FOSSwire

A couple of days ago, I took a look at KGet, which is KDE's resident download manager.

As you'd expect, KGet features heavy integration within Konqueror, the KDE web browser. However, many KDE users prefer to browse with Firefox for greater compatibility, meaning full integration between their browser and KGet isn't possible by default.

Today, I'm going to show you how you can integrate the two programs using third-party Firefox extension FlashGot.

Installation

First of all, head over to the FlashGot website. On the left hand side of the page, click Download and then Install Now on the new page to download and install the Firefox extension.

Choose to Install Now.

Once the extension is installed, you'll be asked to restart Firefox. Do so, and now FlashGot should be installed.

Configuration

The first step once FlashGot is inside your browser is to make sure that KGet is selected as the default download manager to use.

Right-click in any blank area of a Firefox window, and go to FlashGot Options. On this list will be all the supported download managers that FlashGot has detected are installed on your system. Choose KGet from the list, and it becomes your default download manager.

Downloading

There are now several different ways you can force FlashGot to invoke KGet to perform a download.

For any download that springs an open/save dialogue, like the one below, FlashGot will include an option on that dialogue box that allows you to perform the download with KGet (or any other download manager).

Alternatively, you can right-click any link on a web page and choose FlashGot link from the menu to download the link with KGet.

Finally, there are also several other functions of FlashGot (including downloading all the links on a single page) that you can use to perform downloads with KGet, or any other external download manager of your choice. I won't go through them all here, you can read more on the FlashGot site.

FlashGot is an excellent solution for KDE users that want to enjoy the extra functionality and integration of the KGet download manager, but that use Firefox as their primary browser.

Download managers, although frowned upon by some, are often useful applications for those of us who download a lot of files, or are on slower connections and want to use a dedicated application (perhaps with some tricks up its sleeve) for the downloading of files.

KGet is KDE's resident dedicated download program and is capable of acting both as a download manager for the Konqueror browser, as well as a standalone program.

On your system, KGet might already be installed. If not, you should be able to find a package named kget or get it as part of the kdenetwork metapackage.

When you first launch KGet, it asks you whether you want to enable that Konqueror integration I just mentioned.

Then, it all but disappears into a blue arrow in the system tray, usually at the bottom right of the screen.

There are now a few different ways you can start a download.

Konqueror Integration

If you chose to use KGet as Konqueror's download manager, next time you click a link that forces a download, KGet will spring into action.

If you didn't enable the integration feature, you can still use KGet on a case-by-case basis, by right-clicking a download link and choosing Actions > Download with KGet from within Konqueror.

Once a download has started, you can click on the arrow in the system tray (now coloured green) to see the progress of ongoing downloads.

Starting Downloads Manually

If you don't browse with Konqueror, you may wish to kick off a download manually.

Open up KGet by clicking its icon, then click the Open button in the main window, or choose File > Open. Then simply paste the download URL in that window.

Controlling Downloads

As you'd expect from any advanced download manager, KGet includes many features that the download system in your browser doesn't.

Downloads can be paused, resumed, queued and delayed as you please, by using the controls in the menu. Of course, don't restrict yourself to downloading one thing at a time!

KGet becomes most efficient when you are able to download multiple items at once as the available bandwidth can be maximised for optimum efficiency.

For those on slower connections that are not 'always-on', KGet's offline mode allows you to queue up downloads for later, and the auto-disconnect functionality means that KGet will automatically close the internet connection once its work is done.

Drop Target

One final feature I want to show is the drop target. In KGet, go to Settings > Show Drop Target.

A large draggable arrow icon appears on the screen.

As the name suggests, anything you drag and drop onto this icon will be downloaded by KGet. This should work in all KDE applications and many other non-KDE applications as well (including Firefox).