We have released a major update of File Downloader today. For those who do not know what it is - it is an ActiveX control which allows clients to download multiple files from a server with a single click. A kind of Image Uploader, but it works vice versa. We can call it a junior sibling of Image Uploader.

So what is new there? In fact main purpose of this update was to improve performance, make it more stable, etc. In particular, now File Downloader is able to handle huge file lists (i.e. when the user downloads thousands of files). But of course we could not miss the opportunity to add couple killer features during refactoring. 

First of all - it is possibility to resume broken downloads automatically. The good news is that unlike Image Uploader, it does not discard partially downloaded file. If connection breaks at 50% while downloading 100MB file, no need to start to download it from the very beginning.

Another great improvement is that now Vista users can work with File Downloader much easier. Now it works when Internet Explorer is in protected mode (in which it is by default). In previous version it could work only if website that hosts downloaded files was in list of trusted sites. The only thing I do not like with File Downloader on Vista is that if UAC is enabled, it will still display these annoying dialogs asking to increase permission level. But this is a price the user pay for Vista security, and if they enable UAC, it asks for permission a dozen times per day.

So if you are already using File Downloader, I believe it makes sense to take a look at this new version. I believe you will find it worth of upgrading.