www.freedownloadmanager.org

NOTE: The first message in this topic is kept unchanged for historical reasons.
Most answers in this message apply only to classic FDM 2.5.x - 3.9.x versions.
Read newer messages in this topic for more up-to-date hints and answers, please.

Q: What is the newest stable version of FDM?
A: Free Download Manager version 2.5 available. Using Help -> Check for update now inside FDM will not alert you of new builds, only major/minor version updates. Please make sure you are using the latest version before reporting problems, in case your issue has already been solved.

Q: How can I best report problems with FDM?
A: Leave a detailed message including any problem URLs, which version and build of FDM you are using, the version of Windows you are using included service pack and localization, which browser (including version) specifically that you may be having integration issues with, which anti-virus/spyware programs you may have running, and the name and version of the firewall or proxyyou may be using.

Q: What new features does FDM 2.5 have?
A: BitTorrent and Metalink are now supported. Free Upload Manager gives you an easy way to share files. It is all released under the GPL, a free open source license.

Q: Does FDM support Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2? Vista?
A: Yes. Yes.

Q: Has FDM been released as Free/Open Source software?
A: Yes, FDM has been released under the GPL 3 license.

Q: Is there a 4 gigabyte file size download limit?
A: Not in FDM, but your hard drive may be formatted as FAT32. NTFS does not have this limit. Additionally, some older Web/FTP servers and proxies may have issues with large files.

Q: How can I translate FDM into my native language?
A: You should translate the eng.lng file located in Language subfolder of FDM's installation folder and send translated file to support @ freedownloadmanager . org (remove spaces).

Q: Where is BitTorrent support?
A: Win 2000/XP/2003/Vista is required for BitTorrent to work in FDM.

Q: What is the best way to integrate FDM into Opera?
A: Use oGet.

Note for Firefox users. In order to use the new browser monitoring feature of Free Download Manager you should uninstall FlashGot extension first.

There is one for the forums... how about one for FDM itself?
If it's here in the forums somewhere, please make it 'sticky'.
Thanks.

Here's one to get you started:

Question:
I have 'start download automatically' checked in Downloads->New Download, but they do NOT start automatically - I always have to select (or right-click) them in the main window and then 'Start download' (or Shift+S).

Answer:
In the Add Download dialog, in its lower-left-corner - select the Automatic radio button instead of Manual.

Some general rules for Firefox 10+, some for Palemoon and other Gecko-powered browsers

Note
Some of these hints may be valid only for older software versions:
* FDM 3.x
* FDM extension 2.x
* Firefox up to 52.x ESR
For newer software versions you should also read newer messages in this topic or search other topics in this forum.

Q: How to know what's wrong with FDM extension for Firefox?

FDM extension may be blocked or disabled by Firefox. You can check it after opening "Add-ons" tab in Firefox. FDM extension should be displayed as enabled and without any warning. Now you can easy recognize if the FDM extension for Firefox is really active. Make sure in FDM monitoring settings that FDM options are added to the browser context menu, then right click any link in Firefox and look at the context menu:
- if FDM extension is inactive, you can see menu option "Download by FDM" for FDM extension version 1.x or no option for FDM at all when using new FDM extension version 2.x;
- if FDM extension is active, you can see "Download with Free Download Manager" menu option.

Q: How to install FDM to work properly with Firefox?

1. Always disable and/or uninstall other download helpers in your browser before installing FDM. Some actions require restarting browser to be finished.
2. Close your browser after successful uninstall and use task manager to make sure the browser process is no more active.
3. If you use more than one profile in Firefox, run Firefox with every profile and repeat actions from steps 1-2. If needed, do the same for Palemoon (or any other Gecko-powered browser) and its profiles.
4. Run FDM installer as Administrator.
5. Do not install separate FDM extension for Firefox if you are installing the newest FDM (beta/RC) version.
6. If you use other Gecko-powered browsers that are not specified in FDM Monitoring options, you should create a new profile in your browser using folders defined for Firefox to create a new profile in your browser. That way you can monitor other browsers with Firefox monitoring turned on.
7. Every non-trivial program must be configured. In this case you must at least use FDM Options to turn on Firefox monitoring.
8. Run your browser. It should inform you that a new addon is installed and ask you to confirm it.

Q: How to fix broken FDM extension for Firefox installation?

1. Download the newest FDM version (it may be beta/RC).
2. Go to your old FDM options and disable Firefox monitoring.
3. Run Firefox, use Add-ons menu and go to extensions list, then disable and uninstall (if possible) broken FDM extension.
4. If you use more than one profile in Firefox, run Firefox with every profile and repeat actions from step 3. If needed, do the same for Palemoon (or any other Gecko-powered browser) and its profiles.

5. Close your browser and make sure the FDM extension is really deleted from all the browser folders.
A) Locate your browser profile directory, for Firefox it's %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
- Go to every profile-name subdirectory and delete extensions.json file.
- Go to every profile-name\extensions subdirectory and delete fdm_ffext@freedownloadmanager.org file or subdirectory if present.
You may not find folders if you haven't changed folder options to show hidden or system folders and files. Folder options you can find in Explorer menu or in Control Panel.
B) Check your browser extensions subdirectory, for Firefox up to 20.0.1 it's
C:\Program Files\Mozilla\Firefox\extensions in 32-bit Windows or
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla\Firefox\extensions in 64-bit Windows
and delete fdm_ffext@freedownloadmanager.org file or subdirectory if present here.
For Firefox 21+ you should check locations described below:
C:\Program Files\Mozilla\Firefox\browser\extensions in 32-bit Windows or
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla\Firefox\browser\extensions in 64-bit Windows
C) Remove startup cache data from all your browser profiles
- Locate your browser cache directory, for Firefox it's %APPDATA%\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
- Go to every profile-name\startupCache subdirectory and delete startupCache.4.little file.

6. If you use other Gecko-powered browsers, repeat actions from step 5, using proper locations for every browser and its profiles.
7. Close your old FDM and uninstall it.

8. Make sure that FDM extension is deleted.
A) Go to directory
"C:\Program Files\Free Download Manager" in 32-bit Windows or
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Free Download Manager" in 64-bit Windows
and delete Firefox subdirectory if present.
B) Go to directory
C:\ProgramData - in Windows Vista and newes OS-es or
"C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data" - in Windows XP (WARNING! "Applicaton Data" is a localized name, f.e. in Polish it is "Dane aplikacji")
and delete "Free Download Manager" subdirectory if present

9. Make sure that paths to old FDM extensions are removed from the Windows registry. Run regedit and delete two keys:
- in 32-bit Windows
- in 64-bit Windows

10. Run a new FDM installer as Administrator.
11. Make sure that "Free Download Manager\Firefox" subdirectory (see p. 6) exists now and contains non-empty extension subdirectory with proper extension version (locate and read install.rdf).
12. Run FDM, go to Options menu and turn on Firefox monitoring. Make sure that now your browser profiles (see step 5A) contains fdm_ffext@freedownloadmanager.org file.
In Firefox 36+ the data from fdm_ffext@freedownloadmanager.org file are moved to the extensions.xpiState preference in Firefox and the file is deleted. You can open about:config URL in Firefox to check this preference, you can also find FDM extension version in the extensions.enabledAddons preference if the extension is properly installed and enabled.
See also http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16047&p=40092#p40092
13. Run your browser. It should inform you that a new addon is installed and ask you to confirm it.

Q: I have just installed Firefox and FDM but I've got "Can't install Firefox monitoring" error message. What's going on?

FDM can't find any Firefox user profile. It means you haven't run Firefox yet or you have completely removed all Firefox profiles with some cleaning tool like CCleaner.
See also explanations for Firefox 36+ in step 12 above.

Q: I have installed the newest FDM alpha build and it is telling that the FDM extension will be disabled because of incompatibility. How to fix it?

1. Read suggestions above on "How to fix broken FDM extension for Firefox installation?". Don't do anything now, find only a folder with the FDM extension for Firefox.
2. Find install.rdf file in that folder and open it with Notepad.
3. Find section for Firefox and line for maxVersion there. It's something like Change the number to your Firefox version number (or greater), save changes and close Notepad.
4. Now follow all the suggestions on "How to fix..."

Note that starting from Firefox 39 extensions should be digitally signed by Mozilla. Any manually edited file will be treated as unsigned and allowed to run only in Firefox developers' (nightly/alpha) builds.

You can see also http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11665#p37458 for other details.

Q: How do I use FDM with Firefox / Mozilla-derived browsers?

A: First of all, FDM supports all of the latest 32bit Firefox / Mozilla derivatives, except the most recent (aka Nightly builds). If you are having issues, see viewtopic.php?p=36150#p36150 for instructions on how to get it working correctly. Also, see viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16047 a many different issues that have been posted for possible workarounds.

Another option is to use the Firefox add-on FlashGot and set it to use FDM for the download manager.

Q: How do I use FDM with Google Chrome?

A: See viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11744 for more details.
See also viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11665&p=39096#p39096

Q: I've got a great idea for a plugin - how do I write my own?

A: See viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10672 for more information.

Q: Sometimes when I try to download a file from my browser, FDM just sits there without taking the URL and eventually times out after a very long time, and I'm forced to download the file directly in my browser. Why does this happen?

A: With Windows Vista / 7 / 8 most applications run with regular user level credentials, but every now and then some applications run with administrative privileges (such as most anti-virus / anti-malware programs). These programs can sometimes call a browser window to open, and the browser window will open with the same administrative level of privileges that the application calling it will. Unfortunately, FDM only uses admin privileges when installing, and thus if a browser with admin privileges tries to send a URL to fdm without admin privileges, the inherent security in windows will block the transfer of the URL to FDM, causing it to eventually time out, and finally reverting to the browser to complete the download, oftentimes accompanied with an error message that FDM is not installed correctly. When this occurs, you have a few choices:

1. Use the dropbox to drage the URL to the dropbox to initiate a new FDM download;
2. Manually copy the URL yourself and then manually initiate a new download in FDM;
3. Copy the page URL and then close your browser, open it again manually, and reload the page (if you have your browser set to re-open tabs / sessions then you can just close and re-open the browser).

Q: I'm trying to browse an FTP server with Site Explorer, but it appears empty. What gives?
A: Try enabling the passive mode in Site Explorer settings (accessible via right-clicking in an empty area inside Site Explorer). Note that this checkbox is different from the 'Use passive mode' checkbox found in Options -> Settings -> New Download -> Advanced -> Protocols.

ubik wrote:Is 2.5 still the latest stable version?

No, FAQs are under permanent re-construction. Let us work, please.

Q: How do I make FDM work with the latest Nightly builds?

A: This applies to current build FDM ver. 3.9.2 build 1303. If you already have the current build (make sure!), you can skip down to Step 2.

1. Use Usher's post above viewtopic.php?p=36150#p36150 to make sure that you install the latest FDM. Stop at step 10 - Do NOT run FDM yet. (If you accidentally run FDM, be sure to close it before proceeding).
   
   
2. You'll need to edit the install.rdf file to make it work with Fx 25+. The easiest way is to edit it using notepad run as administrator. See the posts below for specific instructions for each OS.
   
   
3. Run notepad.exe as administrator. Open the install.rdf file in notepad (Go to directory
   "C:\Program Files\Free Download Manager" in 32-bit Windows or
   "C:\Program Files (x86)\Free Download Manager" in 64-bit Windows, change file type in open file dialog to *.* all files, then select install.rdf).
   
   
4. Find the line

   Code: Select all

   <em:maxVersion>24.*</em:maxVersion>
   and change the 24 to your current version of Fx.
   
   (For a bit of future proofing, I bump it one past my current version. I.e., since I am running Fx nightly 26.0a1, I change 24.* --> 27.*, as so:

   Code: Select all

   <em:maxVersion>27.*</em:maxVersion>
   ).
   
   
5. Save the file, then run FDM, and when it asks to enable Fx monitoring, you can allow it to do it for you, or else you can actually say no, set up all your options yourself, and then manually run Fx and enable the addon and restart Fx.

It should work perfectly fine after that.

Q: I have the setting Append comment to the file name when done enabled in FDM, but sometimes my comments do not get appended. Other times it works perfectly fine. Why?

A: This setting works really well in most cases - however, when it does not work, it's really not FDM's fault. It's not (really) your fault either. Blame it on your OS.

See, Windows won't let you use certain characters in file names. See https://support.microsoft.com/kb/177506 for more info - but the list is small:

• \
• /
• :
• *
• ?
• "
• <
• >
• |

So, if you try to write a comment or note in the comment box, and it contains one of those characters, and you have that Append comment setting enabled, then FDM will attempt rename the file with your comment - but Windows does not allow it to be renamed. Thus, the appending of the comment fails, even while the file is downloaded successfully.

Furthermore, if you have the setting Additional file extension for uncompleted download enabled, then FDM will not be able to remove that additional extension either.

Be sure that your comments do not have any invalid characters in them to avoid this issue.

Moderators, which Topic do you wish us to use for reporting on Firefox FDM Plugin issues please?

For example the other day I added to an issue already reported on the Pinned Topic

"Free Download Manager FireFox plugin"

but I note there is also a Pinned Topic

"PLEASE put up all FDM and Firefox problems here!"

If ONE is the appropriate Topic perhaps the Moderators can clarify which, as BOTH seem appropriate.

Quite reasonably, Moderators ask use to read existing topics before asking questions that may have already been asked/covered/answered but it can get very complicated with 2 (or more) Topics possibly sharing discussions on similar/same issues

Many thanks

dko wrote:Which topic do you wish us to use for reporting on Firefox FDM Plugin issues please?

Use common sense to choose the best topic for your problem:
- If you have problem with plugin incompatibility, particularly if you have downloaded the plugin separately, use "Free Download Manager FireFox plugin".
- If you have problems with flash video download from Youtube, use "YouTube video download broken/no audio workaround/fix?" topic, no matter what browser you use.
- etc.
- Use "PLEASE put up all FDM and Firefox problems here!" if you don't find any better topic for your problem.

dko wrote:Moderators ask user to read existing topics before asking questions (...) but it can get very complicated with 2 (or more) Topics possibly sharing discussions on similar/same issues

Use "Search" option and keywords specific for your problem to find interesting topics to read before posting; "Firefox" is NOT a good keyword. There are many more postings where problems with Firefox are reported, so you should NOT limit your reading to the pinned topics or to the very first topic you find using search option.