Monitor & Manage Downloads in Firefox with Download Statusbar


When you start downloading a file in Firefox, a dialog box appears on your screen. This dialog box shows
you the progress of the file download. It can accommodate more than one download and completed downloads can be cleared off. However, this causes additional system resources to be used up (since another Firefox window needs to be opened).

You cannot view the progress of your downloads since this dialog box is often in a minimized state. Hence we have a better solution that can counter all your downloading woes while using Firefox. It is an add-on called "Download Statusbar".

firefox-statusbar

Features of Download Statusbar

  • Single-click pause and resume
  • Run a completed file with a double-click.  Also available: open containing folder, visit source website, and rename the file
  • Delete a file from your system from the context menu
  • In-line view of percent done, speed in KB/sec, KB downloaded so far, and remaining time, can be customized in the options.
  • Updating tooltip provides a more detailed view of the current download, including source, destination, size of the download and the remaining time
  • Option to automatically clear files reduces clutter
  • Stop downloads and save them for the next browser session.
  • Option to start virus scanner when a download completes
  • Optional mini mode integrates into the Firefox statusbar to further reduce size
  • Available in 25 different languages

This add-on displays the current download(s) within a "Status Bar" in your browser. This makes it possible to monitor and manage your downloads while using Firefox for browsing. Visit this link and click "Add to Firefox". Restart Firefox after the installation is complete. It has a lot of options. Here is the way to make it work.

How to configure the status bar

Click "Tools > Add-ons". In the "Add-ons" dialog box click the "Options" option.

Under the "General" tab, select either the "Full mode" or the "Mini mode". The "Mini mode" only shows you the number of files being downloaded at a particular time while the "Full mode" displays the name of the file.

You can select from the list of notifications available in the "Progress Notifications" section. The "Progress percent" option is most popular. Other options include maintaining download history, actions to perform during and after a download is complete and automatic clearing of files from the status bar after the download completes.

Click the "Appearance" tab, Click the "Custom Style" radio button to edit the colors and styling of the menu status bar. Select from a range of colors for the browser. You can adjust the colors to match your browser theme as well. Text sizes can also be adjusted and so can the width and height of the bar and the notifications.

Click "Apply" for the changes to take immediate effect and then click "OK" to finalize them. This is useful if you don’t want the download window getting in the way of your web browsing.

Filed under: Firefox
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September 14, 2009 by: Prasanth Chandra

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