# Downloads Source: https://metadock.app/docs/downloads # Downloads When you run a dozen browsers across several profiles, the usual per-browser download shelf falls apart fast. MetaDock puts every download from every browser and every profile into one dock, with real pause and resume controls and a history that survives restarts. ## How do I open the downloads dock? The Downloads dock behaves like any other dock: it lives inside your layout, you can tile it wherever you want, and it is saved and restored with the workspace. Actions and the keyboard shortcuts bound to them Action Shortcut Open downloads from a browser Ctrl+J Open the downloads dock from the layout Ctrl+Alt+D You can also open it from the layout menu, or from the notification that appears when a download starts or finishes. If the dock is already open somewhere in your layout, MetaDock brings that one forward instead of creating a second copy. ## What does each download row tell me? Every download is a card. Active and finished downloads share the same list, so you are not switching between a “current” and a “past” view. On the card and What it tells you On the card What it tells you File name The name the file is being saved under Source The address the file came from Profile Which profile the download belongs to, color-coded to match the profile Progress Bytes received against the total, with a smoothed transfer speed Status Downloading, paused, completed, cancelled, or failed with the reason Profile attribution is the part people notice first. If three profiles are pulling files at once you can tell at a glance which client, account, or workspace each file belongs to, instead of guessing from the file name. ## Can I pause, resume, cancel, or retry a download? Each card carries the controls for its own download: - •Pause: stops the transfer and keeps what has already been written - •Resume: picks up where it left off, so a large file does not restart from zero - •Cancel: stops the transfer and discards the partial file - •Retry: re-runs a failed download using the same session it started in, so files behind a login still work - •Open file: opens the finished file with its default application - •Show in folder: opens Windows Explorer with the file selected - •Remove: drops the download from the list without touching the file on disk Note Resuming depends on the server. Some servers do not support continuing a partial transfer; when that is the case MetaDock disables Resume, or restarts the file from the beginning rather than risk stitching together a corrupt one. This is a property of the site you are downloading from, not a setting. A file is only written to its final name once it has fully downloaded. Until then it sits under a temporary name, so you can never accidentally open a half-written file, and cancelling leaves nothing behind. ## How do I find an old download again? The dock has a filter bar across the top: - •Search: match by file name or source address - •Filter by status: show only what is still in flight, or only what failed - •Sort: reorder the list, newest first by default Your search text, filter, and sort choice are part of the dock, so a restored workspace comes back with the same view you left. To tidy up, use **Clear completed** to drop everything that has finished, cancelled, or failed, or **Clear all**to empty the list entirely. Clearing the list removes MetaDock's record of the download; it never deletes the downloaded files. ## Where do downloaded files actually go? Downloads go to your configured download folder, which you set in [Settings](https://metadock.app/docs/settings). If a file with the same name is already there, MetaDock saves the new one under a unique name rather than overwriting. Files downloaded through MetaDock are marked as having come from the internet, the same way any other browser marks them, so Windows SmartScreen and your antivirus treat them with the usual caution. ## How am I told when a download finishes? When a download starts or finishes, a small toast appears in the corner of the window with a button that jumps straight to the dock. If the Downloads dock is already visible on screen, the toast is suppressed; you can already see what happened. ## What else should I know about downloads? Every browser and every profile writes into the same dock rather than a separate shelf each, and that list survives restarts. Transfers still in flight do not: close MetaDock mid-download and it is marked interrupted, ready to Retry. - •One dock, every browser: downloads from every browser and every profile land in the same list, rather than one shelf per browser - •History survives restarts: the list is stored locally and comes back when you reopen MetaDock - •In-flight downloads do not survive a restart: close MetaDock mid-download and that transfer is marked as interrupted; use Retry to start it again - •The dock is part of your workspace: save it into a layout and it reopens where you put it, with its filters intact - •Automation can drive it: downloads can be started, listed, paused, resumed, and cancelled from the API; see the API docs For starting and controlling downloads from a script or an AI assistant, see the [API reference](https://metadock.app/api-docs). One downloads dock across every browser is a consequence of the workspace model. [See the full feature tour](https://metadock.app/features). 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