14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since the beginning of life on earth, there has been a trend to speed things up, make them as easy and comfortable as possible: first there was fire, that helped our ancestors cook their meat, thus speeding up the evolution process, then there was the wheel that along with the steam engine set the basis for transportation later on, then there was the phone that helped us communicate with other people at greater and greater distances, then there was the trip to Mars that helped us travel out to space, then there was USA's Department of Defense that developed ARPANET, which transformed into what we now call the INTERNET, and then there was Internet Download Manager.
Introduction
Just as the name suggests, this is a download manager that uses new technologies in order to use your Internet connection as efficient as possible, having as a result a shorter download time.
Dynamic file segmentation means that the program will segment the files not only before, but also when running downloads, unlike most of the other programs that will do this operation only before starting the download. This will insure that the segmentation is done in an optimal way, and reflects in a greater download speed.
It supports proxy servers, ftp and http protocols, directories that require authorization, redirects, cookies, and download queuing. The pause/resume function isn't a feature anymore, but a program requirement if works in this branch.
Working with the program
When running Internet Download Manager (IDM) you'll get a friendly main window that has a button toolbox right under the program menu which offers all the main features gathered in one place. The buttons are nicely designed and placed in a logical order, so that you get an idea about what you need to do when downloading a file.
You can customize the toolbar, by placing separators so that you can organize your actions in different sections, move, remove or add buttons as you wish.
Since IDM integrates into your browser's context menu, you won't need to work too much from the program's console. You simply have to select the file you want to download, and before you know it, it's done!
The program auto detects the type of file you're copying onto your hard drive, and moves it in one of the correspondent folders: compressed, documents, music, programs and video. It you're handling a different file format, it will be placed in the main directory, that contains all of the above. This allows you, not only to manage your downloads, but to manage your files too.
IDM also features a small Drop target window that stays on top of all other ones, allowing you to drag and drop items for quicker downloads.
The download progress window can be minimized to the system tray, so that it won't be in your way when you're working on something else.
If you need your bandwidth for other purposes and don't want the downloads to slow down your connection, you can simply add them to a queue, and the job will be taken care of at a later time (that you specify). Also, there are two buttons, conveniently placed in the toolbar, that allow you to start or stop the queue at any time.
There's also a queue manager (in the program it's referred to as a Scheduler) that will help you arrange the order and other details about your delayed downloads.
If you like the files you download so much, you have the option of downloading more associated files from the source website or even the entire site, using the Site Grabber feature that's included. You can choose from all pictures on the website, all audio on the start page and the next level, all video files on the website, all files except for web pages and images, complete start page with all pictures, styles, and scripts for offline browsing or the entire website. If you should choose the latter, the program does not relink the pages so that you can navigate offline through the site. But it does, however, download all the files and web pages, so that you can access them all from the download directory.
The program features virus detection, and it prevents you from downloading infected files. Nevertheless, it's not an advanced antivirus application, and you should check every file after downloading it, to make sure that you're in the safe zone.
The good
I really like the way this program handles downloads, but the most important is the great speed. Sometimes it's even more than five times faster like the producer claims it to be. The interface is nice and clean, and gives you good control over the program's features.
The bad
I don't know if there's anything bad about the program. I would really like it if the site grabber would be able to relink the downloaded pages, so that offline browsing could be easier. Also, when minimized, the progress window only shows the download progress when you click it: a mouse over effect would be appreciated. But we're getting too much into details here, and these are only minor issues.
The truth
This is a great download manager that, not only increases the speed of your downloads, but also, organizes them for you, and makes every operation seem like taking candy from a baby (but in a good way). The price is average for what the market has to offer, but you get a very good value. Download the 30 days trial and give it a run!
Here are some screenshots of the program in action:
