FMS Models/Scenes Auto Downloader Installer

I wrote this utility, now refer to as the downloader, almost a couple years ago. Something for myself to collect and install FMS models and landscapes without the tedious process of downloading each zip file to a location, unzip, then copy the extracted files to a location under the Models or Scenes Folder of FMS.

There are about 1000 models from various web locations. The task of downloading and installing can be daunting, even if you have access to broadband. It's almost hopeless if you have a slow dial-up.

Recent events compelled me to release the utility to the public domain. What happened to me is best known in the software industry as an "Osama" (a la Bin Ladin). Read about it here.
 

In summary, the downloader will take an URL (web page address) that contains links for the models and landscapes zip files. The downloader will do the following:

• Scan the web page for all zip files
• Download each zip files (to the \download sub-folder where FMS is installed)
• Depending on the content of the zip file (model or landscape), extract (unzip) the related files to a user-defined sub-folder of \models or \landscapes.
• Delete the zip file (optional)

A list containing multiple URLs can be entered, and the downloader will traverse the whole list, visiting all the sites on the list. You can either enter your own list, or just get a list from me (one click away).
 

If you have one of my latest free CD, then the downloader is included and will be installed with the "additional...", see here.

You can download the downloader here (DLsetup.exe). It is a self-extracting installation. You can either run it directly or download to a temporary location and run it from there. Installation is straightforward, you can choose the default location or override this to a location of your choosing.

Installation Screens for those who downloaded the downloader:
 

DLSetup.exe is launched, the Installation Wizard is preparing the install files

Welcome Screen

License Agreement, you must accept the terms to proceed. The downloader is NOT freeware.

The Default Destination folder is shown, you can change this if necessary

Ready to Install, click Install to start

Installation progress

Installation completed. A shortcut to the downloader is available on your desktop. You can also access the downloader in your [Start] [All Programs] under the [Toms RC] folder

It is required that FMS is installed, the downloader will check the registry for the download location of FMS. If FMS has not been installed, the downloader will not proceed.

Assuming the install folder of FMS is [c:\Program Files\FMS], the base location of all downloads will be [c:\Program Files\FMS\download]. The download folder and any sub-folders will be automatically. I usually name the sub-folder after the designer or website of the models.

Assuming the install folder of FMS is [c:\Program Files\FMS], the base location of the extracted models will be under [c:\Program Files\FMS\Models\download]. Similarly, the base location of the extracted landscapes will be [c:\Program Files\FMS\Landscapes\download]

Downloader Limitations

Only zip files are supported, other compressed files will not be located (such as rar, tar, etc...). Only zip files in simple html tags are located, reference links of zip files with extra tags will not be located (very very few links have extra tags, but some might).

Error messages are now just cryptic numbers. Most errors I've seen are usually a bad zip files or a dead link.

Some duplication of models and landscapes are inevitable, base on my latest count, using the downloader and the pre-installed models, there are over 900 unique aircraft.

If installed properly, you can start the downloader from the shortcut on your desktop, or from your [Start] [All Programs] [Toms RC] folder

Typically you will just click [Load Sites] and then click [Go]

The [Load Sites] button will check my server and load the SITE List with a list of the sites I've located. You can also type in your own list.

The [Go] button will start to check each site for models and landscapes zip files and start the download/install. The button will change to [Stop]; clicking on [Stop] will abort the download process. As each site is opened, any located zip files will be shown in the Zip List.

The only option available is the checkbox for [delete zip]. If checked, the download zip file will be deleted after the extraction (unzip) of the model or landscape files. Unless you are running low on disk space, it's recommended not to check this option. If for some reason the program crashed or interrupted, any download zip files will not be download again (if it wasn't deleted).

The [FMS Path] will show the installed path of FMS.

Clicking on Visit Tom's... will bring you to this web site, please do!

SITE List

The Site List occupies the top half of the running screen. You can type in your own list or just click [Load Sites] and the list will be populated with default values from my server.

The syntax of the Site List consist of a [SubDir=?] tag, and the URLs (web sites). Any blank lines will be ignored, The [SubDir=?] takes one argument, where ? is the name of the sub-folder for subsequent downloads. You must use legal characters for the ? argument as it will be used for folder names under Windows.

For example:

[SubDir=YositoSekiai] http://rcp.web.infoseek.co.jp/fms_myPlane_e.html http://rcp.web.infoseek.co.jp/fms_scenery_e.html [SubDir=Shinichiro_Nishiya] http://rcp.web.infoseek.co.jp/fms_Plane_Shinichiro.html

This will create the following subfolders:
for the zip files:
c:\Program Files\FMS\download\YositoSekiai
for the Models:
c:\Program Files\FMS\Models\download\YositoSekiai
for the Landscapes:
c:\Program Files\FMS\Landscapes\download\YositoSekiai

After completing the downloads for this group, the program will then proceed to the next SubDir (Shinichiro_Nishiya)

While running, the caption line of the SITE List will show the progress count and site name under process.

ZIP List

The Zip List occupies the bottom half of the running screen. This list is populated by the downloader. It will contain the zip files located for the present Site under process. The list will be cleared after the completion of downloading for each site.

While running, the caption line of the ZIP List will show the progress count and the zip file being downloaded.

Error Messages

Not all sites will contain valid model files, some site will be dead, and some zip files may be corrupted. The program will display an error number/message, all you will have to do is click OK and the download will continue.