# Connections and speed ## The progress window Each running download has its own progress window. It opens when the download starts; to open it again, double-click the download in the list. ![The progress window](https://misterdownloadmanager.com/help/images/progress.png) The **Download status** tab shows: - **Status** — **Connecting...**, **Receiving data...**, **Paused**, **Complete** or the error. - **File size**, **Downloaded** and **Transfer rate**. - **Time left**. - **Resume capability** — **Yes** if the server lets MDM continue the download later, **No** if it doesn't. **Show details >>** (open by default) adds the connection view: - A bar of the whole file, showing where each connection started and how far it has got (**Start positions and download progress by connections**). - A table with one row per connection: its number, how much it has downloaded, and what it is doing right now. The buttons: - **Pause** stops the download and keeps what it has; **Resume** continues it. - **Cancel** stops the download and closes the window. The download stays in the list and can be resumed. - Closing the window with its close box keeps the download running. Two more tabs: - **Speed Limiter** — a limit for this download only. See below. - **Options on completion** — shows where the file will be saved. Untick **Show download complete dialog** to skip the **Download complete** box for this file only. **Hide tab** goes back to **Download status**. ## When a download finishes **Download complete** shows the file's size, its address and where it was saved. Choose **Open**, **Open with...**, **Open folder** or **Close**. You can also drag the small box at the bottom right into Explorer, an email or a chat to drop the file there. Tick **Don't show this dialog again** to stop seeing it. It can be turned back on in **Options → Downloads → Show download complete dialog**. ## How MDM uses connections MDM splits a file into parts and downloads them over several connections at once: - It uses **8 connections** by default. You can choose 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 or 32 in **Options → Connection → Default max. conn. number**. - When a connection finishes its part, it takes over half of the largest part still left, so no connection sits idle while another one is still working. - A connection that is far slower than the others is dropped and opened again. - Some servers allow only a few connections. MDM notices this and stops asking that server for more. What it has learned shows in **Options → Connection** under **Exceptions**, marked **(auto)**. - You can set a number for a server yourself: **Options → Connection → New**, then type the server's name and the number of connections. Each connection writes straight into the file's place on disk, in a part file named `.mdm.part` next to the final file. When every part is done, MDM checks the size and renames it. There is no temporary folder and no joining step at the end. ## Resuming A download resumes where it stopped: after you stop it, after the connection drops, or after Windows or MDM crashes. MDM saves how far each part has got as it goes. - A connection that fails is retried on its own. The progress window's table shows **Retrying** and the reason. - To continue a stopped download, select it and click **Resume** on the toolbar (or **File → Download Now**). - Before continuing, MDM checks that the file on the server is still the same. If it changed, the download stops with **the file changed on the server**. Use **Redownload** to start again from the beginning. - If **Resume capability** is **No**, the server can't send a file in parts. MDM then downloads it over one connection, and a download that stops has to start over. [Resume a broken download](https://misterdownloadmanager.com/help/guide-resume-broken-download.html) covers expired links too. ## Speed Limiter The Speed Limiter keeps MDM from using all of your connection. ### For every download 1. Choose **Downloads → Speed Limiter → Settings...**. 2. Set **Maximum download speed for one file** in KBytes/sec. It starts at 10, so set it before you turn the limiter on. 3. Click **OK**. 4. Choose **Downloads → Speed Limiter → Turn on**. **Turn off** gives full speed again. **Always turn on Speed Limiter on Mister Download Manager startup** turns it on each time MDM starts. ### For all downloads together In the same window, tick **Limit all downloads together to** and set the speed. This caps MDM as a whole, however many files are downloading. It applies whenever it is ticked, whether the per-file limiter is on or off. Tick **Only while I'm using the computer** to apply it only while you use the mouse or keyboard. After a minute without input, MDM goes back to full speed. ![Speed Limiter settings](https://misterdownloadmanager.com/help/images/speed-limiter.png) ### For one download In the download's progress window, open the **Speed Limiter** tab: 1. Tick **Use Speed Limiter**. 2. Set **Maximum download speed** in KBytes/sec. The new limit applies at once. 3. Tick **Remember Speed Limiter settings for this file on download stop/resume** to keep this limit for the file: it applies again when you resume it later, even after restarting MDM. > Some servers drop the connection when the speed is very low. Avoid a tight limit for servers that can't resume (**Resume capability: No**). ## Next steps - [Keep some speed for everything else →](https://misterdownloadmanager.com/help/guide-keep-speed-for-everything-else.html) - [Resume a broken download →](https://misterdownloadmanager.com/help/guide-resume-broken-download.html) - [Connection settings in Options →](https://misterdownloadmanager.com/help/options.html)