What does FileHound do?
Here's how FileHound makes downloading better:
 | FileHound can resume interrupted downloads, from servers that support it. So, if you get knocked offline, FH will pick up right where it left off once you reconnect. And unlike a web browser, FH remembers what files it was downloading, so you don't have to hunt them down and restart them later. |
| FileHound can download dozens of files at once, without itself getting confused or confusing you. FH is one window, not a bunch of pop-ups that you might accidentally close. |
| FileHound can queue your downloads so you can schedule many downloads to happen in sequence. You can also pause and interrupt downloads, and pick up where you left off, if you need to shut your computer down or do something else for a minute. |
| FileHound keeps track of your files, not only the ones you're downloading now, but all the files you've ever downloaded. So you can find them later on. And you can even clear out the list selectively. |
| FileHound will not hog your connection if you don't want it to. Still using a modem? Most people are. Tell FH to only use 50% of your modem, and while your downloads will be slower, you'll still be able to read email, browse the WWW, and so on, without too much agonizing waiting. |
| FileHound monitors your clipboard and automatically senses when you've cut/paste a URL. All of these "clipped" URLs are saved in a special list that you can review later, and start downloading at your leisure. Of course, you can also drag-n-drop links right from your browser onto FH to automatically launch a download. |
| FileHound can integrate with your antivirus program and automatically check each downloaded file for viruses, and even delete them right away if, heaven forbid, you should download a bad file. |
| FileHound supports proxy downloading so even if you're stuck behind a firewall at work, or are enjoying the safety of a gateway machine at home, you can still enjoy all the advantages FH provides. |
FileHound also has some advanced features that power users will really enjoy.
| FileHound's URL Extraction feature allows you to "rip" all of the links out of a web page or FTP directory and, if you wish, add some or all of them to your download queue. This is great for downloading image libraries, software distributions, all kinds of things. |
| FileHound provides complete transfer logging showing you not only all commands going between your PC and the servers, but built-in diagnostic information as well. So if a download fails, you'll never be wondering why. And if you should find a bug in FH, transfer logs help us nail it down quickly. |
| What else. Oh yeah, by-server save directory and login defaults. You can set, individually for each server you access, what directory files from that server should be saved in. And if a certain web site or FTP directory requires a login, you only have to type it in once. |
| Configurable text conversion by extension and mime type lets you determine whether carriage returns and line feeds are added to certain file types. |
And there's a few fun features that just make FileHound just that much more cool.
| Sound support. You can assign sounds to FileHound events, such as a successful file download (ding!, like my clothes dryer), or finding a virus in a file (red alert! whoop! whoop!). |
| The "Goodnight" button lets go to sleep without worrying about your Internet connection staying on all night. With Goodnight turned on, your modem connection will be shut off when all downloads are complete. And if you like, FileHound can even turn off your computer, too. |
| FileHound automatically checks for new versions every month, if you like. No personal information is transmitted, it just grabs a tiny web page with the latest version number on it, and if this version is newer than the one you're running, FH will ask you if you want to download it. |
But is it hard to use?
FileHound does a lot, but it doesn't get in your face about it. In fact, FileHound is probably the simplest program in the world to use. You run it. Then you let it sit there, doing nothing. When you want it to download a file for you, you just drag-n-drop the link from your browser to the FileHound window. Then the download starts right away, and you don't worry whether or not it will fail, or if you get knocked off, or anything ever again.
That's all I usually do. But if I want to do something special, there's plenty of options built in to let me do it.
Ready for some screen shots?