Open DOWNLOAD File

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Partial Download Browser Files

Partial download browser files are used by internet browsers to store temporary file download state. Each file downloaded via a browser is stored in a partial download file until the download is complete. When download is complete the partial download file is renamed to match the downloaded file name.

There are several reasons why partial download files are used by browsers. Firstly, it allows to resume downloads in case of a crash. Not every download could be resumed since a web server needs to support download resume function for it to proceed, but many servers do support this feature. Secondly, it is impossible to store large downloads in computer memory. It is necessary to swap already downloaded information to some place on a disk and partial download file is a de-facto storage for it.

Partial download files use a simple naming convention. Partial download file extension is attached to the end of the file name to specify that file has not yet finished download. Different browsers use different partial download file extensions. For example, Apple Safari uses DOWNLOAD file extension, Google Chrome uses CRDOWNLOAD file extension, Mozilla Firefox uses PART file extension, and Internet Explorer uses PARTIAL file extension. When download is complete partial download file extension is removed from the end of the file name and download is marked as complete.

Depending on type of the file it could be either opened when download is complete or stored for future use. Each browser has specific settings on which files it will open after download.

Mobile internet browsers work differently with downloads. For example, iOS doesn’t allow user to access partially downloaded files. On the contrary, Android Google Chrome stores partial download in CRDOWNLOAD files on a device storage.

If you see partial download file on your hard drive and want to know whether download to it could be completed, you need to find a corresponding browser for it and resume the download in a download status window.

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