Safe resuming of downloads

iCab has built-in support for resuming of HTTP downloads (but note that it does not resume FTP downloads). If your connection drops or the server kills off your download, then just select the download in the Download Manager and click Start; if the Web server itself supports resuming, then your download will continue where it left off.

Sadly, iCab has issues with this process in the past (and may still do) – if it believes the download completed when it did not (such as if the server was too strained and killed the transfer), and it has post-processed the file (including giving it the correct icon in the Finder), you will not normally be able to resume the file because iCab doesn't see a need to do so; iCab will start downloading a whole new copy. To insist that iCab resumes the file, then follow this procedure:

• Delete the item from the Download Manager, so that iCab forgets about it.
• Change the file's type code to 'bzy3' and creator code to 'iCAB', marking it as an item being downloaded. The file's icon should change to reflect that. This can be achieved with many tools, most notably Apple's ResEdit.
• Double-click the file – it will re-appear in the Download Manager; if it does not start downloading, then click Start.

It has been a long time since I had to try this, but as far as I can recall, this is what I found the be the best way to get iCab to resume. A good suggestion is to back up the partial copy before attempting to resume in case you slip up or it does not work; this stops iCab from overwriting the partial copy with a new copy. However, do bear in mind that not all Web servers support resuming, so there is no guarantee that you will secure a resume for every download. However, with sites that you know offer resuming, you should be able to click Stop and Start to break off a download and resume whenever you like, such as if your dial-up connection disconnects every two hours, or someone needs to use the telephone.

-- DanielBeardsmore - 20 Oct 2006