The developer tells me there's more to come in a pro version for early 2010. I've tried a lot of ftp/download extensions and jDownloads offers the best and easiest front end access I need for a company intranet site that I've found. Lots of control on the back end and with file handling/viewing. The developer is quite responsive. The guy who complained about the code and gave the ext two stars should have given him a chance. I hope to see jDownloads add custom control of access groups and password protected downloads. Until that happens I can't use it with sensitive company material. Would make the perfect extension. But well worth installing as it is.

To be fair I have to say that Jdownloads does what it says it can do. However it is what is going on behind the scenes that you have to be worried about. The HTML output is horrible and does not adhere to web standards. When I went to validate the mark up there where upward of 30 errors with the XHTML. so I did a little digging and found unclosed tag along with empty tables. There where id's being used twice in the same document. There are also oodles of empty div tags that simple contain nothing. There was even an ending tag for a form that was never opened. Unless you don't care about complying to web standards or have a few hours to mess around with the code to make it compliant then I would recommend another solution. After spending a few hours messing with the code I have decided to move on to another option.

I was looking for a download component that works well with joomfish. I found it with jDownloads.
I was looking for a download component that is easy to extend and easy to personalize. I found jDownloads
I was looking for a download component that is easy to skin, easy to design a costum template.
I also was looking for a component with some support, i resistered to the developers forum and recieved answers to my questions.

jDownloads rocks.

I am not a programmer, just a webdesigner, but the jDownloads code is so well documented and easy to understand that i can personalize jDownloads with my poor programming skills.

Give it a try, you will love it.

tymoe

Downloaded, installed in less than ten minutes and it's woeking perfect¡¡¡

Very nice layout and an awesome control panel it seems to be part of joomla¡¡¡

Great work, thanks developers¡¡¡¡

I have my Domain name parked and forwarded to a subdirectory on my Hosts shared server.

Joomla's SEF and append .html are activated, rewrite is of. So my Domain name shows in the url bar whatever the page view.

But the links and downloads still work perfectly.

JDownloads is the most complete download component I have found for Joomla!
After using docman for many years I had to look for a new component since docman seems to not really be in a hurry to develop a native 1.5 version. So I finally found JDownloads and was impressed about the thousands of settings you can do in there.
When started I really didn't have read all about the settings and came up with a question which was replied in a reasonable to good time.
Finally I really can recommend this component to all users

Tried several before settling for JDownloads. I would not say it is the best but rather the best for my needs.
It is easy to config and with ftp uploads - all sorted. Brilliant.

This is the best file download I have tried out. It has lots of options. My only disappointment is that I can't figure out how to link the mp3 player with my mp3 files. It's a GREAT feature...if you know how to get it to work. However this feature isn't supported and the player's website gave me no clue as to how to use it with Joomla. Couldn't figure out what to download or even what to do with the downloads. Almost an excellent rating!

First of all i want to say a big thank you for providing a so great component for free!

Installed and have it running in 3 minutes!

Very easy to use and understand and many options that will help everyone to customize it to his needs!

Also the easy integration with jcomments is a big +

However some things could make it even more powerful !!

what im missing..

1. I think there should be a "report download" link

2. An integrated "voting system" for the downloads

3. when using it with jcomments and viewing a list of downloads in subcategory view, it will be nice to have a "number of comments" notice..
ex.
download 1 (## number of comments)
download 2 (## number of comments)

4. An option for the uploaders to be able to update/delete their uploads ... and also to be able to view all of their uploaded files.

5. A "sort by" option for the frontend (subcategory view)

sort downloads by ...
name
rating
date added
date modified


Again maybe some things missing but this is a great component anyway, and is recommended to everybody :)

Thank you very much again!
Best regards

after going through about all download comp's out there this stands out

every possible feature you may want is here and specially auto detection

2 missing stuff though
1- Native
2- pdf pre-review ( like in docman )

and thats it

keep the updates alive admin :)

I've used a number of different download components but none to match this one!
Loving the features such as selecting multiple files and downloading them in a single zip file... awesome!

Great support as well. I had a few problems at first but Arno helped me sort it the same day.

Top notch!

i need external link on the front end and when published it should navigate to the link & show download browser.

This is a great add-on to my site. Its easy to configure and keeps track of downloads for my stats. For me it was important to have a dload manager that can handle any media content and this will do everything.

My only suggestions is

To have a setting so that public can see all the downloads but only members can download them. I want to water peoples appitite which will encourage them to register.

At the moment if i set the permissions only members can see these downloads.

Hello

I do recommend these as really a powerful download manager joomla and we must not always look the download because they are often not the best software really excellent

Best regards
Mr. Timothy

I agree with dpages when he says -
//I've just spent the past month or so evaluating the download components available here, and jDownloads is the one I'm going to be using. For me, the ability to upload a mass of files via FTP and then work my way through them adding in detail is a must - it means half my work can be left overnight. Much easier than uploading files one at a time.//
I agree with some other user states -
//The product is VERY easy to use and understand. The flexibility should appeal to any developer.// True!
JDownloads is the best download component I have seen among all joomla downloads extensions. Dot.
I was looking for a component that would also allow registered users to upload files to the website and I find that feature too excellently integrated in JDownloads! Great!

* What I am missing is the ablity to file level permissions. For example I want my download area to be accessible to "Public", but when they try to download a file the registration form should appear (i.e. file level access permission is set to 'registered').
* A rating system also would be much appreciated.
* Currently it works Joomla 1.5 in legacy mode only. A version that works in Joomla 1.5 native mode would have been great.

This component is best in its type. easy to manage. Import thousands of files with 1 click :) good information and modules.

i downloaded JDownloads and was uploading filed on my site in 5 minutes, this is a very customizable and awesome program. It is a must if you will be providing users with downloadable files!

Very good component indeed, but unfortunately not useful for me. It would've been the perfect download component if it would have support for custom groups (created with JACL). This is a big lack from my point of view.

Maybe in the future...

I have been using the jDownloads extension for some time now and I must say that I'm am very impressed with it. I particluarly like the control one has over the formatting of the download pages. It's very configurable, flexible and really user friendly.

It's still not 100% perfect, there are still one or two admin glitches in it, however, it works ok at the all important front end.

In time I reckon this may become the most preferred downloads plugin.

Works fine with Joomla v1.5.9 as well.

Keep up the good work boyz!

Thank you for creating J Downloads. We installed it and started using it immediately on our eMagazine site. We believe that offering reprints of articles and the ability for teachers to download course material via JDownload will greatly improve our hit rate and overall exposure.

The product is VERY easy to use and understand. The flexibility should appeal to any developer.

THANKS again, and keep up the outstanding work!