Folx Download Manager by Eltima Software

Folx download manager from Eltima Software http://www.eltima.com/

Have you every downloaded a file in your favorite web browser and wished that you had more control over how you download files. Now you can with the handy download managers. Once such manager is Folx by Eltima Software.

You may ask yourself why do I need a download manager. Well if you download a lot, you may find that your browser slows down the more files you have actively downloading. Also, it eats up your bandwidth if you have a lot of files downloading at once. With a download manager like Folx, you can regulate how much bandwidth is used, how many files can download at once. You can even tell it to download the files at a later time say when you go to bed for the evening. A download manager can come in very handy and Folx is no exception.

To start out you need to go to Eltima’s website and download the Folx software. There is a free and a pro version. I’ll explain the difference between the two later in the article. Once you download the software you will be promted to drag it to the applications folder. Once there launch the software. You will be presented with a very control similar in appearance to iTunes.

There are many ways you can now begin using Folx as your download manager. You can drag & drop, copy & paste a link, double click and using a menu to select Folx to download the file. Once you tell Folx to download a file, image, etc. it gives you the option to add tags to the file.

In this particular instance I went to the website for the upcoming movie Cowboys and Aliens and I selected a desktop image to download of Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. I was able to tag my file with cowboys and aliens, but also the names of the actors in the image. I can use the Apple’s search to find my file based on the tags I put in.

If you have a website that you download from that requires that you put a username and password in to gain access, you are able to do that in Folx as well.

Before you begin downloading you are able to click the authorized access check box. Then enter your username and password. Finally select add new task and the downloading begins.


When your file is done downloading you will see that the progress bar in the main window has reached 100% and that you have a notification that the file has been downloaded.

Folx also allows you to search and download Torrent files. You click the plus symbol in the left hand side of the main window and a new search window pops up. You click the search torrent button and type in your search. From there you select the torrent you wish to download and press the add new task. Your torrent file will begin downloading. I just want to say a word of caution downloading Torrents. In most cases it is illegal to download these files unless you own the copyrights to them. So just be careful if you download torrents.

Pro Vs. Free

The Pro version adds four extra features: Splitting downloads in up to ten threads, scheduling downloads, searching torrents from the application, and the smart speed adjustment. Are these worth the paid cost for a Pro version. You will have to decided for yourself.

The cost of a single license for the pro is $19.95. For a family pack of 3 Apple Computers is $39.95

Pros
I love the tagging feature of this program. It helps immensely to find files.

Good download manager to use

Interface is fairly simple to use.


Cons

Multiple files. - When you tag a file, Folx creates multiples of that file and places each file in a folder labeled with the tag you created. If you are downloading large files I could see this eventually eating up your hard drive space. If there was a way for the program to create one file and then create an alias that would go in the tagged folders, that would take up less space.

Summary

A download manager is a must if you are downloading lots of files and Folx is certainly up for the job. This is a good program with lots of controls to help you tag and manage your downloads better.