Check downloads: recovery, deletion, shutdown, reboot ...

Downloads can be controlled in different ways depending on the type of operation to be performed. Starting from the terminal allows the operations listed in the command presentation to be executed: The ZDL command. Since ZDL can be closed without interrupting downloads, this control mode can be adopted at any time, once execution has started. To close without interrupting downloads:

• if started in standard mode, type M-q (<Alt> + <q> keys)
• from interactive mode, type Q (<Shift> + <q> keys)

Once closed (or even killed interrupting downloads), ZDL can be restarted using new options.

An example, starting from a practical problem: add options to downloads started by the browser.

Problem:

I want to download files from Easybytez using Flashgot, but also I want to use the options --login, --max-downloads= and --clean, which are not set by default. How can I use these additional features using the browser (with Flashgot), if these can be activated only from the terminal?

Solution:

• start zdl in a terminal, from the destination directory, using all the options I need: zdl -m --login --clean
• using Firefox, I click with the right mouse button on the links of download file and start the download with Flashgot: download it is not carried out immediately and the links are registered by zdl for be processed by another active instance of the program (that one in the terminal)
• when I finished recording the links, I go back to the terminal and, without write anything, type M-x

Manual control of downloads.

ZDL processes the registered links, generating for each a temporary file from which it can extract information about the file to be downloaded and the download in progress, intact or completed. Thanks to this information, it is possible to control the download processes, either automatically by ZDL, or manually by the user.

ZDL downloads can be controlled manually through the interactive mode, which can be activated from the standard one by entering M-i (<Alt>+<i> keys) or from any Bash terminal from the same download directory, using the -i|--interactive option. If there is no start-up instance and automatic management of downloads, from the interactive interface it is possible to start the daemon mode, which acts in background as a server and is independent of the startup terminal. To manage the downloads and the closing of ZDL in daemon mode, it is still necessary to use an interactive interface, which acts as client.
The commands are listed in the same interactive interface: it is possible to modify the maximum number of downloads (from 1 to 9, by typing the number keys, or unlimited, by typing the key m or in pause typing 0), the type of downloader to use (Axel o Wget, by typing a or w or A), to start the default editor to edit the list of links to be processed (e key), to select, with s, the downloads in management to restart them (ZDL interrupts the current download and processes the next one until the end of the registered list, then restarts from the first and so on) or to eliminate them completely. For these last three operations it is possible to select several downloads at a time, indicating the identification numbers separating them with spaces.

Manual control of downloads still to be processed.

In the absence of temporary files related to link not yet processed, it is possible to intervene manually using an editor (Editor).