Virus Scan for A1 Website Download 12.x

Danny Is that kind of like WebCopier of Maximumsoft.com?

Feb 13 2013 at 9:35pm Copy Link

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Michael R. Is there a way to postprocess the download offline-site. E.g. if I find out, that a certain link (and all the files which are linked from there) I downloaded is not necessary in my offline-website-copy, can I
(i) remove this link and all the files
(ii) have an option what would happen, if the user clicks on the link (e.g. show a message or make this link unclickable)
(iii) mark that link for not getting downloaded next time

Perhaps it would be nice to be able to define a way, so the user could decide in form of a script (or DLL), if a certain page should be included in the download. So A1WebsiteDownload could call this script right before downloading it, passing relevant information about it (like the exact webaddress, the nesting, ...) and would get a boolean return-value and this way knows, if this site should be downloaded (and being followed one nesting deeper). Supporing a DLL-usage, would probably not be so much effort to implement, but would be of great value (for the users, which want and are able to use it).

Some questions about the 'image-downloader':
Sometimes you have a webpage with a lot of thumbnails, which can be clicked on and they would open a picture, video, ... in it's full size. I read this image-downloader-ability can handle to download these files.
Is it possible to store all files from different webpages in a single directory, but instead saving the files under their original-name (which would result in a really confusing mixed collection of files), save them in an ordered way, e.g. with preceding indices for each file.
E.g. webpage 1 has thumbnails refering to image pic1.jpg, pic2.jpg and webpage 2 has thumbnails refering to pic0.jpg and pic1.jpg. So if I want A1WebsiteDownload to save all referred image-files from these two websites it would be nice if I could define some options, so they could be saved as 001_001_pic1.jpg, 001_002_pic2.jpg and 002_001_pic0.jpg, 002_002_pic1.jpg.

Feb 13 2013 at 10:46pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Danny Thys: A1 Website Download is a web/site/files copier/grabber/downloader program.

@Michael R:
If you switch off "Simplified easy mode" you get access to "output filters" (essentially which files are stored to disk) and "analysis filters" (essentially which pages get analyzed/crawled for new links) . In A1WD the process of excluding type/exact/pattern/level of URLs (or limiting analysis and/or output to sections) is done through those. The scan presets available are quick ways of configuring these.

If after a website download finished you want to remove some files (and you are not happy removing them in e.g. Windows explorer) you will have to rescan, e.g. using revised filters as described above. I *will* think about deleting files on disk from within the A1WD user interface (and maybe also removing links), but that is not currently available.

A1 Website Download can be configured to only download images or any other kind of file. (The preset uses the filtering options to achieve this.) The images will be placed in the directory which they come from. See this help page which includes a screenshot showing it:
http://www.microsystools....ownloader/

Microsys - Feb 14 2013 at 2:35am Copy Link

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Danny It would not be worth considering to possibly get a free Lifetime upgrades license to enter?

Feb 14 2013 at 11:46am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Danny Thys: I am sorry, but no :( However, the upgrade policy is already better than what described here at BDJ :) Your 4.x license is good forever (I will try keep the last/latest version 4.x available for download, but you should of course also download the releases yourself incase of doomsday or whatever). Added to that, you will be eligible to all 5.x releases incase 5.0 is released within one year of your purchase.

Microsys - Feb 14 2013 at 3:02pm Copy Link

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Danny @Thomas Schulz,

Okay, thank you for your reply.

Still have a question: what does or what would "A1" say?

Feb 14 2013 at 9:53pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Danny Thys: Well, back when I started the program series (like 2005/2006) I did my best at brainstorming names. After I found out that "A1" meant "first class", I went with that :)
http://dictionary.referen.../browse/a1

Microsys - Feb 15 2013 at 1:02am Copy Link

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Danny So with this ' A1 Website download ' can I entire website to the bottom layer and offline surfing?

Feb 16 2013 at 1:06am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Danny Thys: Yes, you can download *complete* websites. (Or sections using filters.) You can then browse/surf the downloaded sites afterwards. A1WD is able to handle most websites without any problems (as it can also handle a good amount of Javascript), but if you have problems, I will be around help :) For complex cases, be sure to *also* email support[at]microsystools.com your project file.

Microsys - Feb 16 2013 at 1:51am Copy Link

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DrTeeth How does this product compare with HTTrack which is free? HTTrack is okay, but a faster and more sophisticated program would be very tempting. I shall try the trial, but would find the info helpful.

It would be helpful to have dates in the history of when versions were released - frequent updates are a big plus.

As the program is licenced per user, can I install it on ALL my PCs?

Tnx,

DrT

Feb 16 2013 at 4:34am Copy Link

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Petr These days, most web sites that I'm interested in have been deployed using a CMS system such as WordPress, Drupal or Joomla. Such CMS systems are database driven and dynamic, not simple static html files.

Does your software download CMS based web sites for off-line viewing? If 'yes', how will it enable me to view off-line?

What are the limitations of your software? What kind of web content will not be downloaded successfully (for off-line viewing)?

Do embedded videos and flash content get downloaded? Are these viewable off-line?

Thanks

Feb 16 2013 at 5:06am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz DrTeeth: If you want sophisticated, switch off "easy mode" :) You can increase the speed times 10-20 compared to default settings assuming the server can handle it. You can find history log here: http://www.microsystools....istory.php

Microsys - Feb 16 2013 at 8:32am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Petr:
The only thing that matters is what a site outputs to the crawler/browser, and that is always HTML/CSS/Javascript etc. Website platform/database/dynamic etc. does not matter. For more information, see:
http://www.microsystools....-platform/

Regarding Joomla, you may want to use the Joomla preset since many Joomla installations have a plugin installed that throttle unknown crawlers. See:
http://www.microsystools....a-website/

There is also a WordPress preset for optimizing the download and leave out duplicate URLs. (Bu that is entirely voluntarily. WordPress websites generally download very well without any problems at all.)

If you are wondering what A1WD does with "?" query URLs: They are renamed when saved to disk since Windows does not allow "?" in file names. However, as all links are corrected when downloading websites, the whole website continues to work fully when on disk.

If you are wondering about Javascript: A1WD can handle much Javascript. (It is not perfect, but it is quite good at fixing file/URL references inside Javascript.) If a site uses AJAX (minority) where Javascript is used to dynamicly contact a server and change content "in-page" (i.e. no page reload) that does pose a problem. (But that is the same for all crawlers.)

If you are wondering about Flash. You can enable support for that as well, so A1WD can fetch/read links in most Flash files. (However, it can not recompile Flash files and fix URL references in the flash files themselves.) See: http://www.microsystools....ites-tool/

Streamed videos are a problem. Generally, complete video files are not a problem. (Use presets to include various file types or switch off easy mode to configure it in detail.)

Normally you do not have to do any configuration to download websites and have them work offline. (You may sometimes encounter e.g. Windows Internet Explorer operate under another harder security model when viewing files on local disk, so you may want to try FireFox if you experience that.) Should you encounter problems, the website scan "Presets" are usually all that is necessary to solve problems / optimize the website download.

Microsys - Feb 16 2013 at 8:44am Copy Link

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DrTeeth @ Thomas

I found the history log, that is how I know it does not have any dates to say when each version was released ;-).

Could you answer my licensing question above please, "As the program is licenced per user, can I install it on ALL my PCs"?

Feb 16 2013 at 9:03am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz DrTeeth: Hmmm, I recalled it as there were dates for version 1.0.0, 2.0.0, 3.0.0 and 4.0.0. I will look into that :) However, a rough estimate is about one-two updates every month. (Example: There has been 18 4.x releases since 4.0.0 was released 8th March, 2012)

You can install it on all your PCs. The license is per user of the software. You can also check this help page: http://www.microsystools....m-license/

Microsys - Feb 16 2013 at 9:13am Copy Link

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DrTeeth @ Thomas

Many thanks. Nice to see frequent updates.

DrT

Feb 16 2013 at 11:40am Copy Link

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Michael R.
Thanks for the (partially) answered questions of mine...

I *will* think about deleting files on disk from within the A1WD user interface (and maybe also removing links), but that is not currently available.

That's good, because removing it from the explorer would 1) not remove automatically the branches going down (and not used by another sidelink).

I nearly forgot: I would be even more useful to be able to add some download-possibilities when finding out, that a link in the offline tree was not followed (e.g. because it lies inside another site) and the user wants it to be available offline too. So when browsing to that node, it would be nice, if he can e.g. order A1WD to download this contents including all the links from there for a given number of levels.

This all would result in a kind of interactive way of deciding which links are followed and which are not.

Feb 16 2013 at 9:38pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Michael R:

Thanks for you suggestion.

Currently external files are downloaded if used as "source". E.g. if a website uses an image located on an external domain, it is still downloaded because it is used as source/src.

Microsys - Feb 17 2013 at 3:33am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Just for information, this offer will be kept throughout sunday as well for those who saw about the offer too late :)

Microsys - Feb 17 2013 at 3:37am Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien How would I grab all the pdf files on a site?

Aug 28 2013 at 3:09pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz 1) Switch off easy mode:
http://www.microsystools....load-mode/

2) Read this tutorial on how to limit website download to only download images (and ignore everything else) - the same method can be used for .pdf or any kind of files:
http://www.microsystools....ownloader/

(There are some standard presets available, but it is also very possible to also very finely control what gets downloaded when "easy mode" is switched off)

If you have problems getting it to work, drop us an email (include your project file if possible or link to website you want to download):
http://www.microsystools....ontact.php

Microsys - Aug 28 2013 at 3:34pm Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien On the "Output Filters" tab there are five drop-down boxes. Which one do I use?

I tried the first one without success. I checked "recrawl" but that made no difference either.

I am trying to retrieve PDF files under:

http://mindformusic.com/i...-bigband-p

Aug 28 2013 at 4:08pm Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien I sent an email with the project file. I think it is correct now, but am not getting (or finding) downloaded PDFs.

Aug 28 2013 at 6:13pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Since you only want to download .PDF files from a specific page (and not entire website or section), we will need to do a little configuration in this case. I am therefore taking the opportuity to post a complete step-by-step :)

...

1)
Start progam / new clean project

2)
Switch of easy mode, so you can see all options:
http://www.microsystools....load-mode/

3)
Set website root directory path to
http://mindformusic.com/
(Assuming the site is yours, otherwise consider lowering
simultaneous connections in "Scan website | Crawler engine")

4)
Add start search path:
http://mindformusic.com/i...-bigband-p

See help in unsure:
http://www.microsystools....art-paths/

5)
In "output filters" remove all file extensions except ".pdf" (check dropdown list only contains ".pdf") - without ""

N.B:
You can use the [-] button to remove items from dropdown list.

See help:
http://www.microsystools....t-filters/

6)
In "analysis filters" add "big-band/83-bigband/185-bigband-p" (without "") to the dropdown box called:
Limit analysis of internal URLs to which match as "relative path" or "text" or "regex" in list

N.B:
You can use the [+] button to add items to dropdown list.

See help:
http://www.microsystools....r-filters/

7) Start scan and wait

8) When website scan/download has finished, you will see .pdf files in the download storage path under "\public\pdf" and subdirectories.

Example directory storage path with many PDF files:
C:\Users\%username%\Documents\Microsys\Website Download 4\temp\public\pdf\bigband

9) I tested and verified above, but if you still have problems, I will be happy to email you a project file.

See:
http://www.microsystools....ontact.php

...

It is worth nothing that above is one way of configure what you want
when downloading all .pdf files from a specifc page.

Most times, I usually just recommend using one of the presets and run it sitewide *or* against a specfic section of the website.

For reference:
http://www.microsystools....ownloader/

For a completely different alternative, it is actually also possible to e.g. import a list of URLs you want downloaded. See this help page:
http://www.microsystools....t-xml-csv/

Microsys - Aug 28 2013 at 6:21pm Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien I will want the entire site but started farther down to limit the run time and output. Thanks for the help!

Aug 28 2013 at 7:25pm Copy Link

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Ted Browne Can I use this to download my own site and then back it up on flash? If I want to edit it, can I use a standard web page editor to do so?

Aug 28 2013 at 9:17pm Copy Link

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J S Downloading a file does not work.
Site does not open.

Aug 29 2013 at 12:59am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Ted

Short answer is yes, but read this help page for details: http://www.microsystools....ert-links/

Microsys - Aug 29 2013 at 2:38am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @J S

Are you trying to download a whole website:
http://www.microsystools....-tutorial/

Are you trying to download a single page:
http://www.microsystools....load-page/

Are you trying to download a list of pages/URLs:
http://www.microsystools....ages-list/

If you still have problems, please email at:
http://www.microsystools....ontact.php

Microsys - Aug 29 2013 at 2:43am Copy Link

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J S It is all ok.
All downloading. Thanks.

Aug 29 2013 at 4:05am Copy Link

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Philippe Yeung Will I be able to view the video stream as well if the website has one or just pictures? Thanks PS

Aug 29 2013 at 5:06am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Phillippe

If video streams, then no. But if video files that A1 Website Download grabs, it should work, but it will depend on the website. There are these possibilities:

1)
It does not work

2)
Videos are downloaded, but viewing inside A1 Website Download offline viewer will not work (and you will need to launch videos from disk where videos were downloaded to)

3)
It will all work.

For reason for this is there is often a ton of Javascript code with video players, and while A1WD does its best to try replace e.g. file/URL references inside Javascript code, it will not always work.

Microsys - Aug 29 2013 at 5:11am Copy Link

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Heidi-Ann Kennedy-Fourkiller I'm going to make this quick and simple.

Though I've tried this program, I already had another that I purchased. Yet A-1 Website Download is a very reliable and full featured program.

Now I do have two other programs from Microsys, and they are just mind-boggling. Sitemap Generator and Website Analyzer. So you may ask what does this have to do with today's offer. . . Everything, the incredibly analytic mind of this programmer. The customer support has always been way above the norm, and finally none of his (Thomas Schulz) programs just sit idle, they are consistently being improved.

If you need a program like this, you won't go wrong with Microsys.
Sincerely
Heidi-Ann Kennedy
Scientific Frontline.

Aug 29 2013 at 12:35pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Heidi-Ann

Thanks for your nice words, I really appreciate them :)

@All

Thanks for a good run at BitsDuJour everyone! If you have questions or feedback, be sure to write at: http://www.microsystools....ontact.php

Microsys - Aug 30 2013 at 11:41am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz For reference:

General help:
http://www.microsystools....load/help/

Downloading websites:
http://www.microsystools....-tutorial/

Downloading e.g. all images only:
http://www.microsystools....ownloader/

I will be checking back during today and answer any questions you may have!

Microsys - Dec 30 2013 at 12:33am Copy Link

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Karl M. God morgen efter Aarhus.

Is it possible with A1 Website Download to download complete forum sites which are protected by aMember?

I tested almost all download programs and found out that so far only "Offline Explorer" was able to download the complete forum site without constantly logging out and many other issues.

Thanks.

Dec 30 2013 at 2:49am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Karl,

1)
Concerning login see this help page:
http://www.microsystools....can-login/

(Short version: As more websites has started using more complex login some sites, and hence also forums, will be problematic with regards login.)

2)
Concerning how to avoid the crawler/downloader logs out: It is only a matter of controlling the crawler through exclude filters which URLs not to visit (e.g. logout). Some examples (although somewhat old) here:
http://www.microsystools....es-forums/

So to sum up, you will will probably have to test it. If you have problems, you can try email: http://www.microsystools....ontact.php

Microsys - Dec 30 2013 at 5:46am Copy Link

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garrett james what is new in version 5 vs version 4? I bought 4 in august along with the website scraper and sitemap generator. Hard drive crashed so i need access to the old version if i do not want to pop $20 for the upgrade

Dec 30 2013 at 2:15pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @garrett I can not see your email address and locate you but... If you bought in 2013 August your 4.x purchase is within an year of the 5.0 release... and hence you are clearly eligible to a free 5.x upgrade as explicitly written in your 4.x license email. (It should also be highlighted if you allow/use the version check in A1 Website Download.) So for e.g. A1 Website Download, just fill in your 4.x license ID into this upgrade form: http://www.microsystools....pgrade.php - download 5.x version - wait for 5.x license to arrive in email. Same goes for the other A1 products. (And has been that way many years.) With regards to changes, the A1 tools are worked on continuously and hence there are many small updates and some larger ones. And some of them are even listed on the history page :) However, for a product like A1 Website Download, many improvements are often done in the crawler/downloader part and may mainly be of importance to you if have an actual problem crawling/downloading a website in an earlier version.

Microsys - Dec 30 2013 at 3:01pm Copy Link

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garrett james Fabulous, I will track down the account i bought the programs with. I appreciate the major upgrade being free if within 12 months.

Dec 30 2013 at 11:04pm Copy Link

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Great News! Microsys has agreed to extend this deal for another day - Enjoy!

BitsDuJour Admin - Dec 31 2013 at 12:11am Copy Link

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Jim abudaoud I have my website hosted on my employers site.
I now need to transfer my whole site to fatcow.
Can I use this program to copy to my HD and then upload to fatcow?

Dec 31 2013 at 7:17am Copy Link

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Karl M. @Jim abudaoud:

No, you need to download your website via FTP to your HD and upload it to your new hosting via FTP again.

Dec 31 2013 at 7:39am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Jim

You won't have the actual server-side code/database that generated the website. (For that you will need FTP + DB access like Karl states)

But you *will* have a copy of the website which you can upload to another webserver, put on a CD or similar where it can be viewed by other people. A1WD supports multiple ways all internal site links can be converted making it possible to view downloaded websites in a variety of places.

For complete help and explanation, see this help page:
http://www.microsystools....ert-links/

Microsys - Dec 31 2013 at 7:50pm Copy Link

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Nigel Brewster $19 + seems an awful lot of money for software you can get the same type of thing for nothing.
I think a lot of us developers need this kind of thing, because if your coding on the fly there are times when it can go all wrong.

However I use a one that is free from Cyotek. It does have the odd bug but is updated often and works generally well. I'm not sure what else this can give esp at that inflated price.

Jan 15 2015 at 12:04pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Nigel,

For one, A1 Website Download comes with a whole slew of options the moment you switch off simplified easy mode:

http://www.microsystools....load-mode/

Just do not complain if you find it offers too many options :)

Anyhow, most software in the whole world has some kind of competitor, so arguing $19 is a deal breaker essentially renders most commercial software in that category.

But it is in general a good idea to try different tools and use the one you like the best :)

Microsys - Jan 15 2015 at 3:40pm Copy Link

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peter schleifer My 2 cents got too long for putting it here, so I shifted it there:
http://www.donationcoder....ic=40020.0

Jan 16 2015 at 4:36am Copy Link

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Andreas Hoffmann Hi,
just tried this interesting software, but stuck with a problem:
Wanted to crawl this page here: "http://www.bitsdujour.com...-download/"
But after clicking on "Start scan" the result is "Page Redirected - To this location." and no page is visible or so? Just this...

Any idea for me? Thanks in advance + greetings - Andreas

Jan 16 2015 at 4:55am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Peter,

That was a very long post which makes it hard to answer but:

A1 Website Download can download and convert links for both entire websites, sections of websites and more. It does not matter if the pages are served dynamicly or not.You can also use it to only download e.g. images or PDF files, and not download the actual web pages. For those who need it, it includes some very rich filtering options (including support for regular expressions), so you can define exactly what you want. This download is all automatic and does not include any guessing or prompting the user. The crawler simply dives through all pages and tries to discover all links (including those in e.g. CSS and Javascript files) and fix them, if necessary, when downloaded to disk. (You can also partially control/configure how this is done depending on your specific needs.) You are correct though, sometimes Javascript parsing it not perfect, but it works *pretty well* for most sites. (And the problem you mention about website downloaders in general only downloading thumbnails should not be a problem at all. However, should you know of websites causing issues, please do feel free to drop an email.)

Please note that A1 Website Download is not meant to be used as a scaper that extract specific data (e.g. catalogs) and convert such data into e.g. .CSV files. (I offer a different tool for that.) It is meant for what the name states, download websites or portions whereof.

You mention that many webservers will ban IP addresses when you download websites. I can say that the default settings in A1 Website Download are configured so it will not cause problems for most. This also means that the default settings only run at about 1/10 of max speed, but which will still be fast enough to download most websites reasonably fast. In addition, you can, if you wish, configure very precisely how many connections to use, pauses in-between and much more. As such, what you describe it a relative rare problem with many workarounds if you consult the documentation or drop me an email.

The only thing I can fully agree with is that downloading AJAX websites which can be very problematic. However, A1 Website Download implemented around 4.0.x some AJAX support - more precisely those websites who implements Google's suggestion on making AJAX websites crawlable: https://developers.google...-crawling/ Another area that can be problematic is login support as the systems behind get more and more complex. When I started developing A1 series in 2006, sessions cookies behind post forms where used on many websites which was very easy to handle. Now, it is much more complicated and hit or miss.

Note: I tried to answer most of your questions - if I missing anything, feel free to drop me an email, and I will explain it more fully and/or point to the relevant help page. Your post is good because it describes much of of he work that goes into building a website downloader, so even if we disagree, and your fundamental opinion is that such "website download" jobs should be built custom for each website (if I understood you correctly), it gives a good impression of the overall problems faced!

Microsys - Jan 16 2015 at 5:06am Copy Link

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Andreas Hoffmann Just another question: what kind of export-formats does this program support?
Furthmore: when I click on "Print" in the main-menu under File then nothing happens!?
And is it correct, that every crawled site (Project) is saved to the same directory (temp/downloader)? Where can I save my results, my already crawled pages? Or is there an option to set this path automagically?
Thanks again!

Jan 16 2015 at 5:21am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Andreas,

http://www.bitsdujour.com...-download/
redirects to
http://www.bitsdujour.com...e-download
(check in browser)

So offhand it should be something like this:

Switch off "simplified easy mode"

Set root to:
http://www.bitsdujour.com/

Add (+) start search path:
http://www.bitsdujour.com...e-download

Add (+) the following o "limit-to" in "analysis filters":
software/a1-website-download

If you have problems, drop me an email! :)

Generally speaking though, A1 Website Download is more
geared towards downloading larger sections / complete
websites and not single pages where e.g. a browser
plugin may do better.

You can control where downloaded files are stored for each project by changing the location *before* you initiate the download. See:
http://www.microsystools....-tutorial/
http://www.microsystools....ert-links/

About printing, I can not say. Its functionality
depends on what control is selected/active in the program.
If you could drop me an email, I can look into it.

Microsys - Jan 16 2015 at 5:35am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Andreas, Here's a followup of a screenshot of offline viewing the downloaded page URL htp:// http://www.bitsdujour.com...e-download using above instructions: http://www.microsystools....j-a1wd.png

Since we explicitly limited the analysis, you will not be able to navigate the rest of the website offline like you normally would normally be able to.

And to answer your export question more: A1 Website Downloads will download and convert links using whatever configuration you use (see links posted earlier) ...But you can not convert a complete downloaded website to e.g. a single .PDF file if that is what you are looking for?

Microsys - Jan 16 2015 at 6:59am Copy Link

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Gary User Does This work with WordPress sites?

Jan 16 2015 at 8:02am Copy Link

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Nigel Brewster I have tried the program and to be fair, it's not bad, not bad at all really.

Jan 16 2015 at 8:02am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Gary,

Yes - it works with WordPress websites. (I am not sure about the login part, I will check up on it later and get back to you on that. I estimate in about 5 hours, bu it may be a little longer.)

As a general rule, A1 Website Download does not care what website platform you use. There may sometimes be a website where the download is not perfect - e.g. websites that depends heavily on Javascript and AJAX. (But for websites that just use some Javascript there is a very good chance everything will work well.)

Microsys - Jan 16 2015 at 8:46am Copy Link

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Craig S. @Gary and @Thomas, I am not yet an owner (downloaded today for eval), but concerning the question of a login, it worked for me like this:

1) Go to the View Website tab in A1 and enter the blog address and login

2) then enter the website URL on the Scan Website tab.

Worked for me this way, as my blog is password protected.

Hope that helps.

Jan 16 2015 at 10:09am Copy Link

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Gary User Actually, I'm not concerned about logging in to WordPress as my purpose is to show website demo's to clients/prospects at locations where there is no Internet access. I tried the trial version on one of my sites, and it worked well except for showing the following where there was an embedded YouTube video on the original site: "Firefox can't find the file at /C:/Users/gary/Documents/A1/http/www.youtube.com/embed/MS_120.html".

Jan 16 2015 at 10:26am Copy Link

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Craig S. @Gary, I take it back...I can't view my webpages on my password protected blog on Wordpress, even though the pages are title correctly...they all result in a login page for the blog...sorry for the confusion.

Jan 16 2015 at 10:37am Copy Link

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peter schleifer Thoms,

Just to clarify, it was not my intention to denigrate A1, and I very much hope the title I gave the thread cited above appears as perfectly ironic as it was intended.

I should have clarified above - I do it here though - that I consider A1 as a perfectly worthy example of a "standard scraper", and more so, possibly "perfect" or at least very good, for almost any "un-professional", i.e. amateur scraping task (and from your comments, I see those imperfections of A1 I found described in the rare web comments of it, have been dealt with in the meantime).

Also, there seems to be a slight misunderstanding, automatisms are good, but the possibility of deselecting and tweaking automatisms is even better, since very often, scrapers follow links too fervently, instead of following only some kinds/groups of links (and I mentioned the programming problems in order to make such choices available): it's not about ".jpg only", or even of "pics within a given size range only" and such; also, standard "this page and its children down to 1/2/3 levels" is not really helpful, since (even for "amateurs"), it often would be necessary to follow links of some kind rather deep, whilst not following links of other kinds.

As for the "heavy scraping problem", there is also a legal problem, which consists of new-kind "authors' rights", in most European countries, to "data bases", even if those db's only consist of third-party advertizing / good offerings, with no content contribution whatsoever from the owner of the target site (but who, e.g. for vacancy notices, gets often paid 800 euro, some 1,000 bucks for publishing that ad for a mere 4 weeks, AND holds "authors' rights" to that same ad as part of his db); this being said, it's clear as day that such considerations are perfectly irrelevant within the context of a "consumer product" like A1, and this denomination of mine is certainly not meant in order to tear down A1 either.

But there clearly is a schism between professional use, for which highly elaborate custom scripting is necessary (and, as explained, not even sufficient), and "consumer use", and in this latter category, the above-mentioned tweaking possibilities for "which groups of links to follow then how, respectively", could certainly make the necessary distinction among "consumer scrapers".

Or let's get as precise as it gets: Years ago, I trialled several such "consumer scrapers", in order to get all of William Gedney's Kentucky 1964 and 1972 photos (i.e. not even photo scraping is all about porn, but sometimes it's about art), from the Foundation's web site, but in the best resolution available there, and that was not possible with those scrapers since there was an intermediate quality level, between thumbs and the quality I was after - perhaps I did it wrong at the time; anyway, I succeeded by writing my own download script.

Just for fun, I checked that page again:

http://library.duke.edu/d...t%20Family

and verified the current state of things:

pages of kind a: some 50 pages with thumbs (for more than 900 photos),

then target pages (= down 1 level, for intermediate photo quality),

and there, links to the third level, with the full quality, but also many, many links to other things:

Whilst from level 1 to level 2, it's "easy", it's obvious that for level 2 pages, highly-selective-only link following (i.e. just follow the link to the pic-in-full and nothing else) would be asked for, but probably is not possible with most consumer scrapers even today: Would it be possible to tweak A1's link following that way? Again, we're speaking not of general specifics, but of specifics applying to level-2 pages only.

Well, whilst my first DC post was rather theoretical, here we've got a real-life example. It's clear as day that if a tool for 20 or 40 bucks did this, with some easy tweaking, I'd call such a tool "near perfect": it's all about discrete, selectivity of link following. ;-)

(Or then, I'd have to continue to do my own scripts for every such task I encounter...)

Jan 16 2015 at 11:12am Copy Link

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Techtoysavvy Impressed with the honesty!
Nothing I have bought works perfectly.
The ones which work the least claim the most.
- that means you Conceiva (Download Studio)

None of the software I have can download pdf bank statements from secure sites.
Good Luck.

I have been doing some data mining recently with other good software I got via BDJ. I am relatively impressed with Textpipe and metaproducts Offline Explorer.
I also use WebHarvy. The first 2 are much harder to use but very powerful and fast. The latter is dead simple but slow and impractical for large jobs.

Let's see where this one fits.
call me Goldilocks

Jan 16 2015 at 9:41pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Peter,

Since you can use whatever-number of regular expressions to

1)
Match URLs you want:
* Excluded from analysis
* Limit-to analysis to
(all filters in the two above gets combined when deciding if an URL should be analyzed)

2)
Match URLs you want:
* Excluded from output/download-and-kept
* Limit-to output/download to
(all filters in the two above gets combined when deciding if an URL should be output/downloaded-and-kept)

It should be possible to do what you want. It is one of the more complex, but also very powerful features of A1 tools. (Not many tools separate "analysis" from "output" for instance.) From the description, your example website sounds like a good fit, so I will return at a later point when I have had time to take a look.

Concerning legal, I am not a lawyer and I can not give legal advice! But at least for consumers, I think that they in many countries may have "fair use" as long as they download websites/contents for their own offline reading.

Microsys - Jan 16 2015 at 9:43pm Copy Link

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Techtoysavvy Just read Peter's post and I get it.
It makes sense.
There are professional tools and consumer tools.

The tough stuff I have to write scripts and understand the structure of specific websites. You must be able to read HTML/XML and work with regular expressions. In these cases I use a site downloader to mirror the site and then develop scripts to scrape the site and recreate the database.

Jan 16 2015 at 9:50pm Copy Link

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Techtoysavvy not a lawyer but .....
I did get legal advice from a lawyer

You can do what Google does and download a site, store it and analyze it.
I never intend to re-publish or sell the core data.
I can analyze it and publish findings.
-- they may hate that more :) depending on what you find.

BTW. Some content sites will disagree even if you have machine read the site. All of this avoids ads on their sites but does pump up page views so ... not sure if bots benefit a site.

Jan 16 2015 at 10:00pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Gary

Most likely the crawler followed a "logout" link which logged it out.

I seem to have login working on one of my WordPress websites. Please drop me an email, and I send you a demo project. See this screenshot: htttp://www.microsystools.com/sup...-login.png

Microsys - Jan 16 2015 at 10:01pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Everyone

I will be off to sleep some hours now. Please feel free to email technical questions to info@microsystools.com if you have troubles with anything - e.g. if you have a specific download problem with website

You can also check:
http://www.microsystools....load/help/

If you keep the purchase link that identifies Bitsdujour as source and the coupon code, I will continue o accept purchases for a little longer until all questions related to this BDJ promotion has been answered and people have had time to check it out :)

Microsys - Jan 16 2015 at 10:07pm Copy Link

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Joe Kerr Trial version won't run because it is detecting a previous expired trial version from last year. Too bad, because I would like to try out the latest version.

Aug 5 2015 at 4:58am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz I have sent you an email, so you can test it again :)

Microsys - Aug 5 2015 at 6:58am Copy Link

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Bin Zhou I can't download the trial version. Just worry if I buy it but will have the same downloading problem.

Aug 5 2015 at 10:52am Copy Link

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Kelly Hamblin I've enjoyed Ultra Recall on my XP system for many years, but the cost of a license for my newer computers is too high. I wonder how A1 Website Compares. Can a downloaded website be edited? Can text documents be added? Are there ways to comment on the downloaded pages?

Uh, I guess I should go to the website to check for answers to my questions, but others might like to know, too. BTW, yes a manual would be a big plus.

Aug 5 2015 at 12:27pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Bin If anyone who has tried an earlier trial version and therefore can not try the product again, just drop me an email and I will send instructions how to extend the rial.

Microsys - Aug 5 2015 at 3:44pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Peter

The default settings will be fine in most cases. And if the default settings are not enough, there's a button called "Quick presets".

However, should you need it, I suggest checking the help entries in the "Getting Started" section.

The complete online help consist of 50+ help articles all cross linked. You can find it here: http://www.microsystools....load/help/

If you have any questions, do feel free to drop me an email. I usually expand the help based on the questions I receive.

Microsys - Aug 5 2015 at 3:50pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Kelly

A1 Website Download focuses on downloading complete websites (or sections of) and converting links found in them, so you can take them with you anywhere.

Ultra Recall seems (without having tried it) to be a crossover different kind of product.

Microsys - Aug 5 2015 at 3:54pm Copy Link

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MUAMMER TURKMEN httrack

Aug 6 2015 at 1:22am Copy Link

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Chris I love it, it works for what I need it for. It allows me to download embedded flash videos. Got version 4 then 5 and have had 6 for awhile now.

Aug 6 2015 at 1:58am Copy Link

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Cary Adams I've been using free WinHTTrack. Even at today's promotional price, this seems costly in comparison.

What sets this program apart from what I've been using?

Aug 6 2015 at 7:07am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Cary

Everything is costly compared to free :)

However, you can try switch off "Easy simplified mode" to see the amount of options under the "Scan website" section, and see if any of it appeals to your needs.

If you have any questions on how to achieve something, feel free to drop an email to support: http://www.microsystools....ontact.php

Microsys - Aug 6 2015 at 7:29am Copy Link

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Bertie Brummel @ Thomas Schulz:

Could you please provide a more detailed change log compared to Vers. 6 than the few lines I see on the "History" page of the official website? Thanks!

Feb 9 2016 at 2:58am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz There's an OS X version available now although it still needs a little OS X' polish (which is why i isn' explicitly mentioned here) - for one, the embedded browser is not quite up to pair yet although one can open the downloaded sites in Safari of course.

That was the main focus of 6.x to 7.x (Major undertaking which actually been many years underway.) That said, the A1 toolset is developed on continuously, but many changes, improvements and fixes are in the crawler engine.

I know some write essays on fixes - I just roll them up into a single line :)

Anyhow, if version 6.x serves your needs fine, you can continue using that. If you have some kind of problem, chances are good it got fixed - you can try the trial. (Do please let me know incase you have a problem - whether or no it is a project configuration issue or a feature you would like)

Microsys - Feb 9 2016 at 6:11am Copy Link

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Donald Walker How does it handle mysql databases. If my site uses that connection and exchanges data with it?

Feb 11 2016 at 3:08am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Donald,

If the website uses the database to generate its content, it is not a problem.

(A1 Website Download does not see this during crawl, it simply downloads all the data/content output by the website no matter how/from-where that content was generated. Same goes for whatever language is used at server-side etc. - it does not matter.)

However, if the website uses AJAX to update content in-the-same-url (like stock tickers that auto update nonstop), then yes... e.g. a live stock ticker function (that retrieve live data from a source) will not work offline

Microsys - Feb 11 2016 at 3:19am Copy Link

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Donald Walker So the data and database remain on the remote server. The website is not created by the database but the website updates the data in the database.

Bottom line is that offline website would only access remote server and not download it. Can updating of data still occur from local version is connection is avaialble.

Thanks

Feb 11 2016 at 4:07am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi,

A1 Website Download downloads takes a snapshot of the website output (what your internet browser sees and downloads everything so you can *view* and browse it offline.

It won't download the original PHP/ASP code, database etc. (i.e. the code that generates the HTML/CSS/JS website browsers and crawlers see) - hence e.g. adding new content/items in an admin interface or similar will not work.

See also:
http://www.microsystools....-platform/

Microsys - Feb 11 2016 at 5:29am Copy Link

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Great News! Microsys has agreed to extend this deal for another day - Enjoy!

BitsDuJour Admin - Feb 12 2016 at 12:11am Copy Link

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Petr Hello Thomas,

I purchased your A1 Website Downloader in 2014. You provided great support to help me download websites with login and protected content in WordPress sites.

For your latest version, are there any new capabilities with respect to downloading videos embedded in a website? Thanks.

Feb 12 2016 at 12:55pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Petr

The crawler engine is always being improved. That said, you will not be able to download youtube videos, but if the video file is referenced anywhere, it should be downloaded.

See: http://www.microsystools....ownloader/

I suggest you try the trial - and email me if there are any problems - I will try ge back to you very fast.

I can see you have sent me an email as well, and I will answer he questions you asked there in that :)

Microsys - Feb 12 2016 at 1:32pm Copy Link

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Sid B Can this program download a Blogger site?

Jun 24 2016 at 12:45pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Sid

The answer is most likely yes for any website except those parts that use AJAX or extremely heavy JavaScript (A1WD can extract links from Javascript). However, that is a minority of websites/parts - but e.g. if a live stock ticker function on a website uses AJAX - then yes, that part won't be downloaded)

The trial is fully functional. Try it. See the tutorials/help at top here: http://www.microsystools....load/help/
If you have problems with a website, drop an email :)

Microsys - Jun 24 2016 at 2:07pm Copy Link

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CodeDog This is an excellent program for what it does. I purchased it quite a few years ago, but hadn't upgraded since version 4. Today's deal was a great reminder to get the latest version, just grabbed it.

I use the program much more often than I thought I would when I originally purchased it, because I often get new clients who want their current website transferred and updated. With A1, I simply download their site, make necessary updates/modifications, and re-upload to the new host. Works well for new clients who don't want their site completely rebuilt.

Thanks for the deal. Just waiting for the activation email now...

Jun 25 2016 at 6:30am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Thanks for the nice comments :)

Some times if you have weird problems with a server/website returning different content depending on search engine, browser, IP address etc. it can also be useful to mimic that in A1WD and inspect what gets returned. (It is a niche usage, but now and then I help customers diagnose tricky problems like that using A1WD)

You should have received your activation email now :)

Microsys - Jun 25 2016 at 8:12am Copy Link

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CodeDog Thanks, Thomas, I have actually used it for similar things in the past.

And yes, I had just received the email and got it downloaded, installed, and activated. I was just checking out the new version when I saw your comment come in. Really nice, and lots of new options since my last version.

As you say, there are lots of different uses for A1WD in addition to simply being able to download sites for people who want to view them offline. Very handy program, even for web developers...

Jun 25 2016 at 8:19am Copy Link

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Matjaž Dolenec Since this tool at first look seems as made with webmaster and seo in mind - before buy i must be sure : Is this tool capable of downloading archived sites from web.archive.org ?

Jun 25 2016 at 2:18pm Copy Link

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Michael R. Is it possible, instead of downloading content, just to let A1 create a list of entries containg (1) the URL being just analyzed (2) the URL of the file which is about to be downloaded or the HTML which is referred to?

Jun 25 2016 at 7:02pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Matjaz

See this help page: http://www.microsystools....m-archive/ As you can see it may require quite a bit of configuration, but with enough tinkering you should be able to get decent results.

The tool has uses for webmasters and website developers, but it is primarily meant for people who want to download and store websites (or their content) on their computer.

@Michael

If you are looking for website analysis tools, you should instead look at: A1 Website Analyzer: http://www.microsystools....-analyzer/

If you are looking for website sitemap tools, you should instead look at: A1 Sitemap Generator: http://www.microsystools....generator/

Note: A1 Website Download does include some built-in analysis tools including: - You can see where a page was linked/used from (url)
- You an see where a page links to / uses content (url)
- You can see whereto an URL was downloaded to incase it has o be renamed to be on Windows file system etc.

See also: http://www.microsystools....eck-links/ - these tools were included to assist in case of any problems

Microsys - Jun 26 2016 at 2:08am Copy Link

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William Henry Can the offline site be edited or be snipped for editing?

Jun 26 2016 at 1:44pm Copy Link

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CodeDog @William:

Yes, if you know how to code you can use an editor to edit the files. I've done that quite a few times...

Jun 26 2016 at 1:50pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @William

Yes. In addition you can also control how/if A1 Website Download converts internal links (e.g. if it should redo all internal links to be relative or not)

See:
http://www.microsystools....ert-links/

Microsys - Jun 26 2016 at 4:41pm Copy Link

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Danny I have a licensed version 3.x . What has meanwhile all new or upgraded to Version 7.x ?

Jun 26 2016 at 6:33pm Copy Link

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Danny I have a licensed version 3.x . What has meanwhile all new or upgraded to version 7.x ?

Jun 26 2016 at 6:37pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Danny

Please see:
http://www.microsystools....istory.php

You can also see if you are eligible o a free 4.x upgrade here
http://www.microsystools....pgrade.php

Microsys - Jun 26 2016 at 11:30pm Copy Link

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Bertie Brummel Is this really an offer for vers. 7?
AFAIK vers. 8 has been released already.....

Dec 20 2016 at 1:50am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Those who buy get version 8.x - I meant to update BDJ yesterday but ran out of time when getting the 8.x Mac version out (slight build problem working on now) - will most likely be today.

Please also remember hat included is one year of free upgrades, so even if BDJ did not get updated, you would sill be eligible to free version 8.x so in a sense - it makes no difference :)

Microsys - Dec 20 2016 at 3:27am Copy Link

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Heidi-Ann Kennedy-Fourkiller This is just a testimonial about Thomas.
Every single program he makes is very worthy! I have used two of his programs for years now, and he has always been one of the best programmers I have had the pleasure to correspond with. . . never a hesitation to help when needed.

Of course both of mine are slightly out of date, yet not due to any disappointment in his products. One day I'll update if my health improves.

So do yourself a favor if you have a need. . . and invest in his company and programs.

Thanks Thomas for all your help in the past.
Sincerely,
Heidi-Ann

Dec 20 2016 at 11:44am Copy Link

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Bertie Brummel @ Thomas: You may be right, however it may depend from your license terms.
The 'fine print'' says,: licensed per user.

I've seen a bunch of vendors here at BDJ using this term but then restricting installation to 1 PC and perhaps 1 Laptop as long as both installations are not used at the same time. Do you allow multiple installs on PCs used by me only?

If not and I intend to upgrade my previous V.7 license + purchase of an additional license it makes a 20 $ difference to buy here or via your website ....

Thanls

Dec 20 2016 at 1:47pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Heidi

Thanks for the kind words - do be sure to drop me an email incase you some day need something not present in your current A1 tool versions.

@Bertie

For license highlights see:

http://www.microsystools....m-license/

So yes - multiple computers no problem. You can even also install it on Mac. (Separate download, but same license and license file) If you do use Mac, offline viewing is best done in Safari, Chrome or any webbrowser on your computer - the A1WD embedded one on Mac is not quite good enough yet.

Upgrade link now also work, so only thing on my todo list is correct BDJ listnings to state 8.x instead of 7.x :)

Microsys - Dec 20 2016 at 3:00pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Just a quick note:
When you buy - you will get an 8.x license.

To download the Mac version, use this link:
http://www.microsystools....-files.zip

And Windows link the same as the one here on BDJ:
http://www.microsystools....-setup.exe

Microsys - Dec 22 2016 at 1:02am Copy Link

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lisba f Can I store the web site/pages I download in a PDF file?

Dec 22 2016 at 10:00am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @lisba

There is no website-to-PDF functionality. I have experimented with a feature to take screenshots if that could have interest? It is, however, not implemented properly yet in the crawl itself. (But prove of concept has been done) But if you drop me an email, I may be able to some day supply a beta.

Microsys - Dec 22 2016 at 2:41pm Copy Link

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Great News! Microsys has agreed to extend this deal for another day - Enjoy!

BitsDuJour Admin - Dec 23 2016 at 12:11am Copy Link

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Kimmo Lahtinen I am wondering about the license. It is saying that it is per user, so can I use it on all of my computers (not at the same time)?

I am planning to use it (also) to download a group of (.zip) files, I hope it is possible. I have tried different programs am it is not so easy.

Jun 13 2017 at 2:48am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz 1) You can use it on all of your computers - see: https://www.microsystools...m-license/

2) it should be fairly easy to simply download all zip files. See: https://www.microsystools...ownloader/ section "Include Specific File Types in Website File Downloader" (if you have problems, email info

microsystools.com with project file and as much description as possible of where zip files are, from where they are linked etc.)

Microsys - Jun 13 2017 at 2:56am Copy Link

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bvssunnydale Can this download & save just individual pages? Printing pages to PDF accurately is a frustrating and often ineffective process but I'm wondering if this might be a good alt - can it be set to save only the current page (ebay, news, blogs)? Thanks for your help.

Jun 13 2017 at 5:10am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz You can, but if you just want to save one single page, it is somewhat simpler to use an internet browser with "save page" functionality built-in.

A1 Website Download strength is crawling entire or large parts of websites and downloading everything (or as described in a previous question/answer e.g. all images or .zip files or similar)

Microsys - Jun 13 2017 at 5:37am Copy Link

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lisba f Adobe Acrobat has an option to "Create PDF from Web Page" (you can download and save in PDF entire websites - I use it almost daily - and then store them anywhere in your folders.) I would be very much interested if your program has features Adobe does not have. Is there perhaps a comparison of the two?

Jun 13 2017 at 8:25am Copy Link

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bvssunnydale Hi, yes I understand the "Save page" option but this could save, for example, a thousand separate pages within a single (or limited) files and allow searching for same. I realize the program is overkill but whenever I save a single page a folder is created, often with a hundred separate files.. so maybe this would work. Thanks for your help.

Jun 13 2017 at 11:35am Copy Link

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bvssunnydale When I print to PDF the pages frequently are incorrectly formatted, truncated, or simply missing elements - so that hasn't worked well for me (and I have Acrobat Pro).

Jun 13 2017 at 5:19pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Just to clarify:

1)
A1 Website Download does not save websites in PDF format - it stores a copy of them in HTML,CSS/Javascript/images etc. on disk. (Before crawling you can decide how you want URLs rewritten if at all)

2)
A1 Website Download can download+keep and with some setup usually extract links/references from PDF files (which are used to further crawl a website)

3)
I have been experimenting saving all pages as images (entire page rendered in Internet Explorer invisible window) if that has any interest? I have yet to implement it for full scale site crawls, but I probably could and would if it has interest? (It would only be for Windows in the beginning.)

4)
I have never had a request for saving entire websites in PDF (e.g. 10000+ pages or possibly many times that) . Why would you want to convert pages to PDF? Would seem to me that either keeping original content and open/surf them in a browser --or-- as images would be better options depending on what you are trying to achieve, but I might be missing something, so please feel free to recommend/suggest the feature, and I may add it some day.

Microsys - Jun 13 2017 at 5:56pm Copy Link

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lisba f Thomas, I prefer to save entire webpages or just articles in PDF format because I am given a variety of options: bookmarks, sticky notes, add page-numbers, easily extract pages, add text and comments, watermarks, and all sorts of annotation and drawing marks. Very helpful for my records/archives and I'm very pleased, so far.

For short articles I use the Acrobat extension in my browser. If sometimes formatting is not the best I use alternatives, like "Print friendly & PDF" (pretty nice program but not for Unicode), "Save as PDF", "Save to Pocket" etc. - all for saving web pages in PDF.

Jun 13 2017 at 7:30pm Copy Link

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Amit 1. How does this compare to offline explorer and similar alternatives ? Any advantages of buying this over that and others ?

2. Also, can there be a portable version of A1 Website Download ?

Dec 6 2018 at 3:22pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz 1)
I have very limited recent experience with the competing tools. But I generally suggest you check the trial versions of all competing tools and ask developers "how to" questions. A1WD is quite configurable, so if you should find a competing tool that does something A1WD does not (or if here is a feature you want) - you can always drop an email, and I will take a look if feasible to implement it.

2)
A1WD is portable with a little tinkering:
https://www.microsystools...tion-data/

Microsys - Dec 6 2018 at 5:24pm Copy Link

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Michael R. (1) Is there a changelog/history-info about what's new in A1WebsiteDownloader v9?
I just found a page, saying not much more than 'tons of new features', which does not really set former purchasers in the must-have-mood to upgrade.

(2) So, if I downloaded a site (or parts of it) and have it offline now and want to burn it on DVD and find out, the data-size is too large, can I edit the output files, e.g. discard certain branches or change the behaviour of the links?

(3) Is v10 free for today's buyers? I know, you say, if within a year v10 will be published, but it would me more happy/confident, if you would say, whenever it appears...

Dec 7 2018 at 2:33am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Michael

1)
I know change logs have been a weak spot. I usually never spell out small fixes and improvements where each only affect a tiny percentage of users. (Although the combined amount of fixes/improvemens would affect many.)

The history page is the best I have at present unfortunately: https://www.microsystools...istory.php

If there is a problem with your present version, do please see if the version 9.x fixes it and if not drop me an email with a feature request :)

2)
You can edit the downloaded output files.

But I think you may be asking if you when downloading can limit the crawl/download to certain areas leaving out other stuff? And that is a clear yes - and probably one of unique USP of A1WD.

You can also separately configure what gets crawled and what gets output-result:

https://www.microsystools...r-filters/

https://www.microsystools...t-filters/

3)
(The BDJ sales follow the same conditions as our normal sales except having the BDJ discounted price.)

Here is a summary for those interested:

a)
The purchase includes all 9.x releases. If 10.x is released within one year of purchase - the purchase will also include all 10.x releases. Should version 10.x be released later upgrading 9.x to 10.x is about half off.

b)
Remember you are never forced to upgrade. Version 9.x will not stop working just because version 10.x is released

c)
Version 9.0.0 was released around February 2018. I am currently still focusing on incremental updates/improvements/fixes in 9.x branch.

Microsys - Dec 7 2018 at 3:53am Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien I have version 8. May I get a discount to upgrade to 9 please?

Dec 7 2018 at 6:55pm Copy Link

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Michael R. @Thomas Schulz.

Thanks for the answers:

1) Yes, at least 2-3 new main-features between the upgrades would be a miniumum imho.
2) I indeed meant post-production. At first get all files, which seem to make sense and than afterwards - offline - clean it up, throw away the unwanted branches. Here some follow-up questions about that:
- what happens if a user offline clicks on a link and the content it points to is removed or not downloaded at all? Can i decide what happens?
- does A1WD keep track of the addresses, if there is more than one way to get to a certain address, so if one branch should be removed by user request and it has an address inside it, which is accessible from outside the branch, it will not be removed automatically?
-are there larger improvements with this 'post-production' between v8 and v9?
3) Yes, maybe you are right. and I should work first with my v8 and update to v9 if I get to the limits of v8 and v9 fullfills it. I just thought, if there would be a confirmation, that's v10 for free for todays buyers, I could as well buy it today...

Dec 7 2018 at 11:19pm Copy Link

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Great News! Microsys has agreed to extend this deal for another day - Enjoy!

BitsDuJour Admin - Dec 8 2018 at 12:11am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz 1)
Worth noting that the crawler engine and other parts are essentially developed non-stop - but most updates will always be incremental in nature because that is how I drive the release cycle. Also, generally (not specificly for the download tool) what I sometimes see other vendors call major features, I call minor feature enhancements - it is all how you word it really :)

2)
To my memory, you are the first to suggest that one should be able to do post-production work where A1WD should remove links in saved content? to pages you delete post-production in A1WD. I will give it some thought, but it is not in 9.x at present state.

3)
If you encounter any problems (or feature requests besides the one you have mentioned here) in version 8.x do please feel free to email.

Microsys - Dec 8 2018 at 2:55am Copy Link

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Praveen Can I install on 2 of my computers (1 Mac & 1 PC) with 1 license? Thanks!

Dec 8 2018 at 10:20am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Praveen

Yes - no problem :)

Microsys - Dec 8 2018 at 11:22am Copy Link

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bvssunnydale Hi, just wondering about file management. Does this allow saving of website "A" into it's own separate file (instead of requiring one massive file for all sites). For example, I have a relatively small SSD (500GB) in my Win10 machine that tends to fill up and I have to routinely move files to the connected external drive. Files I'm actively using I try to keep on the local SSD. Can A1 download site "A" and then can I move the file(s) to the external drive that I can still access using A1? Thanks very much.

Dec 8 2018 at 3:28pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi,

A1 Website Downloads attempts to copy the entire website as close to 1:1 as possible with regards to files and URL structure.

If you before you start website download pick a unique download directory - you can move that entire directory around wherever you want and view in internet browsers.

Relevant help pages:
- https://www.microsystools...-tutorial/
- https://www.microsystools...ert-links/

(If you want to view the downloaded website in specificly A1 Website Download for further inspection such as broken URLs - after you move the folder - you have to keep/copy the actual project files as well - and may have to update settings for where files are located)

Microsys - Dec 8 2018 at 3:41pm Copy Link

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Michael R. What's new in v9?
Please a little more than 'tons of fixes and improvements', as said in history.
Why should I upgrade from v8?
Is there an noticable upgrade discount for existing v8-users today too?

Apr 29 2019 at 11:21pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi

- Those who purchased V8 (BDJ or no BDJ) all have as standard at least 50% discount or free v9 upgrades. You can check if you are eligible here: https://www.microsystools...pgrade.php
Even when version 10.x is released some day - even 8.x users will still be offered an upgrade discount. (Both things been that way since "A1" tool line started in 2005 and also stated on product page and various other places)

There are 18 entries from 9.0.0 to 9.3.3 update #5
https://www.microsystools...istory.php
(and a new update is expected very soon to fix an issue with WebView on Mac which popped up recently)

But yes - I don't spell out updates. There can easily be 5 small enhancements/fixes which each only affecting maybe estimated 0.1% to 1% of users - and I will simply write "Rollup of various updates and fixes"

But my thinking is this:
1) If the current version satisfies your needs - great!
2) If not try download the 9.x trial (it won't conflict - just don't install into the same folder) and see if it solves your problem.
3) If you have a problem in version 8.x or 9.x - email me and I will look into it.

There is no push or demand to make you upgrade - simply a good price for new users to get aboard on a tool that is under continued development :)

Microsys - Apr 30 2019 at 1:27am Copy Link

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Greg Newell Who is this different from HTTrack (which is free)?

May 2 2019 at 8:12pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Greg

I will in generally say this - you should go with the tool that gives you the best results across most websites - and so I recommend you simply try both (and email authors of both tools if you encounter problems with any of them)

Generally speaking though without addressing comparison to HTTrack specificly:

If you download A1 Website Download and check the tabs such as "Scan website | Analysis filters", "Scan website | Output filters", "Scan website | Crawler options" etc. I do not think you will find any downloader with more flexibility in defining what to download.

Microsys - May 3 2019 at 12:38am Copy Link

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Bertie Brummel What's new since vers. 9 pls?

Oct 8 2019 at 1:25am Copy Link

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Bertie Brummel Forget my request, found

https://www.microsystools...istory.php

Oct 8 2019 at 3:26am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Hi Bertie,

Working on Version 10.1.0 update #3 right now - but yes - the link you found is the correct one :)

If you have a 9.x license check if you are eligible to a free 10.x upgrade: http://www.microsystools....pgrade.php

Microsys - Oct 8 2019 at 3:33am Copy Link

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lisba f I installed the program and downloaded a webpage to my local drive. After that, I tried to print (in PDF) a page from that (right click / Print) but it doesn do it! Do I miss something or there is no such a feature?

Mar 4 2020 at 3:47pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz My guess is somehow the embedded browser will not print the given page for at present unknown reason:

Workaround:

1)
Open the downloaded website in another browser.

(A1 Website Download tries to detect installed browsers and includes browser shortcut buttons at the top when viewing the downloaded website in the A1WD embedded browser.)

2)
Try print

(Do feel free to drop me an email with the website/webpage address and I will take another look at it)

Microsys - Mar 5 2020 at 1:10am Copy Link

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Indusekar SK Whether sites that require login can be downloaded using this software, particular, wordpress websites

Jan 10 2021 at 12:46am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz See: https://www.microsystools...can-login/

If you are on Windows simply use the embedded browser for login before crawling. That will work for most websites.

If you have problems with the trial, drop me an email with the website in question.

(For those where that does not work or is not possible, I am working on an update that simplifies setup. It will probably rollout little-by-little over future updates.)

Microsys - Jan 10 2021 at 1:39am Copy Link

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Indusekar SK Thank you for your insights. I want to download content of a website that uses wordpress and indeed ultimate membership pro plugin for membership access. I'll do trial check on that website as excerpted by you and let you know

Jan 10 2021 at 2:49am Copy Link

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Indusekar SK while browsing your website i found some information about website copier, how is that different from website download

Jan 10 2021 at 3:09am Copy Link

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Indusekar SK since wordpress has the feature of tags and categories,i find website download is also downloading the url and related category/tag of those urls, how to instruct your software to not download tags and categories other than main url.

Jan 10 2021 at 3:11am Copy Link

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Indusekar SK i trial tested your software. protected content using 'indeed ultimate membership pro' is not captured by your website download. so i am afraid i don't need this

Jan 10 2021 at 3:15am Copy Link

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Indusekar SK I sent you email to the contact email in your website telling the website in question and seeking your expertise help

Jan 10 2021 at 3:58am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Indusekar

A1 Website Download is the product. "Website downloader" and "website copier" are both common terms for software like A1 Website Download.

I have received your email. Hopefully we get it working with the website. Some are easy to get working while other can be difficult.

Microsys - Jan 10 2021 at 4:55am Copy Link

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Fletch Any comments on running on a 4k 150 DPI screen? Text is small and one of the built-in themes renders the text invisible.

Other than that, it seems to have an extensive feature set but I'm unable to download a single web page - possibly due to "agent ID" but I can't find in the help where to change that. I've reduced simultaneous connections to 1.

https://www.swann.com/us/...85804b2fb/

Jan 10 2021 at 9:03am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Fletch

Regarding DPI. I will try check it. Send as screenshot to https://www.microsystools...ontact.php

...

Regarding the website you mention causing problems:
Do you mean it blocks you from downloading. In such cases see: https://www.microsystools...-platform/
section: General Solutions for Crawling Problematic Website

So for reference user agent is changed in
"General options and tools | Internet crawler | User agent ID "

...

If you have problems downloading anything (i.e. entire A1WD is getting blocked
always) it is probably a firewall issue. But you should have received an error message in that case. But see: https://www.microsystools...-firewall/
...

But please drop an email if you have problems getting something work:)

Microsys - Jan 10 2021 at 9:33pm Copy Link

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bvssunnydale Two questions, (1) primarily I'd like to be able to save a lot of single pages/articles but be able to find them easily later - can this accomplish that without a lot of additional overhead (space usage is important) and (2) are the paths saved relative, since all my stuff is frequently moved between external hard drives (currently I'm working on a NAS too). Thanks very much.

Mar 22 2021 at 12:32pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @bvssunnydale

1)
A1 Website Download really is more suited to download whole websites or sections of websites or all files of a specific kind. However it is possible: https://www.microsystools...load-page/ (I will consider maybe making a button that automates configuring everything for a single page download)

2)
You choose how you want URLs saved although files will be renamed if they contain characters not possible on e.g. Windows. See:
https://www.microsystools...ert-links/

Microsys - Mar 22 2021 at 12:55pm Copy Link

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bvssunnydale Thanks, without the button, or the option of a button, it looks to be impractical to save an average of 30-40 pages daily. To question (2) are the paths relative so the data can be easily transferred between drives? Thanks very much, all the reviews I've seen do indicate that this is an excellent program for it's intended usage. SORRY, YOU ANSWERED BUT, FOR SOME REASON, MY BROWSER DIDN'T 'EXPAND' SO DID SEE. Thanks very much!

Mar 23 2021 at 5:32am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @bvssunnydale

I will try see if I can make a button later tonight that automates this. (Quick Presets, "Download single page" and then a prompt for URL) -- drop me an email at info@microsystools.com and I will try upload a new version you can download and try. Do feel free to send some example page URLs as well :)

Regarding question #2: Yes. There are different options. But short answer is yes :)

Microsys - Mar 23 2021 at 5:54am Copy Link

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lisba f Any offer for upgrading from version 8x ?

Mar 23 2021 at 7:53am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz Are you sure you did not already buy 8.x, got a free 9.x upgrade and then upgraded that to 10.x? Send me an email and I will look you up :)

Microsys - Mar 23 2021 at 7:59am Copy Link

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lisba f I'll do.

Mar 23 2021 at 8:01am Copy Link

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lisba f Everything is set, Thomas, thank you, no need to email you. I haven't used the program for a while and forgot that I have already the recent version!...

Mar 23 2021 at 9:27am Copy Link

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bvssunnydale Hi, I share my cpu with multiple users - is there any way to password protect a file (or maybe have different sets of pages in different locations?). Thanks.

Mar 23 2021 at 12:59pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @bvssunnydale

Drop me an email and I will start work on single-page quick-preset now, so you can test it :)

Regarding password... Are you looking for something that finish zipping entire thing password protected? I have had not had such request before, so it will probably land on a todo/wish list but if you can email me your use case details I will consider looking into implementing it for a future version.

Microsys - Mar 24 2021 at 1:28am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @bvssunnydale and other who are interested.

I just uploaded version 10.1.4 update #25 for Windows with the feature you requested:

Click the "Scan website | Quick presets..." button. There is now an option called "Download single page settings". Click and you get prompted to type for an URL. If you click it A1 Website Download will change/optimize all the options mentioned in the help page: https://www.microsystools...load-page/

You can now hit "Scan website | Start scan" button and download a single page.

Note: I will update the help page later today, but by using the above solution you will most often no longer need it :)

Microsys - Mar 24 2021 at 4:13am Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien What version is this please?

Sep 9 2021 at 9:58am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Stephen

As in the headline "A1 Website Download 10.x"

(But if version 11.x is released within an year of your purchase, you get a free upgrade to 11.x as well.)

Microsys - Sep 9 2021 at 10:08am Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien Thank you Captain Obvious!

Now would you solve for X please?

Sep 9 2021 at 10:44am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Stephen

- a version 10.x license means your license will work for entire version 10 series meaning any version in range 10.0.0 to 10.99.99

- a version 11.x license means your license will work for entire version 11 series series meaning any version in range 10.0.0 to 10.99.99

- if you buy a 10.x license and version 11.x is released within an year of your purchase, you get a free upgrade to 11.x as well

I hope that answers your question.

Microsys - Sep 9 2021 at 11:19am Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien @Thomas

I did not ask about the license.
I did not ask about the range of versions.
I asked "What version?" not "What versions?"

If you don't know what version your software is, then just say so!

Sep 9 2021 at 3:39pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Stephen

You can always check the product page: http://www.microsystools....-download/
Current version is 10.1.5

If you really need details you can go to the changelog: http://www.microsystools....istory.php
Current version is 10.1.5 update #7

There is probably a new update every 14 days. (Also Mac versions is usually trailing a few days behind the Windows version.)

Can I ask you why you are asking what the current version is? I assumed it was because you maybe already had a license or were curious if you purchased which versions your license would be eligible for?

Note: If you already have a 10.x license you can simply download the latest 10.x version (i.e. at time of writing 10.1.5 update #7) and then simply download + install and your license still works.

Note: From my POV: When you state "What version is this please?" in a BDJ promotion context, the answer to your question is that this BDJ promotion is for all versions 10.x ... It would be incorrect to answer that question with "10.1.5 update #7" since the license you receive from the BDJ promotion is applicable for all 10.x versions.

Anyhow. I hope that clears everything :)

Microsys - Sep 10 2021 at 1:58am Copy Link

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kydara Ok, somebody has to ask the 800# gorilla question....how is this any better than httrack which is free and feature-loaded?

Sep 10 2021 at 5:18am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @kydara

I believe A1 Website Download offers more/different features and more options. The A1 suite of tools been in development since 2005 (with A1WD released in 2006), so it is not like you are getting some thin featured tool with A1WD ;)

You can try take a look at "Scan website | Output filters" and "Scan website | Analysis filters" to get an idea (and yes they are separate since you want to analyze some pages for links but not actually include them in "output")

Microsys - Sep 10 2021 at 6:18am Copy Link

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kydara @Thomas Schulz thanks for the reply. One quick question: for "courses" sites that contain a mix of text and embedded videos, some or all of which are behind paywalls, can your software download those (including the videos)?

Sep 10 2021 at 7:16am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @kydara

The answer is it depends. But streamed videos will not work at present. Video, image, PDF etc. files will get downloaded.

Concerning paywalls it depends if the embedded browser login solution works. After login the crawler takes over the login/cookies/session. In the past this worked for *far most websites* on Windows, but the situation is starting to get a bit more murky. It is currently #1 item on TODO list to ensure both Windows and Mac versions get this functionality back working with *far most websites* again. (And I *expect* this will be the case again within a very reasonably amount of time, at least on Windows. It will take longer for Mac versions.)

Microsys - Sep 10 2021 at 7:38am Copy Link

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kydara @Thomas Schulz thanks again. It sounds like it's worth $20 to check your software out and compare it to HTTrack. The fine print says there's a 30-day refund policy in case I find that it doesn't meet my needs, is that correct?

Sep 10 2021 at 7:55am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @kydara

Yes:

There is both a 30 days trial (if you keep the BDJ link you will get the BDJ discount + BDJ gets credited for at least 7 days further if not longer)

*plus*

a 30 days refund period after you buy :)

*plus*

people who report a problem after recent purchase often get extended refund periods, so should you encounter anything after staring to use it... then send an email :)

Microsys - Sep 10 2021 at 10:28am Copy Link

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Egon User Could you please tell what's the difference to your Website Scraper if Website Download is NOT just a subset of the former, functionality-wise? I normally would think that the latter (i.e. the current offer) is a subset, so I would like to buy the more complete one, but perhaps I'm wrong.

I understand that Website Download might be, user-interaction wise and for its functional subset, have some "advantage", e.g. it may be "simpler" to get the same results also contained in Scraper, but I'd be interested to know if there is functionality here which may be not also be in the more "complete" one (this is just an assumption of mine of course).

For example, in the Website Download help file (all of these are available on your site online, thankfully!), you speak of its use, among many other uses, as a bulk image downloader, but I assume (as with any other functionality, thus my question) that I could use Scraper for the same means, and with the same fine-grain tuning?

If I'm wrong with my "subset" assumption, could you explain in detail, or is there a comparison table (which I didn't find on your, otherwise really informative and expletive site)?

Thank you!

Mar 31 2022 at 4:17am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Egon
A1 Website Download is for downloading websites / parts of.

A1 Website Scraper is for extracting data into CSV/SQL/databases. I.e. with the latter, you "scrape" off the data you want and automatically insert into CSV/SQL/database. (e.g. weather data, shopping catalogs, product pricesm stock ticks, sports odds etc.)

A1 Website Download will download websites (or parts of) to disk and generally have a working offline copy of entire website.

A1 Website Scraper requires much more configuration defining the parts of data you want scraped, but when done, you can use it to e.g. update a database of -whatever data-

Microsys - Mar 31 2022 at 5:36am Copy Link

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Egon User I see now, thank you very much for this perfect clarification! It was the naming which had misled me, since Website Download does what's currently called scraping, and Website Scraper is for getting and then updating tabular data; being tabular not necessarily on the website already, but then put into tabular format by your software. Very smart indeed! Will buy both.

Mar 31 2022 at 3:41pm Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien @Thomas, may I get a discount on an upgrade from version 10 to 11 please?

Apr 2 2022 at 9:03am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Stephen

Depending on time of purchase you are eligible to a free 11.x upgrade (for up to one year after last purchase) or heavily discounted (10.x to 11.x upgrade cost only $15)

Type in your license ID here:
http://www.microsystools....pgrade.php
You are given an upgrade link if you are not eligible to a free upgrade

By the way: Same goes for all A1 tools and in fact all tools I sell.

Microsys - Apr 2 2022 at 9:29am Copy Link

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Harriet User Thank you .. this is a great deal

Apr 3 2022 at 2:03am Copy Link

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jckinswo I just bought this and I'm looking forward to giving it a spin.

The main purpose of this note though is just to say THANKS THOMAS! for taking so much time to answer every question since 2013 (as far back as the discussion goes) and for putting so much attention to user needs!

Amazing and greatly appreciated that you consistently update this product and your others and continue to offer them at a great price point here on Bits.

Best Regards,
John K

Apr 3 2022 at 2:18pm Copy Link

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Bertie Brummel Hi,
Win 11 is not mentioned as supported OS?

Sep 11 2022 at 3:56am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Bertie BDJ just not been updated. Win 11 is supported. (Will be sure to mention to BDJ to update listing) For more info, see product page: http://www.microsystools....-download/

Microsys - Sep 11 2022 at 10:22am Copy Link

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Claudio Salvio Hello
Is it possible to use the program through the command line avoiding the GUI?

Oct 13 2022 at 6:21am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Claudio

Yes. See:
http://www.microsystools....-download/

Microsys - Oct 13 2022 at 7:13am Copy Link

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Andrew User could this download a discord chat area

Oct 14 2022 at 4:13am Copy Link

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Anthony Bryson Does this download the website coding to allow it to be ported to another provider

Oct 14 2022 at 6:15am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Andrew,

I will / can get back to you regarding that. (Please drop me an email, so I do not forget)

Offhand: If it requires AJAX scrolling that is on my todo list.

Microsys - Oct 14 2022 at 12:13pm Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz @Anthony,

A1WD sees the HTML/JS/etc. code your website/webserver outputs.

But it does not see the code on your server that generates the HTML/JS.

So you can *often* move downloaded the website top a different webhost where it will work. But it won't have the original backend serverside code.

Microsys - Oct 14 2022 at 12:16pm Copy Link

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Stephen Warkentien Are you offering a discount upgrade from version 10 to 11?

Mar 17 2023 at 9:23am Copy Link

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Thomas Schulz If you bought version 10.x you are eligible to a free upgrade if you bought within an year of the initial public 11.0.0 release.

Otherwise, if you have version 10.x (e.g. bought 10.x or as paid or free upgrade from 9.x) you are entitled to a (very) discounted 11.x upgrade.

Please see:
http://www.microsystools....pgrade.php

Microsys - Mar 17 2023 at 10:17am Copy Link

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