User Manual

Use a Built-in Web Browser to Find and Download Files

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GoodReader Web Downloads

 

You can download files to GoodReader from the Internet either by entering their URL addresses or by browsing the Web using a simple built-in browser.

Tips for downloading files from the Web:

  • If you know the exact URL address of a file, use the Enter URL button on the Connect control panel.
  • If you don`t know the exact URL address of a file, tap the Browser button on the Connect control panel to use GoodReader`s simple built-in web browser.
  • You can restrict the access to the built-in browser with a password, which set in the application`s Security settings.
  • Every time you tap a link in a built-in browser, you will be asked if you want to follow the link or download the linked file. Select Follow the Link until you get to a file of interest, then select Download Linked File.
  • It`s ok to have several separate downloads at the same time.
  • To find information about your downloads, tap the Recent Downloads button in the Connect control panel.
  • The last 20 download URL addresses will be memorized and listed on the Browser panel. Tap one to download again.

 


If you browse the Web with Safari and open a file that is of interest to you, there is a way of saving this file into GoodReader`s internal local storage, so you can view this file with GoodReader without loading it from the Internet every time (like it happens in Safari).

To save a file from Safari to GoodReader:
  • open the file of interest in Safari
  • tap Safari`s address bar (the keyboard will appear)
  • go to the very beginning of the file`s URL address, where the http:// or https:// part is
  • add a single letter g in front of the address, so you`ll get ghttp:// or ghttps:// instead of http:// or https://
  • press Go on the keyboard (this will close Safari and start GoodReader)
  • the file will start to download into GoodReader automatically (check Connect control panel to find it)
If you plan to do this often, you can simplify this process substantially. In GoodReader`s settings, the General section, tap the button called Bookmark for files and webpages. Then go to Safari and create a new bookmark. Name this bookmark, for example, Save to GoodReader. Then press the bookmark button, and then Edit. Select this new bookmark. Now Safari lets you modify the address of this bookmark. Delete the old address and paste the text from the pasteboard (GoodReader has prepared this unique text for you). Save the modified bookmark address. Selecting this bookmark when a page of interest is opened is the same as adding the g letter in front of this page`s address.

Please note that this technique doesn`t always work with secure servers. If it doesn`t, then try browsing for this file in GoodReader`s built-in web-browser, rather than in Safari.

 

  • use Back and Forward buttons to navigate in the built-in browser:
  • if, when browsing in a web browser, you selected Follow the Link action, and it turns out that you should`ve pressed Download Linked File because the file of interest just opened in a browser, you don`t have to go back to select a proper action, use the Save the Current Page button instead:
  • due to iOS limitations, not all links work in a simple built-in browser. You may see the link, click it, and nothing happens. There`s a simple workaround for this that works in many cases. Tap a link and hold it for a while. The system menu pops up with the choice of actions. Select Open action, if you need to open the link. If it doesn`t open, select Copy (this copies the URL address to clipboard) and then press Follow the Link from Clipboard or Save the File Linked by the Link from Clipboard button, depending on your intentions:
  • some websites don`t work well with the pop-up menu that asks you what to do with a link. If you experience issues, you can turn this pop-up menu off GoodReader`s Settings, Other Settings section, Web Browser settings. Instead, use the Save the Current Page button or tap, hold, and copy the link, followed by tapping the Save the File Linked by the Link from Clipboard button to download a file of interest.

 

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Related Questions

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E-mail: support@goodreader.com

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