Uploading Files To, And Downloading Files From The Internet

	Remember, any detailed instructions relate to Microsoft computers running on Windows 8, 10, or 11 operating systems.

Uploading Files to The Internet

There are many reasons why you would want to upload files to the internet. Just to be clear I am not talking here about saving files to “the cloud” using systems like “OneDrive” or “Dropbox”. Instead, I’m talking about uploading files to third-party websites or, indeed your own website.

Third-party websites

Examples of the type of files you may want to upload to third-party websites are:

• Your own photograph to sites like Facebook
• An image you wish to use as the header on your, for example, Facebook profile page
• The picture page of your passport to prove your age before joining any kind of site restricted to adults
• Your C.V. if you want to apply for a job of some kind
• Possibly a screenshot showing a problem you are encountering when you are asking for advice from a help desk
• And on many more occasions.

The website in question should make it clear how to upload the file you want to give to them. If it doesn’t, the only piece of advice I could give you is to try to email them and attach your file to the email. However, in all cases, the one thing that you will need to know is, where the file exists on your hard drive. This is another reason that you should logically organize your files using partitions, folders, and sub-folders, as explained in my last but one blog post entitled “The Hard Drive And The Memory – Their Purposes, And How To Keep Them “Tidy”. That blog post also strongly recommends that you download the app, “Altap Salamander” which eases the location of files.

Usually, once you have clicked in the appropriate place on the receiving website, you will be asked to click, or perhaps, double-click on the file you wish to upload. So, navigate to the correct partition, folder, and, if necessary, the sub-folder or sub-sub-folder, and locate the file. Check that both the file’s name and extension are correct, left-click or double-left-click on it, and the file should be uploaded. Depending on the size of your file, the upload will take anything from a few seconds to, say a minute. In many cases, a bar will appear across the screen showing the progress of the upload. Make sure you don’t click away from the page until the upload is 100% complete.

The file must be stored on your hard drive in the first instance. It cannot be directly scanned from your printer, or transferred from your mobile’s camera directly to the website. The file must exist on your computer’s hard drive. There’s nothing to stop you from deleting the file from your hard drive after it has been uploaded, but it must exist on your hard drive at the time of the upload.

Your own website(s)

Whether you use WordPress, or any other website or funnel builder, you will upload any images or other files that you wish to use in any of your pages, in the first place to the “Media” section of the builder. The file can then be “pulled” from the media section into the page you are creating. This can be done, using a “copy” technique or a “URL” technique depending on the builder in use.

Downloading Files From The Internet

It is very important before you download anything from a third party’s website, that you have anti-virus software from a recognized provider installed. I use “Eset” but there are many other well-known “brands” available. Good anti-virus software is not very expensive, but it is a very important investment. I would avoid free anti-virus software

There are many types of files that you may want to download from a third-party’s website. Some examples are:

• Videos or PDFs offered in return for you joining somebody’s email list. Also known as “lead magnets”
• Important instructional videos from your mentor, which may be later deleted from your mentor’s site, but which you want to keep for future reference
• Attachments to emails received
• Software of any kind that you have purchased
• And many more.

All downloads will go into your “Downloads” folder.

Where Do I Find My “Downloads” Folder?

There are several ways, but, in my experience, the easiest way is as follows:

• Click on the “File Explorer icon on your desktop or taskbar. The icon looks like a yellow folder in a blue holder, but, if you can’t find it, click on {The Windows Key} + {E} Simultaneously.
• Click on “Downloads” in the left sidebar
• Click on “properties” in the center of the top menu, twice
• Click on “Location”, at the top right of the pop-up. This will show you where your downloads folder is. You can change it if you want but I wouldn’t, unless you really know what you are doing.

This is where all of the downloads you request will end up. The free app “Altap Salamander” I recommended in my last but one blog post entitled “The Hard Drive And The Memory – Their Purposes, And How To Keep Them “Tidy”. comes in very handy here. If you have downloaded a program with a .exe extension, you can double-click it where it is and the program will be installed on your computer. After you have installed the program, and you have checked that you can access it properly, you may then delete the .exe file from your downloads folder. If you have downloaded any other kind of file you can move it, using “Altap Salamander” to wherever you want it to reside permanently.

I hope that this blog post has been helpful. Please comment or ask questions below. All comments will be replied to, and all questions will be answered.

Cheers

Phil

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