the last manual sort.