Download Buddy

Tips and Tricks


Are you a VPN user?

The Network Monitor Add-on protects you against accidentally downloading without a working VPN connection. Download Buddy stops automatically all active downloads when a non-working VPN connection has been detected by the Network Monitor Add-on.
Learn more »

Download Buddy overview

Download Buddy is a sophisticated download manager specialized in dealing with multipart downloads. It supports everything you need for reliable downloading and does not disturb you with useless nonsense and meaningless features.

Download Buddy makes downloading your stuff easy and stress-free by supporting the following features:

  • Start multiple downloads with one mouse click.
  • Prevent performance problems with your Internet connection and computer by limiting the number of simultaneous downloads.
  • Pause, restart, cancel, delete and reorder individual or all downloads by using the context menu.
  • During downloading the app icon shows a badge with the number of unfinished downloads.
  • While downloading you can close the main form and let the app run in the background. When all downloads are finished you’ll see a notification banner.
  • Resume automatically unfinished downloads when you restart the app.
  • Automatic resuming of timed out downloads, if the download source supports this.
  • Use the History form to view your download history, including all canceled items. You can restart from there all logged downloads.

Download Buddy makes it easy to manage your downloads. Starting new downloads can be done by either pasting web addresses (URL’s) from the clipboard or by using the special 'Add to Download Buddy' context menu.

You can add downloads to the queue by using the clipboard of your computer by following these steps:

  1. Select one or more download links (URL’s) in your browser or any other source.
  2. Press ⌘ Command + C on the keyboard.
  3. Start or reactivate Download Buddy.
  4. Press ⌘ Command + V on the keyboard or hit the Paste URL’s button on the toolbar.

Additional tips:

  • Make sure you copy complete URL’s, beginning with 'http' or 'ftp' and ending with (a pointer to) the file you want to download.
  • You can copy one URL, but you can also copy multiple URL’s as long these URL’s are divided over multiple lines.
  • If you use a VPN connection, you can use the Network Monitor Add-on to protect yourself against accidently downloading without a working VPN connection.

You can add downloads to the queue by using the 'Add to Download Buddy' system menu. Follow these steps:

  1. Select one or more download links (URL’s) in your browser or any other source.
  2. Right click with your mouse on the selected items.
  3. Select the Add to Download Buddy menu item.

Additional tips and remarks:

  • If you don't see the 'Add to Download Buddy' menu item, then look for a menu item Services. This will normally contain the 'Add to Download Buddy' command as sub menu item.
  • If you don't see a menu item 'Services' in your context menu, then look for this menu item via the application main menu. For example, Firefox does not have a 'Services' menu item in his context menu. Use Firefox > Services > Add to Download Buddy.
  • Due to a problem in OS X El Capitan 10.11, the 'Add to Download Buddy' system menu item is not immediately visible after installation of the app. The menu item becomes visible after a restart of your Mac or after a log-out/log-in cycle. This problem does not exist in older or newer versions of macOS.
  • Make sure you select complete URL’s, beginning with 'http' and ending with (a pointer to) the file you wish to download.
  • You can select one URL, but you can also select multiple URL’s as long these URL’s are divided over multiple lines.
  • The 'Add to Download Buddy' menu item does not work for URL’s using the FTP protocol.
  • If you use a VPN connection, you can use the Network Monitor Add-on to protect yourself against accidentally downloading without a working VPN connection.

You can add downloads to the queue by using the 'New Download' item of the 'File' menu in Download Buddy. Follow these steps:

  1. Choose File > New Download in the menu of Download Buddy.
  2. Enter or paste the download link (URL) you want to download in the input text field.
  3. Optionally enable the Add on top of queue checkbox to add the new download on top of the download waiting queue.
  4. Click on the Add button.

You can add downloads to the queue by using drag and drop. Follow these steps:

  1. Select one or more download links (URL’s) in your browser or any other source.
  2. Hold down the mouse or trackpad button while you drag the selected items to the Download Buddy window or icon.
  3. Release the button to drop the items into the download queue.

Additional tips and remarks:

  • If you have selected text or links, you should wait with dragging (while holding down the mouse) until the mouse cursor changes from a text selection cursor into a pointer cursor icon.
  • If you use a VPN connection, you can use the Network Monitor Add-on to protect yourself against accidentally downloading without a working VPN connection.

With the Download Buddy History form you can view all queued, finished and cancelled downloads as historical items.

Use the buttons in the middle of the toolbar to filter the download historical data.
Click on the 'Clear' button on the toolbar in order to delete all historical items. A dialog will ask you whether you also want to include unfinished and canceled items. The clear action cannot be undone.
Select one or more historical items in the list and click on the ⌦ Delete button on the keyboard.
Select one or more historical items in the list and click on the right mouse button. Choose Restart. The selected items will be added to the download queue in the main form.
Do this to share historical items:
  • Select one or more history items in the list and click on the Share button in the toolbar.
  • Select one of the share targets in the menu.
  • The selected items will be used as content in the chosen share destination.
Do this to export your download history:
  • Select one or more historical items in the list. Or select nothing to export the complete download history.
  • Click on the Share button in the toolbar.
  • Select Export... in the menu.
  • Enter a filename in the dialog and press on the Export button.
The download history items will be exported as a comma separated file (.CSV) that can be opened in applications like Excel.

Normally you don't need to use the built-in browser in the Download Buddy app. However, because Download Buddy runs in a secure 'sandboxed' environment it's sometimes necessary to perform login actions with the built-in browser in order to be able to download items that depend on account information stored in so called 'cookies'. This can be the case if you download from password-protected sources. After performing a successful login, you can proceed with starting your downloads by using either the Paste feature or by using the 'Add to Download Buddy' system context menu from any application.

Click on the 'Browser' button in the toolbar to start the built-in browser.

If Download Buddy shows a warning indicating that probably a login is needed, then you should try the following:

  • Double-click on the item with the warning in the download queue list.
  • The browser will navigate to a page that will most likely contain a login link or button.
  • Click on the login link and enter the requested account and password data.
  • Retry your download action after a successful login, by either choosing Restart in the download queue list or by utilizing your favorite browser as a starting point.
If your download source has an option 'Download direct' or 'Direct downloads', then make sure to enable it. Otherwise the app will continue displaying login warnings.
Click on the + button on the toolbar of the browser to open the Add Favorite dialog. Edit the suggested name for the favorite to your taste and click on the Add button. The favorite will be added to the Favorites bar below the Address bar.

Do the following to delete a favorite from the Favorites bar:

  • Right click with the mouse on the favorite that you want to delete.
  • Click on Delete in the context menu.
The favorite will be deleted immediately.

Follow these steps to set the home page:

  • Click on Download Buddy in the menu bar and choose Preferences...
  • Click on the Browser button on top of the form.
  • Enter a valid URL to a website or choose Set to Current Page if the built-in browser currently shows the page that you want to use as a homepage.
  • Closing or leaving the form will save the new setting.

The Network Monitor Add-on will protect you from downloading without a working VPN service.

Follow these steps to purchase the Network Monitor Add-on:

  • Click on the 'In App-Purchases' menu item under the main 'Download Buddy' menu.
  • A popup window will appear, showing the Network Monitor Add-on product. Click on the 'Buy' button and follow the instruction.
  • After buying this add-on, it will be activated immediately.
  • To get started, follow the instructions from the Network Monitor Setup Assistant, that will be started after buying the Network Monitor Add-on.

To get started, follow the instructions from the Network Monitor Setup Assistant, that will be started after buying the Network Monitor Add-on.

To start the assistant on a later moment, open the Network Monitor section in the Download Buddy settings, and click on the Setup Assistant button.

Once the Network Monitor Add-on is configured, the geographical location of your Internet address will be displayed in the status area of Download Buddy, on top of the window.

  • When the geographical location is red colored, you're not connected to the Internet via VPN, or your VPN connection is not working properly. Start or restart your VPN connection using the software and/or instructions from your VPN service provider. Download Buddy will prohibit you from starting downloads while this unsafe status remains true.
  • When the geographical location is green colored, then your VPN connection is functioning as expected. Download Buddy will allow you to start downloads, and it will resume automatically any downloads that were stopped because of a non-secure Internet connection.
  • When during downloading the Internet connection status changes from safe to unsafe, all downloads will automatically be paused, and a clear warning will be shown to inform you about the new VPN connection status. In most cases, it's sufficient to check your standard Internet connection and to restart your VPN connection.

If you want to temporarily or permanently disable the Network Monitor Add-on, you must open the Preferences panel of Download Buddy, open the Network Monitor tab page and press the 'Stop Network Monitor' button. Do the opposite to reactivate Network Monitor.

The Download Buddy Preferences form can be started by using 'Preferences' menu which is a submenu of the 'Download Buddy' main menu. The following preferences can be set:

General preferences

The default download location used by Download Buddy is based on the user profile. You can override the download location used by Download Buddy by following these steps:

  • Click on the dropdown displayed at the right side of the label Save downloaded files to.
  • Click on Choose.
  • Select the folder where Download Buddy must save your downloaded files.
  • Click on the Select button.
With setting Maximum simultaneous downloads you can define how many downloads sessions may be active at one time. Default value is 2, which is a good starting point. You may set the number of simultaneous downloads to a higher value, but this can degrade the performance of your other network connections and that of your computer.
Setting Maximum retries after time-out determines how many times Download Buddy must resume or restart a timed out download. Time-outs occur when the connection to the download source is lost due to network problems, server issues or other causes.
Setting Use extended extraction if possible determines how download links are extracted from the pasteboard content that's copied, dragged or send to Download Buddy. When enabled, the RTF content will be used instead of the plain text content. This may result in a better and more complete extraction, but may also be incompatible with some sources.
Setting Resume unfinished downloads on start determines if Download Buddy must resume unfinished downloads when the app is started. Unfinished downloads can be the result of a shutdown of either Download Buddy or your computer. When you try to quit Download Buddy while one or more downloads are still incomplete, you will be asked for a confirmation. If you agree the active downloads will be stopped. If the setting discussed here is checked, then these incomplete downloads will be resumed and requeued next time you start Download Buddy. If the download source doesn't support resuming downloads, then Download Buddy will simply restart the download.
When setting Suppress login warnings is enabled, Download Buddy will not show an alert when you have downloaded something that results in an HTML document with a login.
Setting Progress refresh rate determines the number of progress refreshes per second for active downloads. A high value will consume slightly more CPU power.
Network Monitor preferences
After initial setup of the Network Monitor Add-on, you need to run the Setup Assistant again when one of more of the following is true:
  • Your physical geographical location has been changed.
  • You want to use another GeoIP service.
  • Change the metadata criteria that are used to compare the current connection properties with the baseline data.

Press the 'Stop Network Monitor' button if you want to temporarily or permanently disable the Network Monitor Add-on.
Press the 'Start Network Monitor' button to reactivate Network Monitor.

History preferences
Download Buddy will delete the download history log items of completed downloads if setting Clear download history on exit is checked. No physical files will be deleted, only items in the download history log.
When setting Include unfinished items is checked, then Download Buddy will also delete log items that point to unfinished downloads, beside the finished download history log items. This setting is only enabled when setting Clear download history on exit is checked.
When setting Include cancelled items is checked, then Download Buddy will also delete log items that point to cancelled downloads, beside the finished download history log items. This setting is only enabled when setting Clear download history on exit is checked.
Browser preferences

Follow these steps to set the home page of the built-in browser:

  • Enter a valid URL to a website.
  • Or choose Set to Current Page if the built-in browser currently shows the page that you want to use as homepage.
  • Closing or leaving the form or tab page will save the new setting.

Follow these steps to remove all cookies in the app:

  • Click on the button Remove All Cookies.
  • The cookies collected and stored by the app will be deleted.
  • Label 'Current number of cookies in this app' will display the number of cookies. Normally this will be zero.
Note: cookies can be needed to download data that's protected by authentication based on settings in cookies.

Follow these steps to clear the cache of the built-in browser:

  • Click on the button Remove Website Data.
  • The website cache will be deleted.
  • Label 'Current cache size' will display the new size of the website data cache.
Note: the cache database will not be deleted due to restrictions of the used Apple API. This explains the few MB's that will be left over after clearing the cache.

You can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly accomplish many tasks in Download Buddy. To use a keyboard shortcut, press all the keys in the shortcut at the same time. Shortcuts for common commands in the main window of latest version of Download Buddy are listed in the table below.

Action Shortcut
Open selected downloaded item in default app ⌘ Command + O
Pause selected downloads ⌃ Control + P
Resume selected downloads ⌃ Control + R
Restart selected downloads ⌘ Command + R
Cancel selected downloads ⎋ Escape
Move selected downloads to the top of the queue ⌘ Command +
Move selected downloads to the bottom of the queue ⌘ Command +
Copy URL’s ⌘ Command + C
Paste URL’s ⌘ Command + V
Delete selected downloads ⌫ Backspace  (version 1.8.1 and higher)
Select all downloads ⌘ Command + A
Show selected downloaded item in Finder ⌘ Command + ↩︎ Enter
Activate Downloads window ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + D
Activate History window ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + H
Activate Browser window ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + B
Open Preferences ⌘ Command + ,
Toggle Full Screen ⌃ Control + ⌘ Command + F
Close window ⌘ Command + W
Quit Download Buddy ⌘ Command + Q