How to use IDM on Mozilla Firefox Quantum

Question

I want to use Internet Download Manager for downloading on Firefox. According to this answer it can be done with the extension called Flashgot. But Flashgot does not work on new Firefox Quantum. However, I found this extension that can be used to interrupt browser's downloading jobs by redirecting these jobs to an external download manager like Internet Download Manager (IDM). But I don't know how to integrate IDM with this new extension. I wrote IDM's location (/.wine/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Internet Download Manager/IDMan.exe) in the box that says "Path to the executable" but when I try to download something, an error is appearing.

The preference page of the extension

The error that is appearing while trying to download files

How can I make it work? Thanks beforehand!

Solution 1

Considering the extension mentioned (http://add0n.com/dowlnoad-with.html?from=idm) saying that it works in Windows, in order to avoid further comments I will post here.

The extension you mentioned is available at that address through these buttons/links:

But, as this is about Firefox, the link for the Firefox version is NOT available: see here; neither is the one for Chrome (here), while the one for Opera can be installed, but I suspect it is made to work with a Windows installation. It might be directed to Wine/Playonlinux, and in Opera I can see what you are asking. You should post a question on Opera.

Or, as you have IDM installed already, if you do have that extension in place, and all you need is to try a path to IDM, I have looked around on that and it should look like wine ~/.wine/drive_c.../etc/etc/IDMan.exe. If you have spaces in path (like Program Files (x86)/Internet Download Manager), use quotes around that. About that, here.

Testing in Opera, I have added this path: wine "~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Internet Download Manager/IDMan.exe". Selecting IDM for a download link from right-click context menu like in the image below

I was redirected to a page within the extension (not a url that I could post here) saying that (just like for uGet - see the second part of this answer) we need a separate client. This is the page:

See if you can access it here (although that might only work in Opera): chrome-extension://kajaikkhnmegmfnlifeklklaienhdekb/data/guide/index.html#

The links in that page are:

• to the Linux client: the same as the above; clicking the link downloads the client, copy/pasting the link opens that page above

• to all the clients: https://github.com/belaviyo/native-client/releases

• youtube links on installation, for Windows and Mac&Linux.

The idea is to unpack the archive for Linux and execute the .install.sh file. But even after that I get an error:

That is:

Download with Internet Download Manager (IDM)
Error: spawn /usr/share/playonlinux/playonlinux --run IDM %F /d ENOENT
at exports._errnoException (util.js:1020:11)
at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:197:32)
at onErrorNT (internal/child_process.js:376:16)
at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:80:11)
at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:104:9)

The same happened when installing IDM in Playonlinux.

So, it seems I have not been able to go further than you did (and only in Opera), but I will try again and post here.

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As a workaround, you could manually add the download link to IDM. That is easy for simple download links, but for downloading videos you need a video/flash downloader (an alternative to Flashgot) that would provide an option to copy the link. In Opera I use FVD Video Downloader, in Firefox (as you already have that addon that is not available for me anymore) there is for example Video Downloader Prime.

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As a complement to the answer mentioning uGet:

uGet is indeed the IDM alternative in Linux and it can be integrated in Firefox, but the other answer lacks instructions on installation.

The uGet versions from repos is not updated, better use the PPA available on the official pagge here.

Stable:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:plushuang-tw/uget-stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install uget 

Or even the development version:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:plushuang-tw/uget-devel
sudo apt update
sudo apt install uget

Integration can be done automatically if uGet is open, it will capture the download link when copied (in Firefox, "Copy link location"); or, for a thorough integration of all downloads (until Flashgot is refurbished to work with Quantum) with this addon, which instead needs the installation of uget-integrator (uget-chrome-wrapper is deprecated).

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:uget-team/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install uget-integrator

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Solution 2

You don't need to install IDM to replace the FlashGot add-on in Firefox 57, because FlashGot's functionality is also duplicated by uGet from the default Ubuntu repositories. uGet's Clipboard Monitor is all you need for browser integration.

uGet is a lightweight and very powerful download manager application. You can install uGet in all currently supported versions of Ubuntu with this command:

sudo apt install uget  

There is an option in the uGet settings to always show a uGet system tray icon in the notification area of the panel to the left of the clock and volume icons.

Features

• Resume downloads – If your connection is interrupted, you can start right back where you left off with download resuming. (not guaranteed, it's server controlled and cannot be bypassed by a download manager)
• Queue downloads
• Classify downloads in categories
• Batch downloads
• Multi-Protocol – support for downloading files through HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, BitTorrent and Metalink
• Clipboard monitoring
• Import a list of URLs to download via .txt or .html files

uGet also can be launched from the terminal with the command: uget-gtk

Solution 3

I know the question is not about an alternative, but that cannot be avoided. IDM has superior features in many respects though, and I would also like to see all those at work in Linux.

The IDM extension for Firefox is in fact here. It needs the installation of a second tool - shown when trying to download.

It shows on right-click on download link.

After adding the link to the executable (of playonlinux or wine) within the addon preferences it shows this though:

The only progress I made was using a script idm.sh:

#!/bin/bash

/usr/share/playonlinux/playonlinux --run "IDMan" 

and the path to that in the extension preferences

In this way IDM at least starts on right-click, and we can confirm that the extension is working — also, adding uGet instead of IDM, uGet works (just like with the uGet extension) — unlike many other on the Firefox addon site that claim to open online videos in MPV, etc. By the way, this one works with MPV for now, )

A new right-click on the same link to copy it, and the procedure of adding it manually to IDM becomes one-step shorter.

Another good addon that has resurfaced in Quantum is OpenWith. Made for Internet browsers, it can also launch players and downloaders. But with that too, IDM just opens.

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But even if that did work (starting a download from a given link, which uGet, XDM and many other native tools can already do in Linux) it wouldn't match the IDM Windows performance: of being able to capture multimedia streams (download links) by itself.. — That I never heard mentioned about IDM in Linux with Wine/Playonlinux! (Did you?) I guess that IDM operation through Wine is limited in the sense that the floating tool that signals that the clipboard is monitored doesn't work here.

(Just like uGet, IDM in Linux needs the link of a multimedia stream to be added by other means. Other answers mention various addons for this purpose, I like this addon.)

No program can do in Linux what IDM does in Windows:

excepting XDM:

there is a new 2020 version HERE. Firefox addon HERE. Not only it works on Mac, Windows and Linux, but it's completely free.

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As for IDM, I'm not without hope that something like uGet integration (as promised by that IDM Firefox addon) could be achieved (depending on the IDM and Wine versions and on the method of installation).

Comments

[user688056]

you could use a similar download manager addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/downthemall

[Steve]

@user688056 it's not compatible with my version of Firefox too

[user688056]

just sow the incompatibility sry; you can use this download-installer.cdn.mozilla.net/pub/firefox/releases to dl old releases; i just tested 56.0.2(last one before 57) it has the requirements; you can find both win/linux editions; the linux ones come in .tar.bz2 archives.. you just unzip them and run the executable firefox; before you run the executable delete "updater" file in the same folder as firefox so it will not autoupdate; make a backup of your .mozilla profile

[Steve]

@cipricus you mean flashgot?

[Steve]

@cipricus yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

[Steve]

@cipricus The extension that I wrote in my question (add0n.com/dowlnoad-with.html?from=idm) is available and it does work but I just don't know how to make it work in Ubuntu. In my windows machine it's working well.

[Admin]

See my edited answer. Have you successfully installed that Firefox extension for IDM in Linux? The Firefox addon seems unavailable, just like that for Chrome. I was able to install only that for Opera. By the way: have you tested uGet? It has up to 16 concurrent connections. I have tested IDM with Flashgot in older Firefox and Palemoon and it provides no advantage over uGet.

[Steve]

Yes, I have installed the IDM extensio, but can't make it work with IDM itself which is run via Wine. And yeah I know uGet is helpful but I find IDM better.

[Admin]

I am posting right now a solution for Opera, as I cannot find a good link from where to install the addon for Firefox. Do you have such a link?

[Steve]

addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/idm-download-manager

[cipricus]

uGet cannot capture multimedia links and add them to a download list as IDM can. But that capability is present in XDM