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How do I download audio content from 4shared?

I want to download an mp3 recording that a company has put online at the site 4shared.com, but every time I click on the "download" link, it actually opens up another window and plays the $#@$@# file with no download possible!


Dave's Answer:

That's a common problem and it's caused by Web browsers being too darn smart for their own - and our own - good. When I recently wanted to grab a file from 4shared.com, I experienced the exact same thing. Here's what I saw:

Download Audio Content from 4shared.com

It sure looks like clicking on the little globe button would start a download, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it doesn't and instead I end up with this:

Audio Content played back with Quicktime, not downloaded

Not good, especially since the "Save" feature is disabled when I try to use it. Instead, the secret is to right-click (or Ctrl-click for you Macheads) on the globe icon on the download page. You'll get a pop-up menu with many useful options:

Web browser: Download Context Menu

This is a general solution for anything you want to save, and in this case the choice I used was "Download Linked File As..." and gave it a mnemonic name. A few seconds later I had a nice MP3 file on my desktop ready to copy onto my iPod and review away from my computer.



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