What is and How to Open a DOWNLOAD File in Windows, MAC and online

Apple Safari partial download definition and 3 other types and linked programs information.

 

When it comes to using the internet, you will likely find yourself downloading content at some point.

However, a lot of people don’t actually know how to open files that are in the .download format, and this can leave them a little bit stuck! Luckily, though, we can help you understand how to open files that you have downloaded from the internet for your Windows device.

 

open download file

What is a .Download File

When you download content from the internet it will have to download fully before it can be opened on your laptop or device.

In the meantime, it will be saved as a .downloads file—a file that has not fully finished downloading.

This happens when the download is cancelled for whatever reason; perhaps the internet connection is too slow or has otherwise cut out completely.

Whatever the case, .downloads files can be a bit of a nuisance to have to deal with, but once they have finished being downloaded they will automatically be changed to the appropriate file type—for example, .png for image files and the like.

 

Opening .Download Files

Opening it is easy to do, however, if you do not know how to do so then it may seem a little confusing at first! The process of opening .download files is straightforward, though, once you have worked out how to do so.

 

Step One: Locating The .Download File

Once you have downloaded a file from the internet, the first thing that you will need to do is find your downloaded files on your device. The most obvious place to look for these files is to check your device’s downloads folder. But how do you find this folder? There are actually three different ways that you can find your downloads folder.

 

From the Start Menu

  1. Click on the device’s start menu.
  2. Subsequently select your account’s username; this will then give you a number of options, one of which should be a link to your downloads folder.
  3. Click on the link to your downloads folder

 

From Windows Explorer

  1. Use the command, Win + E on your device’s keyboard
  2. Look for “Favorites” or “Computer/This PC”
  3. Downloads should be located just below this option

 

Searching

  1. Use the command, Win + R to open the search menu
  2. Type in the following—”shell:downloads”
  3. Press enter, and your downloads folder should be brought up

 

If you do not find your file in the download folder, your device may be saving them somewhere else.

Using the same methods, try searching for either your documents or desktop folders and checking there for your downloaded files. Alternatively, you can use the “search this PC” function to look for the name of the file that you just downloaded, if you know it.

 

Step Two: Opening the Files

Once you have located your .download file, the best way to deal with it is to finish downloading the content that the file contains.

If you cannot do this then you will probably be unable to get any information from the file itself—however, you could try to preview the file to see the information that has been downloaded thus far.

This can be done by attempting to extract the information from a software such as Online Convert, although this is not a guaranteed method. Sometimes, Google Chrome itself may also be able to open a .download file.

However, the only guaranteed way to access your content in full is to allow the download to continue.

 

How to open download files

The File extension download is used by following type(s):

Default file extension: Apple Safari partial downloads files

Apple Safari download manager give .download extension to incomplete download files. When the download is finished, download manager renamed file with original file extension.Programs
that open download files:

 

Chrome partial downloads files

It is associated with previous versions of Google Chrome web browser for its incomplete download file.

The latest version of Google Chrome is using the CRDOWNLOAD file extension instead.

Programs
that open download files:

 

Mozilla partial download files

It is associated with web browsers based on Mozilla Gecko web layout engine. Mozilla download manager gives .download extension to incomplete download files.

When the download is finished, download manager renames it to its original file extension. Probably used in older versions or of Firefox. Firefox 3 and later is using .PART file extension instead.

Programs: