Projects are assigned to each website download. The minimum information that is required is the website address. Most users may want to change the project configuration to to better control what gets downloaded from the website. The default download depth is set to download the selected page and all pages that are linked from that page. This alone can go well into the hundreds of pages. Users who want to download more of the website can change the download level in the project settings.

File filters can be configured to only download specific files or types of files from the website. This ranges from only downloading HTML files to audio, video, document and user defined files.

It is for instance possible to download only zip archives from the selected website.

Preferences determine how links and download locations are handled. Downloads range from strictly including downloads that are in the same directory structure to downloads from all over the Internet.

The program distinguishes between followed and unfollowed links with options to make them relative, absolute or leave them as they are.

A click on the download button pulls the information from the selected web address, parses the information and begins the download of all files that fall into selected parameters.

Users need to make sure that they define the right web address for the download, www.ghacks.net and ghacks.net are handled as two different web addresses (which is correct by the way).

All downloaded files and the file structure is displayed in the project contents sidebar during and after the downloads have finished.

It is possible to click on a link to load the downloaded page right in the Fresh WebSuction interface. The files can also be opened in another web browser by loading them directly in that browser. Fresh WebSuction offers to display the online version of the web page as well.

Projects can be updated by selecting that option from the file menu or Download button.

Options are available that are used by all projects. Here it is possible to configure Internet connection details like the number of simultaneous download threads, timeouts and delays, the number of retries, if cookies should be used and how the program should identify itself to the website.

Fresh WebSuction is an easy to use website downloader. It is not nearly as complex as HTtrack which supports additional features like authentication but that does not have to be a disadvantage depending on the project at hand.

The software program is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Downloads are provided at the developer website (with email registration) and third party download portals like Softpedia.

The Firefox extension FireMirror uses a similar technique as the last suggestion to download websites to the local hard drive. It basically is a website mirroring software that can automatically download a website based on the user’s parameters. The default setting will for instance download the active page plus every page that is linked from that page. The depth, which is the parameter that defines the number of pages that the website downloader will download, can be configured in the program’s options. The maximum depth is 10 and the minimum 0.

Additional options include configuring the timeout duration, disabling link replacements, enabling reports or configuring filters to include urls with a specific string. The configuration can be saved as a profile to speed up future download runs.

A basic browser is provided in another tab that can be used to browse the website that is being downloaded but it is usually a better idea to load the downloaded pages instead from the hard drive (the browser will retrieve pages that have not been downloaded).

The local pages use relative paths so that the downloaded websites and pages can be moved around without breaking the navigation.

The extension is provided in an early version. There is for instance no stop or cancel button which means the process can only be stopped by clicking on the x button on the extension window. The report is also not working at this time.

FireMirror could become an interesting alternative to desktop software like HTTrack. The add-on is compatible with Firefox 3.6+ and can be downloaded from the Mozilla website.

Update: The Fire Mirror extension is no longer available. We suggest to use HTTrack which is linked above to download entire websites.

The question that some of you might be asking is why would someone want to rip a website ? You could rip websites for offline browsing purposes. Maybe you have a second computer without direct internet access but would like to view the website on this computer as well. A website that gives an overview over a programming language is a good example. Another reason would be to save the information that is on the website this way, maybe you fear that the website might be offline soon.

The HTTrack website offers a step by step guide that can be used to understand the main features of the tool and rip your first website using the settings of the tutorial. HTTrack is available for Windows and Unix, Linux & BSD.

Getleft is a simple website downloader that downloads the websites that you want to browse offline. All links will be converted to relative links means you don´t have links that point to urls. It´s able to resume downloads and also able to follow external links.

WinHTTrack arranges the original site’s relative link-structure. Simply open a page of the ‘mirrored’ website in your browser, and you can browse the site from link to link, as if you were viewing it online. WinHTTrack can also update an existing mirrored site, and resume interrupted downloads. WinHTTrack is fully configurable, and has an integrated help system. NOTES: WinHTTrack is the Windows release of HTTrack.

HTTrack 3.44-1 Offline Browser Utility

HTTrack is a free offline browser utility that allows you to download www. Sites directly from the internet and arrange them in a local directory. This recursively builds all directories, HTML, images, and various other files from the server to your computer. HTTrack works with the original site and its relative link-structure.

Offline viewing is similar to collecting a library of websites, text and images. You are able to browse these sites as if you were online when you are actually offline. If you anticipate that you will be offline for any given reason and still need to access online information, this is a great way to do it. Of course, you can only view what you download to the local directory.

The result is the ability to browse any site from any link to any other link as long as they are downloaded to the local directory. All you have to do is open the mirrored page of the website in your browser as though you were viewing online. Offline viewing can be advantageous when you have multiple sites that you need to cross-reference while offline. Now HTTrack will update existing mirrored sites and any interrupted downloads will be resumed. It can be fully configured to needed specifications and includes an integrated help system to make it easy to use for beginners.

The Windows 200/XP/Vista/7 release of HTTrack is called WinHTTrack. The Linux/Unix/BSD release version is WebHTTrack. Most Unix versions are available, including Ubuntu, of course. This is convenient for users utilizing virtualization and running multiple operating systems. You can download as many versions of HTTrack as needed to fit VHDs or multiple boot systems. All versions are available on the download page, including versions for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Download from the following link:

http://www.httrack.com/page/2/

You will immediately notice that a version is available for virtually any operating system. Be sure to choose the right one or it simply will not work. This is only mentioned for those running more than one operating system on a single computer as mentioned above. It is an easy mistake to make; installing the wrong download to the wrong operating system.

Another link includes all Documentation for HTTrack. Anything that you need to know about the latest version of HTTrack is here. Simply click on the desired header for specifics. The information is too extensive to detail here, but you can find all of the specifics here:
http://www.httrack.com/html/index.html

For the truly technical users out there, you can get all of the specifics regarding the release changes from a link on the same page links above. For your convenience, the link to the release changes in the current edition is included here: http://www.httrack.com/history.txt

The utility is pretty much the same as before, with many minor changes that create improvements that may be significant to some and unapparent to other users. Regardless, this is a useful utility which any user can utilize as an offline browsing utility.