DownThemAll! for Firefox — The Ultimate Download Manager Add‑On

DownThemAll! for Firefox — The Ultimate Download Manager Add‑OnDownThemAll! is a powerful, open-source download manager extension for Firefox that brings advanced download control, speed improvements, and fine-grained file selection to your browser. Whether you’re saving dozens of images from a gallery, grabbing all PDFs from a course page, or resuming interrupted large downloads, DownThemAll! aims to be a single, integrated solution that’s faster and more flexible than Firefox’s built-in downloader.

What DownThemAll! Does

DownThemAll! augments Firefox’s native download capabilities with several features users commonly expect from a dedicated download manager:

• Batch downloading: Detect and download multiple files from a webpage at once (images, videos, documents, archives, etc.).
• Filtering and selection: Use built-in filters or custom regular expressions to select only the files you want.
• Segmented downloads (multi-connection): Split a single file into multiple simultaneous connections to accelerate download speed when the server supports it.
• Pause and resume: Pause downloads and resume them later without losing progress (server permitting).
• Download queue and scheduling: Prioritize downloads, limit simultaneous transfers, and schedule downloads for off-peak hours.
• Naming rules and renaming: Auto-rename files with templates and numbering to keep downloads organized.
• Integration with Firefox: Operates within the browser environment and uses Firefox’s WebExtensions APIs for compatibility and security.

Why Use DownThemAll! Instead of the Built‑in Downloader

Firefox’s built-in downloader is simple and reliable for single, casual downloads, but it lacks many convenience and performance features that heavy downloaders need. DownThemAll! fills that gap by:

• Letting you grab entire sets of files from a page with a few clicks instead of saving items one-by-one.
• Allowing selective filtering (for example, download only .zip or .mp4 files).
• Potentially improving download speeds with segmented connections.
• Providing robust queuing and pause/resume options for managing many files or large transfers.
• Applying automatic naming conventions so your downloads are well-organized.

Key Features — Detailed Look

1. Detection and Selection
   When you open DownThemAll! on a page, it parses the HTML and lists every linked resource and embedded media it can access. You can select items manually or apply quick filters (images, audio, video, documents) and advanced filters using wildcard patterns or regular expressions.

2. Accelerator (Multi‑segment Downloads)
   DownThemAll! can request different ranges of a file in parallel (if the server supports HTTP range requests). This can result in noticeably faster download times, especially on connections where a single TCP connection doesn’t utilize full bandwidth. Note: speed gains depend on server configuration and your internet connection.

3. Robust Queue Management
   Create queues, set simultaneous download limits, pause/resume individual items or whole queues, and reorder items. This is useful for managing bandwidth or organizing downloads across projects.

4. Automated Renaming and Metadata
   Use templates to create consistent filenames (for example: {date}{site}{title}_{counter}.ext). This is helpful when downloading large image galleries or sequentially numbered files.

5. Integrity and Error Handling
   The extension tracks failed attempts and will retry downloads according to user-defined limits. It can also resume partial downloads when supported by the server.

Installation and Setup

1. Visit the Firefox Add‑ons site and search for DownThemAll!, or go directly to the extension page.
2. Click “Add to Firefox” and grant any requested permissions. DownThemAll! uses permissions limited to managing downloads and accessing the pages you visit to detect downloadable resources.
3. Open the extension’s options to set defaults: maximum connections, default save folder, file-naming templates, and filter presets.
4. On any webpage, click the DownThemAll! icon (or context menu) to scan for downloadable items. Select items and start your queue.

Practical Examples

• Downloading an image gallery: Open a gallery page, open DownThemAll!, filter by common image extensions (.jpg, .png, .webp), choose a naming template like gallery_{counter}, and start the batch.
• Grabbing course materials: Filter links for .pdf and .docx, queue them, and schedule downloads for overnight when your bandwidth cap is lower.
• Resuming interrupted large files: If a download was interrupted mid-way, use the resume function to continue rather than restarting.

Limitations and Considerations

• Server support: Multi-segment acceleration and resume require the server to accept HTTP Range requests. Not all servers do.
• Site restrictions: Some websites use dynamic or authenticated links that are hard to capture; downloads may require logging in or direct link extraction.
• Add‑on API limits: As a WebExtension, DownThemAll! works within the constraints of Firefox’s extension APIs. Some legacy features from older versions (XUL-based) may no longer be available.
• Ethical and legal: Respect site terms of service and copyright. Large-scale scraping or downloading copyrighted material without permission may violate laws or site policies.

Alternatives (brief)

• Browser’s built-in downloader — simpler, fewer features.
• Standalone download managers (e.g., Internet Download Manager on Windows) — more system-level control, sometimes faster, but external to the browser.
• Other Firefox extensions — may offer specific features like torrent integration or video capture.

Security and Privacy

DownThemAll! requests permissions typical for download-management extensions: access to webpages to detect resources and to manage downloads. Because it runs inside Firefox and uses WebExtensions APIs, it’s sandboxed by the browser. As with any extension, install only from the official add‑ons site and review recent reviews and changelogs.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Downloads won’t accelerate: Check server support for range requests; reduce or increase connection count in settings.
• Missing items in scan: Ensure the page is fully loaded, and that content is not behind authentication or dynamically generated after initial load (try logging in or using the page’s developer tools to find final URLs).
• Resume fails: Server may not support resuming; try re-downloading or check for temporary server blocks.

Conclusion

DownThemAll! for Firefox is an excellent choice if you regularly download multiple files from web pages or need more advanced download control than Firefox’s native downloader offers. It blends in-browser convenience with features expected from standalone download managers: filtering, queuing, acceleration, and automatic naming. Its effectiveness depends partly on external factors (server support and site structure), but for many users it’s the practical “go-to” add-on for faster, smarter downloads.