Leech · Many Tricks

Every modern browser has its own download functionality, so why should you use a separate application for handling downloads in the first place? Because Leech works better than any built-in download manager.

Browser integration The best download manager is the one that doesn't get in your way. That's why Leech can capture virtually all downloads1 from Safari, Camino, OmniWeb, and Firefox (via FlashGot) while staying almost invisible. Just click download links, and/or use the contextual menu like you usually do, and Leech will kick in automatically. (1) Some sites use special download URLs that simply cannot be intercepted. We can't do anything about these, unfortunately.	Download multiple files with ranges Leech accepts URLs with special codes to denote ranges of files. For instance, file_{1-3}.jpg will expand to file_1.jpg, file_2.jpg, and file_3.jpg. Use file_{a-c}.jpg for a similar range of alphabetic names. You can even combine multiple ranges in one URL, as in file_{1-3,a-d,g-h}.txt As seen in that complex example, you can use commas to specify non-contiguous files. In this example, Leech would skip the letters 'e' and 'f.'
Work with listed downloads With Leech, you can select and work with entries in the download list, which makes it simple to modify more than one download at a time. Select the downloads you wish to modify, then use the contextual menu to move, remove, queue, and otherwise modify the selected downloads.	Exclude sites and file types There may be sites and file types that you'd rather have your browser handle. Leech allows you to do just that for its supported browsers, other than Firefox. List the sites and file types that you'd rather have your browser handle, and Leech will leave them alone.
You're in control Leech's rules let you define individual download folders and post-processing applications for any combination of file types and hosts. With rules, it's easy to have movies from one site go to one location, and disk images from another site go somewhere else. In addition, Leech lets you limit the number of concurrent downloads—this can help speed one download while others wait for it to finish. You can also store URLs for future downloading, and shut down your computer when all downloads have completed. If you want to control download tasks such as these, Leech has you covered.	Convenience You've just copied 20 URLs from a text document, and you want to download them all? No problem—just paste them on Leech's downloads window. You can also just drag URLs to Leech's Dock symbol, which doubles as a status display. For those of you (like us here at Many Tricks) who think more information is always a good thing, you can get even more feedback by using Growl.
Stability and permanent history Have you ever tried resuming an interrupted download after your browser crashed? (It seems browsers crash a lot, typically due to a problem with a plug-in.) Most of the time, you just can't resume an interrupted download. Whatever the cause, it's awful to have your downloads—especially larger ones—terminated by a browser crash. Leech, though, is amazingly robust and won't crash…so trust your downloads to Leech. Like most browsers, Leech keeps a history of your downloads. Unlike most browsers, though, this history doesn't crowd the Downloads window, so you won't be tempted to clear it. Instead, your history resides in the menu, ready for you to re-download any entry with a couple of mouse clicks.	Other niceties In addition to everything else it does, Leech has other features that make it the premiere download assistant: Reveal Double-click an active download to reveal it in the Finder. Retry All Use this new contextual menu entry for fast retries. Easy updates In-app updating for future Leech updates (via Sparkle). Pause & Resume With Leech, you can pause and resume downloads whenever you want—as long as the server you're downloading from is up for it, that is. Keychain Support Whenever you download a file from a site that requires authentication, Leech can store your password in the standard (and secure) Mac OS X Keychain—so you won't be asked for your password again.