WFDOWNLOADER APP QUICK HELP

Q&A

What is WFDownloader App?

WFDownloader App is a smart batch downloading application specifically created to make batch/bulk downloading easier. For instance, Also, your downloads are organized into batches so that you can find related contents easily. See our online tutorials which show examples of what you can do with WFDownloader App.

Main Features of WFDownloader App?

The main features of WFDownloader App include:

What sites are supported?

*Note that the supported sites information here is outdated and no longer maintained as it changes frequently. Please check https://www.wfdownloader.xyz/faq or google search "wfdownloader faq" for up-to-date list.

Many more sites supported but I'm just lazy to list them all. They are all working as at the time of this help tutorial.

Some of the above supported sites are no longer working?

Many sites update their web page structure after some time making the current algorithm to no longer work. Also some sites may contain dead links (links that are no longer working). What to do? Always ensure you are using the latest version of the application or send an email to support@wfdownloader.xyz with the given page link that didn't work and we will try to respond in good time. In the case of dead links, there is nothing that can be done, so please make sure the page's download links aren't DEAD before sending that email.

My favourite site is not supported?

Follow same solutions listed above.

What sites will never be supported?

Facebook, Instagram, Google+, etc. These sites require the user to login to be able to see their friend's pictures, videos etc. WE DON'T WANT TO COLLECT YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD (even if you're cool with it) JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD A PICTURE OR VIDEO! Also, it is against their terms of use and that is why YouTube is not supported.
...still we am open to suggestions...

What version is this?

This is a beta (test) version. Based on feedback, support for this product may be continued or discontinued.

I found irritating bugs, I have great suggestions or I just want to talk...

Go to Help > Contact Vendor

How to add a new download batch?

Click here

How to save current download state so that you can resume later after restarting the app?

Click here

Tips and Tricks?

  1. Hover on buttons to get additional info on what they do.
  2. Right-click on download items in the table view to get more actions like Resume, Restart, Open File, Open Folder, e.t.c. Note that once you select 'Manually Manage', the batch handler will no longer manage them with the rest until you select 'Add back to queue'.
  3. Sometimes you need to go to Options > Clear Links/Docs Cache to clear the cache if you are having link search issues. This is because web pages and their links are cached by default to save data usage and enable faster link search on slow connections. This is okay except sometimes websites send wrong pages/links which may be due to traffic congestion and if those pages/links were cached, you're screwed for at least 30 minutes unless you clear the cache manually as shown above. If you are confident of your internet connection speed and are not worried about data wastage, you can un-check Options > Cache Links/Docs and never have to worry about this.
  4. Don't be greedy and download too many links at the same time or you may risk being blocked by the website you're downloading from (sometimes permanently). Same thing if you have a slow connection. Just leave the default of 4 at a time.
  5. Always save before exiting the application via the 'Save' toolbar button. It really helps against future headaches and frustrations and you will be able to continue where you left off via the adjacent 'Load' button after application restart.

Contact?

support@wfdownloader.xyz


TUTORIAL 1 - HOW TO BATCH DOWNLOAD FROM SUPPORTED SITES

  1. Open your favourite web browser and navigate to the webpage of a supported website whose download links you want to obtain. For this example we are using the search page "https://www.hdwallpapers.net/search?q=cars" which currently contains 42 results for cars.
  2. Go to the address bar and copy the url (either Ctrl + C or right-click and click Copy).
    copy address bar url from browser
  3. Go to WFDownloader App and click the Add toolbar button. Notice the link address is already set automatically. Note that a valid url (link address) must start with either 'http://' or 'https://' and that is why you should copy and paste it rather than manually type it in.
    wfdownloader app add button shown
    wfdownloader app add batch dialog box
  4. Now enter the folder where you want to save the links to. You can click the "Browse" button for this.
    save folder entered
  5. Click "Confirm". Now the application will begin scanning for the links.
    confirm clicked
    wfdownloader app finding links
  6. When link search is completed, the table will be populated with the links. Click "Confirm" to add the links as a batch download. You can use the "Remove Links" button to remove duplicate or unwanted links.
    confirm links found
  7. If you have deselected the "Skip pre-batch creation step" option in general settings, you will be able to set the initial batch properties which is shown below. I have unselected the above option because I want to set all download items to download into the same folder (which is not the default in WFDownloader App). I have also given the batch a suitable name. After setting what you want click "Confirm", otherwise you can click "Skip" if you are not interested.
    set initial batch properties
  8. Now click the "Start" toolbar button to begin the batch downloads.
    wfdownloader app start batch clicked
  9. The downloads should begin. See below:
    wfdownloader app batch started
  10. Once the batch completes, you can right-click on either the batch or any of the download items and select "Open Folder" to open the folder on your file system where the downloads are being saved. You do not have to exit the application to search for the save folder. To stop the batch download at any time, use any of the "Stop" buttons. You can save the state at any point, close the application and resume the downloads at a later time.
    cars in windows explorer

TUTORIAL 2 - HOW TO SAVE/LOAD BATCHES

Sometimes, you might not be able to wait for all the batch downloads to finish and want to continue your batch downloads at a later time. For instance, you need to restart your system now but don’t want to lose the progress of your downloads.  Follow the steps below:
  1. First ensure you have stopped all ongoing downloads. To do this, click the ‘Stop All’ toolbar button.
  2. Next, click the "Save" toolbar button and wait for a confirmation that your batch downloads have been saved successfully. That's all. You can now close the application.

To load your previous progress, follow the steps below:

  1. Open WFDownloader application.
  2. Click the "Load"; toolbar button. That's all. You can now resume your downloads! Just select the batch you want and click the "Restart" button to continue the unfinished downloads.

If you want your batches to be saved automatically instead of doing this manually, go to Options > General Settings and select "Autosave on exit".

TUTORIAL 3 - HOW TO RENAME/REMOVE A BATCH ITEM

The default names given to batches do not help in identifying what they contain for instance, the batch name of "1564694439358" in the example given below does not assist in identifying what it contains. To rename a batch, follow the steps below:
  1. Go to the batch-explorer on the left side of the application window.
  2. Right-click on the batch item you want to rename and select the 'Rename' option. Ensure that the batch you want to rename is the one being highlighted or else you can risk renaming the wrong batch item.
  3. Enter the new name for the batch item; in this case 'favourite pictures' and click 'Ok'.
  4. Make sure you save changes before closing the application so that it persists. That's all.

Sometimes the batch-explorer may contain many batch items some of which are completed and you no longer need. To remove a batch item, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to the batch-explorer on the left side of the application window.
  2. Right-click on the batch you want to remove and select the 'Remove' option. You will be asked to confirm so that you don't make a mistake. Ensure that the batch you want to remove is the one being highlighted or else you can risk removing the wrong batch item permanently!
  3. That's all. Note that removing a batch item does not delete the downloads associated with it.

Note: If you want to remove all batches or only completed ones, go to "Tasks" menu and select the appropriate action.

ADDITIONAL TUTORIALS

Add batch download for items with similar patterns

There are times when you want to download a collection of items that follow a pattern in their URL addresses. Often, there are so many items in the collection that downloading them one by one is exhausting. This is particularly true for many image collections differing only by numbering e.g. image1.png, image2.png etc. That's where this functionality comes in to save you. Follow the steps below:
  1. Go to Tasks > Add batch download with pattern.
  2. Enter the pattern URL address. For this example we are using the fictitious link http://www.abc.com/gallery_1/image002.jpg as our reference URL. We assume a total of 4 galleries with each having images ranging from image00.jpg through image11.jpg. All we have to do is specify the ranges for the gallery and the image parts in square brackets [ ]. Now our pattern URL will be modified into http://www.abc.com/gallery_[1-4]/image[00-11].jpg. Notice the ranges specified within square brackets and that 48 URL address were generated for us as shown on the dialog box.
  3. Now Enter the batch name and save location. You can use the 'Browse' button to enter the save location. You should now have something that resembles the image below.
  4. Click confirm and that's it. You can now start the batch download added.

Add batch download from clipboard

This is useful if you have a bunch of URLs in a file or on the clipboard and you want to download them as a batch. Follow the steps below:
  1. First go to the location or file that contains the links.
  2. Now copy the URLs/links using the means available on your system. For instance you can use Ctrl + C combination. Note that it is assumed that each link starts a new line in the file/document you're copying from.
  3. Go to Tasks > Add batch download from clipboard . Notice the links are already populated for you.
  4. Now enter the batch name and save location. You can use the 'Browse' button to enter the save location.
  5. Click confirm and that's it. You can now start the batch download added.

What next?

You can start playing with the application to you heart's satisfaction. If you like the application and want to show appreciation or you want to give suggestions, remember you're just an email away. Send to support@wfdownloader.xyz.

Peace!