Release 1.6b15 ( For changes see the Changes section below ).
What is it?
A queue based file download manager for downloading files from the Internet using ftp and http protocols.
Why is it?
Don't you hate it when you have a lot of files to download and you have to sit in front of your browser waiting to be able to start the next one?
Don't you hate it when you are downloading from a slow server and your browser deviously aborts your download leaving it incomplete?
Do you want your downloads to automatically retry if the server connection is dropped?
Don't you hate it when you cannot log onto an ftp server because it has reached its maximum number of logins?
Do you wish you could restart downloads without losing what you have already got?
If you answered yes to any of these questions then MONICA is for you.
MONICA allows you to easily set up a download queue by 'dragging and dropping' or 'cutting and pasting' file URLs. Once you have placed some files in the queue you may manually start each download at a time convenient to you, or allow MONICA to start downloading automatically. In automatic mode, once a file is received MONICA will start the next one, allowing up to four simultaneous downloads. If the server times you out or if the download is incomplete then MONICA will restart the download and do her best to resume from where the download left off, while you can go off to more pleasant occupations.
Why the name MONICA?
Because I once had a cat called Monica that always would bring me things - dead mice, birds. lizards etc. This program should bring things to you, hopefully more pleasant things.
Requirements
1. A PPC Mac.
2. 4mb free RAM.
3. Open Transport.
4. About 1mb of disk space.
5. An Internet connection.
6. A screen set to 800x600 minimum.
Installation
1. Unstuff the distribution file - but you did that or you wouldn't be reading this!
2. Read this document thoroughly please.
3. Read the note about Virtual Memory below.
4. You may now run MONICA.
5. If you wish to change the default preferences then click the "Prefs" button in the main window ( more about those options later ).
How Does it Work ( Quick Start )?
1. When MONICA starts you are presented with the main control window. You may add new downloads to the queue by dropping URLs dragged from your browser onto the main window, or by pasting a URL onto the "Paste/Drop URL here" field. The URL must be a file URL e.g. "ftp://ftp.is.co.za/pub/rfc/rfc1000.txt" ( leave out the quotes ). It may be an ftp or a http URL.
INFO: If you have a number of URLs listed in a text file, you may paste multiple URLs in one go.
INFO: You may also manually add URLs by pressing the "Add" button. See below.
INFO: Some web links do not drag the correct file URL. This is a problem with the page HTML.
2. Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
3. You are now ready to start downloading. This you may do in one of two modes - Manual or Queued.
4. Manual Downloading. This is useful when you want to control the download starts by yourself. To start a download, highlight a queued item then press the "Get It Now!!" button.
INFO: You cannot not start more that 4 simultaneous downloads in this fashion.
5. Queued Downloading. This is where to downloading power of MONICA begins to show itself! Press the "Start Queue" button and wait a few seconds. The items in the queue will automatically start downloading.
INFO: By default MONICA allows 2 simultaneous downloads. You may set this to between 1 and 4 in the Prefs function.
6. MONICA will automatically restart downloads where the server stops the download before it is complete. MONICA will also attempt to resume the download in such cases.
INFO: Note that by default MONICA stores downloads in a folder called "Downloads". You may change this in the preferences.
INFO: Note that not all http/ftp servers support resuming. If not, MONICA will start at the beginning.
7. MONICA attempts to set the MAC Type and Creator values for downloaded files based upon the file extensions. This is done via a list that is user-maintainable.
8. When you have finished your session press the "Quit" button or close the main window.
What are all these buttons?
1. Add.
Pressing this will open a window in which you can manually add a new URL.
The "Port" field is normally automatically set for you, but you may override it if you know the server port is non-standard.
The "Login" and "Password" fields are again automatically set but may be overwritten. This is only relevant to ftp URLs.
If you wish MONICA to automatically resume a download from a previous session then check the "Try to Restart" checkbox. If this is NOT checked, and a file with the same name exists in your Downloads folder, that file will be deleted. Once MONICA is running she will ALWAYS try to resume after the first attempt goes wrong.
The "Timeout" field specifies the number of seconds to wait without receiving any data before restarting the download.
The "Times to Retry" field specifies the number of times to keep on trying if errors occur. This does NOT apply to errors such as "File not found" or "Invalid password", as in such cases trying to restart is a bit pointless.
2. Edit.
You may change details about a download if it is not currently in progress by highlighting it on the queue list and pressing this button.
You may also edit downloads by double-clicking on them in the queue list.
3. Delete.
You may delete a queued download if it is not currently in progress by highlighting it on the queue list and pressing this button.
You may also just press the "del" key after highlighting the download in the queue. You may use the cursor up and down arrows in the queue list to navigate.
4. Enable.
You may re-activate a download previously put on hold by highlighting it on the queue list and pressing this button. You may also re-activate downloads that had errors, or were successfully completed, in this way.
5. Hold.
You may de-activate a download by highlighting it on the queue list and pressing this button. This effectively puts the download on hold and it is ignored by the queue until re-activated.
6. Prefs.
Pressing this button allows you to enter various default parameters.
These parameters apply by default to any new downloads added to the queue.
The "Retry Delay" parameter specifies how many seconds MONICA must wait before trying a download again. Some servers get annoyed if you reconnect too quickly, and you can get around this by setting this parameter.
The "User name" should be left as "anonymous" for ftp access in most cases.
The "Login" should be your email address.
The "Number of Retries" specifies the number of times to retry a download if errors occur.
The "Timeout" field specifies the number of seconds to wait without receiving any data before restarting downloads.
The "Max Downloads" specifies the maximum number of downloads that can run simultaneously in queued download mode.
The "Download Folder" field and "Select" button allow you to specify where MONICA should put the downloaded files.
The "Translate Hex values" checkbox, if checked, will translate hexadecimal values in dropped URLs. For example in the URL "ftp://ftp.somewhere.com/files/abcd%20efg.zip" the "%20" represents a space character. Some browsers embed the hexadecimal values of certain characters when allowing you to drag a URL. In this example the "%20" would be translated to a space character. If the checkbox is left unchecked no translation takes place.
The "Use Passive FTP" checkbox allows you to specify globally whether FTP transfers should take place in "passive" mode. "Passive" mode lets the remote server specify the data transfer port, as opposed to normal mode where the client ( MONICA ) specifies the port. Some FTP servers only allow passive downloads, others disallow passive downloads. Try checking this option if you are having problems transferring via FTP.
The "HTTP Proxy Server" field allows you to enter a HTTP proxy server name if you use one. If you do not wish to use a proxy server then leave this field blank. See the section on Proxy Servers below.
The "Proxy Port" field should contain the appropriate port number to use to connect to your proxy server if you use one.
7. Types.
Pressing this button allows you to enter parameters for setting the Mac file Type and Creator properties of downloaded files based upon file extensions ( the letters after the last "." in the file name ). You may add new ones or delete any existing parameters in this window. Setting these up correctly for your machine will allow you to double-click on downloaded files to open them with your chosen application.
8. Times.
Pressing this button allows you to maintain queue schedule times i.e.: to set times at which to start or stop the queue. For example, if you wish your college/work computer to start downloads after hours, you may set the queue to start at a later time. You may also set it to stop at a specified time.
INFO: Note that MONICA must be running at the time for these schedule functions to work.
INFO: Note that the schedule is SELF-PURGING and any items referring to past times are automatically deleted ( 10 minute safety zone ).
You may add a start or stop parameter by setting the date and time and then pressing the "Add" button. To delete an item, highlight it and press the "Delete" button. You may cancel any changes made by using the "Cancel" button, or save the changes to the schedule using the "Save" button. Starting and stopping the queue by means of schedule items is accurate to within a minute. You may not add more than one event for the same time.
9. Purge
This will purge the queue of all queue items that have been successfully downloaded. It will not purge items that have had errors.
10. Start Queue / Stop Queue.
This toggle button starts and stops the queue function.
Starting the queue causes MONICA to cycle through the queue list and start downloading any items in a queued status when a download slot becomes available. The queue is checked every 6 seconds - so be a little patient!
Stopping the queue does NOT abort any running downloads, but prevents any new ones starting.
11. FTP slots used/HTTP slots used.
These indicate the number of ftp and http downloads currently in progress.
The Queue Display
MONICA keeps you informed of status and progress by means of status text and pseudo-LEDs in the main window.
The colour codes are shown towards the bottom of the main window.
Looking at a queued item from left to right, the information is as follows:
Pseudo-LED.
"Queued" means the item is waiting in the queue.
"Starting" means the download is starting.
"On Hold" means that this item is on hold and is being ignored by the queue.
"In Process" means that MONICA has connected to the remote server and the download
is happening.
"Error" means that an error occurred. A brief description will be displayed.
"Received" means that the file was successfully received.
URL.
This is the URL!
Retries.
This is the number of times MONICA has tried to get the file.
Size.
This is the file size if the server gave it.
Information.
This is verbal information about the download status. See below.
Status Information
Received:
The file has been successfully received.
Files Same Size
In http transfers the remote file is precisely the same size as the local file so it was not downloaded again.
Check Size
From all the information received by MONICA from the remote server the file has been successfully downloaded, but the local file size is different to the size anticipated, or the remote server did not tell MONICA the size. Possible file corruption, or an incomplete download, but probably downloaded ok.
Local File Bigger
From all the information received by MONICA from the remote server the file has been successfully downloaded, but the local file size is bigger than anticipated. Possible file corruption.
Local File Exists
In ftp transfers, the local file is the same size as the remote file so it was not downloaded again.
User Abort
You pressed the big ABORT! button.
Internal Error
This is an internal MONICA problem. Please notify me of what happened.
Bad Password
Your ftp login/password were not accepted.
Bad Login
Your ftp login/password were not accepted.
File not Found
The remote file was not found.
Over Retry Limit
MONICA has tried the download unsuccessfully the number of times you specified.
OT Not Installed
MONICA requires Open Transport. You don't have it installed and working.
Chunked Mode
MONICA cannot receive files in chunked mode. Some servers really do send in chunked mode. Others issue a chunked mode statement when they cannot find the file, so it can mean that the remote file was not found.
Domain Not Found
The remote site cannot be found. Either it doesn't exist, or your DNS server is having a bad day.
Redirected html
The http server has said that the required file has been moved, but links to a html page. Many servers redirect a "File Not Found" to another web ( html) page so as to tell you in glorious technicolor that the file cannot be found. MONICA ignores redirections to html pages for this reason.
Error nnn
Some other error occurred. Please tell me if you get these frequently.
Download sub-windows
When a download is in progress a sub window appears that shows what is going on.
Each sub-window has a big "Abort!" button that you may press to abort the download.
There is also a "Diagnose/Ignore" toggle button. This will cause MONICA to put up a window when the download attempt is over showing the MONICA-server dialogue. Use it when you are not sure why you cannot download a file, but the dialogue in the download sub-window whizzes by too fast. Switch off the option by pressing the button again.
The window also shows the following:
URL:
The URL
Total in:
The total bytes that are currently written to disk, including anything received on prior attempts.
File Size:
If the remote server told MONICA the file size, it is displayed here.
Restart at:
The number of bytes received prior to this download attempt.
BPS:
Download speed in bytes per second, calculated as the total bytes received this attempt divided by the elapsed seconds since starting this attempt.
Server Dialog Display:
This shows the dialog between MONICA and the remote server. Lines beginning with a "*" are informational lines generated by MONICA. Lines beginning ">" are outgoing commands. Lines starting "<" are responses from the remote server.
Progress Bar:
Progress! Only useful if the remote server told MONICA the file size.
Time Left:
Estimate of the time left on the download based upon the BPS rate.
File Name Ranges
If you wish to load a group of URLs for files with name ranges ( eg file01.zip, file02.zip etc), you may do so by Pasting a SINGLE URL in the format "http://www.somewhere.com/file[01-22].zip" into the Paste/Drop URL here box. It will NOT work with the Drag-and-Drop function, nor with the Add button function. For this feature to work please do not paste multiple URLs on multiple lines in one go. Pasting a URL like this will generate the appropriate numer of queue items.
Permissible ranges are in the formats [a-z], [A-Z], [0-9], [00-99]. You may not use a format such as [8-11] - both start and end parameters must be the same length, and not more than two characters long.
This has been a common request from Japanese users.
Proxy Servers
Release 1.5 of MONICA allows the use of simple proxy servers for HTTP downloads. The only type of proxy server catered for at this stage is the type that does not require any user name or password details. If a server name is entered in the HTTP Proxy Server field in the Preferences, MONICA will attempt to route HTTP requests to that server. If the field is left blank MONICA will not use a proxy server.
If you have to use a Proxy Server to access the Net, you should normally also set FTP transfers to Passive Mode in the Preferences.
CAUTION!!
The mechanics of a HTTP Proxy involve connecting to the Proxy, which in turn connects to the remote server. In my experience some Proxy Servers are NOT as tolerant of HTTP funnies as MONICA is, with the result that, where MONICA will download a file fine, the Proxy server will not. If you can access the Net without a Proxy and you get a lot of "400 Cache detected error" messages on downloads, then try without using the Proxy. This error is often caused by the Proxy Server not being able to cope with the HTTP funnies of the remote server, and is most likely NOT MONICA's fault! Please also see the "Funnies" section of this document.
INFO: There is a list of publicly accessible proxies at http://cool.icestorm.com/proxys/.
Some Other Things
1. NOTE!!! Not all servers can resume! This is their problem not MONICA's!
2. All files are downloaded as binary - NO text translation takes place. WYSIWYG.
3. The queue is written to disk on quit, and is auto-saved approximately every 8 minutes.
4. Note that closing the main window shuts down the program. Win95's way is better ;) .
5. MONICA is programmed in RealBasic.
6. Balloon help is available.
7. The main window pushbutton functions are mirrored in appropriate menus, with shortcut keys.
8. MONICA will follow http redirection statements from the server. Occasionally some servers move files temporarily to another server. MONICA will still try to get the file,as long as the new file has the same name.
9. A 68k version is available on the web site ( URL below ). I do not have a 68k Mac with which to test this version but it does run fine on my PPC Macs. You are welcome to try it and I would appreciate any feedback about problems.
Known Problems
1. There is a sometimes a problem with calculating a suitable ftp data port sub number. Its a bit unreliable. If you are having problems then try using Passive mode..
2. I am not sure what less common http error codes are worth trying to restart on. If you have any opinions please contact me.
3. Proxy server support is in beta test stage.
4. No http password/login facilities.
5. A problem of MONICA quitting unexpectedly on ftp transfers has been reported by a Japanese user. I have checked that MONICA utilises the RealBasic double-byte character facilities in all cases, and I cannot replicate the problem. Any further information on this would be welcome.
6. A problem of MONICA giving a file error on files with underscores in their names has been reported by a Japanese user. I cannot replicate the problem. Any further information on this would be welcome.
7. A machine hanging problem has been reported on a G3 running Quark 3.32r5 simultaneously. Any further information on this would be welcome.
8. A throughput problem has been reported on very fast connections. By connecting to an FTP server on my own Mac I can only attain speeds of 40-50k/sec. I believe the problem relates to the fact that there are always many things MONICA is busy with at any one time ( checking queue, checking timeouts etc ) with the result that time is being used on other activities, slowing the transfer.
9. Flickering displays. This is a known problem with Realbasic. Attempting to change all text display routines to graphical routines would slow MONICA disastrously.
10. There is sometimes a problem connecting to remote passive ftp data ports. I am trying to get to the bottom of this one.
99. You tell me! Please :)
Virtual Memory Problem
Some testers have had problems with frequent Type 2 errors if VM is enabled. Others have experienced no problems. I am endeavouring to find the real cause of this. By all means try MONICA with VM enabled, but if you get Type 2 errors then disable VM.
Problems?
If it doesn't function in the expected fashion please note any error messages that occur and, if possible, take a screenshot of MONICA's window. Please then email me, describing as fully as possible what was going on. I would really appreciate your taking the time to do this!
Future Possibilities
1. Autodelete of queue item on good download. Maybe.
2. Email url lists to MONICA for activating downloads from a remote machine.
3. An ftp loader to allow loading of whole ftp directories into the queue.
4. Subfolders for named ranges.
99. Ideas needed!!
Funnies
1. There are some ftp servers out there that talk nonsense! This server says it is restarting but doesn't - it starts again with the whole file:
ftp://ftp.fh-bingen.de/
It is a BSD 44 server, or so it says. I don't know how to handle this.
2. Comms errors DO occur which can result in corrupt files. I have seen this on certain http servers more than once, where files larger than expected have been received.
3. There are some http servers that talk nonsense too! This url gives a 206 ( restarting with partial content ) but starts with whole file:
I have forced MONICA to delete any local file and restart if the server says it is restarting but does not give a content length.
4. Some http servers insist on sending one byte if you attempt to restart but already have the complete file. The Netscape-Enterprise/2.01 server does this. These servers miscalculate the byte range for sending. I have kludged around this problem.
5. Proxy server funny. Some proxy servers, if they have an incomplete part of a file in their cache, will transmit ONLY that part even if you request the whole file. I have set MONICA to request the proxy never to use its cache, but Proxies seem a law unto themselves sometimes!
Legal Conditions of Use
This is used ENTIRELY at your own risk. No warranty of ANY sort whatsoever is given, and the author disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. If it trashes your Mac don't cry to me. Voetstoots. As is. I am NOT liable for ANY damages of ANY nature, whether consequential, special, incidental, indirect or due to loss of data or any other reason, even if I have been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event will I be liable for any damages, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. Given out under the law of the Republic of South Africa. Any legal issues to be dealt with in the Magistrate's Court of Gauteng Province, Republic of South Africa. All Copyrights reserved.
Copyright
Copyright Peter Job 1998. All rights reserved.
Distribution
MONICA may be freely distributed on the Internet on condition that the original archive is not modified in any way. MONICA may not be distributed on CD, disk or DVD without permission.
Price
Version 1 costs no money, but if you use it you are asked to email me, telling me what you like, don't like, and what you would like to see in future versions. It is therefore "Feedbackware"!
Version 2 will be shareware, maybe!
Acknowledgments
1. Junkyard for the really great pics!
2. HT, Fatbits, Junkyard, Nurgle for testing. Nurf for REALLY testing, and for moral support ( thank you! ).
3. Fatbits and Junkyard for the icons.
4. Brian F. Jones, author of the original RealBasic ftp socket. I didn't use your socket but I used some ideas.
5. Dan Vanderkam, author of the original RealBasic http socket. I didn't use your socket either but I used some ideas.
6. Alex Shovkoplyas, author of Net Vampire, for ideas, techniques, and for making the Vamp free!
7. Einhugur Software for the spinners used in the Times function. You are welcome to a copy of MONICA.
8. Mappy and Inertia for testing on Japanese Macs. Thanks for your input!
<_____________________
Testers and Translators
A MASSIVE thank you to the following people for their very hard work.
Translators:
Italian:
Marco Elio Tabacchi
marco@warp.it
and
Gabriele Callari
gcallari@tin.it
Japanese:
Kenji Iguchi (Needle)
needle@tky.3web.ne.jp
http://www.needle.home.ml.org/
Testers:
Stephen Gray
xgray@kdi.com
stepheng@jump.net
Richard Bannister
Nurf
Sally Lucas
beachgirl@mail.artnet.net
Extra Help:
Greg Buchner
gjb@wavetech.net
_____________________>
Changes
<_____________________
Release 1.6 Beta 15
1. Bug fixed where screen queue was being updated incorrectly ( wrong item being updated ).
2. If the HTTP referer is left blank, the site you are connecting to is used as referer.
Release 1.6
1. HTTP Referer and User Agent changeable via preferences.
2. Preference to ignore "Chunked Mode" error.
3. Preference to allow automatic start of queue on program launch.
4. Ability to handle HTTP/HTML redirects to FTP URLs. If MONICA gets via HTTP a HTML redirect to a FTP url, she will now back out of the HTTP window and open a FTP window to get the file. Common on www.download.com. Previously redirects only worked within HTTP windows.
5. Changed the HTTP handling to only report "Chunked Mode" if it really is. Many servers send the chunked parameter when reporting other errors such as "Access Denied". This has caused a lot of confusion, so the real error codes are now reported in such cases. A list of codes is in the appendix.
6. Modify function in Types window. Double click on a Type line, or select it and press the Modify button. When done press Modify again.
7. Audible double beep in queued mode on completion of currently queued items.
8. Facility to change order of items in queue list.
9. Automatic saving of the main window position on close.
10. MAJOR changes to the download destination file and folder functions. Each queue item now has its destination file name and folder name stored, which may be modified by editing the item. The destination folders are checked when the queue is loaded which results in a slightly longer load time. You may now load duplicate items, which will be held in the queue in a "Blocked" status until you edit the item to remove any conflict with the file name of an existing queue item. New items loaded into the queue with the same name as an already existing file in the downloads folder will also be loaded as "Blocked", allowing you to decide whether to resume or overwrite by editing the item. Many other file handling changes were made to attempt to make the file handling as safe and flexible as possible.
11. MONICA will remain free. 4eva.
Release 1.5
1. Fixed bug on pasting a list of URLs.
2. Altered proxy handling for partial file transmission funny.
3. First shot at dealing with HTTP proxies.
_____________________>
Release 1.4
1. Passive FTP transfers selectable by global option.
2. Removal of "<" and ">" characters at the start and end of URLs dropped from FETCH.
3. Option to translate embedded hexadecimal characters in URLs.
4. 68k version available. I have tested this under the Emplant Mac emulator on my Amiga A1200 and it works fine. I do not have a real 68k Mac to do thorough testing. Use at your own risk.
5. Reduced size to fit in a 640x480 screen ( almost! ).
6. Better algorithm to parse HTTP headers.
7. File name ranges on pasted URLs.
Release 1.3
1. Fixed position of "In Process" description in main window ( Idiot!! ).
2. Differentiate between bad password and bad login in ftp status.
3. Added Purge function for queue.
Contact Details
Please feel free to make contact.
Via Hotline on MU eLation Station ( up at 06h30 Central African Time most days ).
