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Downloading Software from the
Internet
a SiliconGuide Tutorial for Beginners
By Eric Georgieff
August 1999
The Internet may be a great place for exchanging ideas, or reading
about subjects that interest you, but one of the best uses for the
internet, is its ability to transfer files from one computer to
another, just as you would do over a Local Area Network (the kind
you probably have in the office). Of course, since most of
us access the Internet through the phone line (using a Modem, which
connects to your Internet Service Providers Network, which is in
turn connected to the Internet), the rate at which we can transfer
files is greatly inferior to that which could be reached using the
Ethernet wiring used in small, building wide, networks. In
any case, it is possible, and as you will find, downloading software
from the Internet, such as shareware programs, and then using them
on your computer, can sometimes become much more entertaining than
just surfing the net. After all, where can you find a site
that will allow you to virtually walk through 3D hallways, or let
you type a letter and then print it. With software downloads
however, your computing universe will quickly become much more interesting,
your horizons expanding every day. This tutorial is aimed
at beginners who want to learn how to download software from the
Internet, install that software on their computers, as well as where
to find some free trial software.
How to Download a File to your Hard Disk:
First of all, you have to find something to
download. In this tutorial, we will use the WinZip Uncompression software download
as an example. It would be a good idea to follow this tutorial with the same
download, since - as you will find out later - WinZip can be an important piece of
software when receiving files from the Internet.
Normally you would go to WinZip's site, find out where the download is located,
and then click on it, but for the sake of this tutorial, I have posted the link here:
Download
WinZip (1.71 Megabytes)
When you have clicked on this link, a window should
appear in your browser, asking you what you would like to do with the file.
Depending on what browser you are using, you may have different options, however normally
you will have the choice of either saving it to your hard disk, or opening it. When
downloading software, it is important to choose "Save to disk". (see Fig. 1)
Fig 1: When clicking on a link to download a file, using Netscape Navigator (all
versions), you will often be prompted by the above dialog box.
After you have selected "Save File...", Netscape will ask you
where you want to save it. If you have not yet made a folder for the files you
download, I recommend you make one by clicking on the "Make New Folder" button
(see Fig 2). A new folder will then appear in the dialog box, allowing you to rename
it if you wish. You may however prefer having it inside your Hard Disk (instead of
on the Desktop), in which case you would have to double click on the "My
Computer" icon, and then navigate to where you would like to create the new folder,
after which you would create the folder by clicking on "Make New Folder".
Fig 2: Typical dialog box asking you where you would like to save the file you are
about to download.
After creating this folder (or if you already had one prepared), all you have to do is
double click on it, and then click on the Save button to commence downloading. If
all goes well, you should see a windows similar to the one below, indicating the progress
of your download.
Fig 3: Netscape will keep you informed of the progress of your download.
This process is almost similar in Microsoft Internet Explorer, however the
windows will look a little different. Internet explorer also has to analyse the file
before actually downloading it (see figures 4 and 5)
Fig 4: Internet explorer is determining certain information before downloading the
file.
Fig 5: Internet Explorer's download dialog box looks similar
to the one used by Netscape.
After the download is complete, you will have to navigate to where you saved
the file (using My Computer or the Desktop, depending on where you
saved the file), and then double click on it to start installing
it. If the file you downloaded is executable (such files end
with a .exe suffix), the program should automatically start installing
the software you downloaded (you may have to follow on screen instruction).
If however it is a compressed file (such as those ending with a
.zip extension), you will have to double click on it, which will
open the program necessary to uncompress the file, providing you
have one (WinZip is a good program for the job). Once the
uncompression program is loaded, you will have to uncompress the
files to a temporary folder, and then run the installation program
that came with what you downloaded (see below for instructions on
how to use WinZip).
Installing WinZip
If you followed this tutorial by downloading the suggested WinZip
program, which is necessary to uncompress many of the files that
are available on the Internet, the first thing you have to do is
find where you saved the file named winzip81.exe, and double click
on it. This file, being an executable (ending with .exe),
will automatically uncompress all the files necessary to install
WinZip, and ask you where you would like to install the software.
Once you have installed WinZip successfully, it will be at your disposal whenever
you need to uncompress a compressed file. Such files almost
always end with a .zip extension.
Using WinZip
To uncompress a file you have downloaded from the Internet (following the beginning
of this tutorial), simply find where you saved it on your computer
and double click on it. WinZip should automatically be launched,
in which case you will see a windows similar to the one in fig.
6, displaying the files contained in the archive (a group of compressed
files is called an archive).
Fig 6: Typical WinZip window, showing a list of the files contained in the archive.
To uncompress these files, click on the Extract button (please refer to fig.
6). It will then show you a window similar to the one in
fig 2, asking you where you would like to save the files when they
will be uncompressed. The process for choosing this location
is the same as when you download a file from the Internet (see the
beginning of this tutorial for explanations on how to use a Save
File dialog box). After you have extracted the files, simply
navigate to where you uncompressed then (using My Computer, or the
desktop depending on where you saved the extracted files), and double
click on the install program (typically setup.exe or install.exe),
to start installing the program you downloaded.
Of course, if the files you downloaded are not programs, but documents or some other
sort of file, you would still double click on the file you want to open, in which case the
program designed to deal with that specific type of file would load (just as WinZip loaded
to deal with a compressed set of files).
All of this may seem very complicated, but do not worry, it was simply written
to include every single step you would have to do in order to install
a program you downloaded from the Internet. In most cases,
unless you are a true beginner to Windows 95, most of these operations
will probably come naturally to you, without even having to think.
