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URL2File ActiveX Component
Java Application
• Windows Application

Introduction

URL2File is a free 32bit Windows console-mode application able to retrieve and save the content of a given World Wide Web or FTP URL to a local file.

It can be used by end-users to download files and web pages while developers may use its more advanced features to test web applications or integrate with server-side scripts.

The Java application version of URL2File can be run on any platform with Java support. An ActiveX component version of URL2File is also available, which can be run within server-side scripts.

Purpose

URL2File console-mode Windows application can be used by itself or within a shell script to retrieve the content of an HTML document or other file from a remote Internet server to a local file.

A typical example would be to write a shell script, such as a Windows command prompt BATch file, to download multiple files.

Developers can use URL2File's advanced features to test their web applications, such as CGI scripts, by sending custom requests and examining the response according.

Download / Install

Download U2FSetup.exe
Self-extracting user-friendly setup and uninstall option.
942K, updated on December 8, 1998.

  • Run U2FSetup.exe to start the guided setup.

OR:

Download URL2File.zip
Manual setup and manual uninstall.
219K, updated on December 8, 1998.

  • Save URL2File.zip to a temporary directory, and unzip it using pkunzip.exe or other program compatible with ZIP files.
     
  • Move the resulting URL2File.exe file to a directory of your choice. To your Windows directory for example, so that it can be run without using its full path name.

Usage

• Basic usage:

URL2File <URL> [<FileName>]

For example, to retrieve the web (HTTP) URL http://www.chami.com/url2file/test.htm and save its content to temp.htm, run the following command

(from the Command Prompt/DOS Prompt within Windows 95/98/NT for Intel compatible processors):

 URL2File http://www.chami.com/url2file/test.htm temp.htm

To retrieve the file transfer protocol (FTP) URL ftp://ftp.chami.com/README and save its content to README.txt, run the following command:

 URL2File ftp://ftp.chami.com/README README.txt

More examples on how to use URL2File:

- How to create a batch file to download multiple files

• Advanced usage:

URL2File <URL> [<FileName>]
    [-d] [-z] [-h] [-b] [-r <referring URL>]
    [-u <login user name>] [-p <login password>]
    [-x <proxy address>] [-y <proxy port>]
    [-s <proxy user name>] [-t <proxy password>]
    [-a <user agent string>] [-n <sender>]
    [-o <timeout in seconds>]

[HTTP] = Applies to web URLs; [FTP] = Applies to FTP URLs

URL : URL of the web page (HTTP) or file (FTP) to retrieve. Format of the URL:

protocol://[user[:password]@]server[:port]/path[/file]

URL2File URL

All following parameters are optional.

FileName : File name to use to save retrieved content.

URL2File URL output.htm

-d : [HTTP] [FTP] Enable debug mode -- display warnings and other miscellaneous information. This switch must be specified before other parameters.

URL2File -d URL

-z : [HTTP] [FTP] Suppress error messages -- won't display critical errors.

URL2File -z URL

-h : [HTTP] Display web server's response headers, such as content type/size, cookies, modified and expiration dates, HTTP protocol, web server type, etc.

URL2File -h URL

-b : [FTP] Retrieve the file using non binary transfer mode (also known as ASCII file transfer mode).

URL2File -b URL

-r : [HTTP] Specify a custom referring URL.

URL2File -r "ReferringURL" URL

-u : [HTTP] [FTP] Login user name (if required by the web server). A login password must also be specified.

The default user name for FTP URLs is "anonymous" It is blank for HTTP URLs.

-p : [HTTP] [FTP] Login password.

The default password for FTP URLs is "guest@unknown.org" It is blank for HTTP URLs.

URL2File URL -uYourName -p"pword"

-x : [HTTP] Proxy server address.

-y : [HTTP] Proxy server port.

URL2File URL -xPROXY -y3128

-s : [HTTP] Proxy server login user name. Proxy server address and port must also be specified.

-t : [HTTP] Proxy server login password.

URL2File URL -xPROXY -y3128 -sProxyUsername -tProxyPassword

-a : [HTTP] Custom user agent string.

URL2File URL -a "Mozilla"

-n : [HTTP] Specify a custom "From:" field in the web server request header.

URL2File URL -n "xyz"

-o : [HTTP] [FTP] Timeout value in seconds. Downloading will be aborted if not completed within the specified amount of time. The default value of 0 will disable the timeout function.

URL2File URL -o 30

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q: Some of my URLs contain spaces. How do I tell URL2File to treat it as a single continuing URL?

    A: Use quotes around the URL if it contains special characters such as spaces, "^" or "|" i.e. "my page.htm"

History

December 8, 1998:

URL2File is now available in a self-extracting user friendly setup program.

November 27, 1998:

URL2File now supports retrieving FTP site URLs, in addition to web site URLs.

Added following usage options:

-o, -b

July 4, 1998:

Specifying the <FileName> parameter is now optional. The downloaded content will be displayed on screen (STDIO) unless a file name is specified.

Added following usage options:

-d, -z, -h, -r, -u, -p, -x, -y, -s, -t, -a, -n

June 25, 1998:

First release of the Windows version of URL2File. Only two required parameters were supported: <URL> and <FileName>

Disclaimer

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN AS-IS BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

PROVIDER SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY OTHER WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL PROVIDER BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF PROVIDER HAS BEEN ADVISED BY CLIENT OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH POTENTIAL LOSS OR DAMAGE. CLIENT AGREES TO HOLD PROVIDER HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, LOSSES, LIABILITIES AND EXPENSES.

Feedback

URL2File Support

To join URL2File Updates Mailing List:
 

 

Copyright (C) 1998-2002, Chami.com