Files
Downloading files and zips
Download one file, a folder or a whole selection as a zip built while it downloads, and recover a share link that has already expired.
On this page
Select something and press Download. One file downloads directly from storage, at whatever speed your connection allows, without passing through a server of ours. A folder, or any selection of more than one thing, is packed into a zip instead.
How a zip download works#
The zip is built while it downloads. Nothing is prepared in advance and nothing is stored, so a 200 GB selection starts arriving in the same second as a small one and costs you no storage. Two consequences follow from that, and both are worth knowing before you start a large one.
- Your browser cannot show a percentage, because the final size is not known when the download starts. It will count bytes rather than show a bar.
- The download has to stay connected from beginning to end. There is no resume. On a laptop, plug it in and stop it sleeping.
Select
Files, folders, or a mix. Folders are walked all the way down.
Nemi resolves the list
Duplicate names get a numbered suffix so nothing is silently overwritten.
The zip streams
Entries are fetched and packed one after another, straight into the download.
What the person on the other end gets#
A share page offers each file on its own and everything together as one zip, built the same way. Somebody without an account can do both. Whether they may also save the files into their own Nemi workspace depends on their plan, and is described in Who can open a link.
Expired links, and getting one back#
A share link stops working at its expiry date. The files are untouched: only the link expired, and you can always make a new one. But when a client is standing in front of the old link, recovery is faster than explaining.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who can recover an expired link? | The sender, on Creator, Pro, Max and Business. Starter and free accounts make a new link instead. |
| Can the recipient do it themselves? | Yes, if they were a party to the link, meaning it was sent to them or their address was on it, and the sender's plan allows recovery. |
| How long is the window? | 30 days after the link expired. |
| What do you get back? | The same link, live again for 24 hours. |
| And after 30 days? | The link and its statistics are deleted for good. Your files stay in your workspace. |
Every link you have ever made, live or expired, is listed in the link manager. Press command shift L, or see Managing your links.
The zip stopped halfway.
The connection dropped, or the machine slept. Start it again. For a very large set, downloading two or three folders separately is more reliable than one enormous archive.
Safari unzipped it automatically and I wanted the zip.
That is a Safari setting: turn off "Open safe files after downloading" in its General preferences.
Can I see who downloaded what?
Yes, per link, in the link manager. With Trace on you also see opens and reading time.
Related
Still stuck? Email support@nemilab.com and tell us what you were trying to do.