Internet Download Manager

About this release

Internet Download Manager does one job and has done it the same way for two decades: it splits a file into segments, pulls them in parallel, and stitches them back together. On a connection where a single stream never reaches full speed, that difference is not subtle. Large files that a browser would take an hour over often finish in a fraction of the time, and the queue keeps working while you do something else.

The browser integration is the part people install it for. Once the extension is in place, a click on any download hands off to the manager automatically, and video streams on most sites surface a capture panel that grabs the highest available quality. Nothing needs to be copied by hand.

Resume handling is the other half of the appeal. If a connection drops, a server times out or the machine restarts, the transfer picks up from where it stopped rather than starting over. Scheduling covers the rest: queues can be set to run overnight, to hang up when finished, or to hold until a specific quiet hour.

The interface is deliberately plain. A list of transfers, a category tree, a speed graph and a toolbar. Files sort into folders by type automatically, and the built in ZIP handling means archives can be checked before they are unpacked.

What it does

Segmented transfer

Dynamic file splitting pulls several streams at once and reassembles on completion.

Browser capture

Downloads and video streams hand off from the browser with no copying of links.

Resume after failure

Broken transfers restart from the last complete segment rather than from zero.

Queues and scheduling

Run a queue overnight, throttle it during working hours or hold it until a set time.

Automatic sorting

Finished files land in folders by type according to rules you set once.

Speed limiter

Cap throughput so a large queue does not saturate the connection for everyone else.

Changed in this version

• Capture panel updated for the current browser release cycle.
• Better handling of segmented streaming manifests.
• Fixed a stall that could occur on servers with aggressive connection limits.
• Interface scaling corrected on high density displays.
• Smaller memory footprint on very long queues.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive.
2. Run the installer and accept the browser extension prompt when it appears.
3. Restart the browser so the extension loads.
4. Set a default download folder and category rules on first run.

Worth knowing before you start

File details