XDM - current status and roadmap · subhra74/xdm · Discussion #768 (original) (raw)

XDM is migrating to C# 9/DotNet 6 for a fast, lean and better user experience

Windows version (Experimental/Unstable) can be downloaded from https://github.com/subhra74/xdm-experimental-binaries/releases. Linux version is also available. Once both version reaches stability Mac version will follow.

XDM was written in Java. It proved to be a good choice in 2013 for a cross platform application, but not without some major drawbacks.
Some of the major problems XDM is facing because of Java is:

HiDPI support (Java swing was not built for HiDPI support, although swing works somewhat fine on Windows, Linux HiDPI support is not good.
Supporting non English characters in Swing UI
Large memory footprint. Idle XDM process takes about 40MB of RAM
Installer size is too large. XDM bundles Java runtime as part of its installer and Java Runtime size is about 25MB!

Solution: XDM is being re-written in DotNet to solve above problems.
New XDM will use

Separate UI frameworks of each operating system, WPF for Windows (We will move to WinUI3 in future), Gtk3 for Linux. This will help XDM working closer with operating system theme and create better user experience.
Smaller installer size - around 5~7 MB
RAM usage around 15~20 MB
Better HiDPI support using WPF for Windows and GTK3 for Linux. Xamarin will be used for Mac
Light and Dark theme
Native messaging technology to have smooth integration with browsers

Changes in browser extension

There is also some changes how XDM interacts with the browser. From version 8.0.6, browser extension will only be used to intercept file downloads. Video download option is added in the XDM application itself. It is under New button. New->Video download.
I am forced to make this change because of repeated warning and threats from Chrome web store and Firefox extension store to disable/delete the extension. Since detecting streaming video requires monitoring users network traffic, the reviewers often thinks that XDM extension is doing some malicious activity. In the past the extension was taken down several times for this reason and though it was restored later on, users often get confused and suspicious of XDM. I also received warning from Chrome web store that the extension is being used to download copyright protected contents, so from now on XDM will delegate all its video downloading tasks to another open source tool yt-dlp to fetch video links from URL. XDM will not have any video downloading code itself and will take video download links from yt-dlp as general URL and will leave the decision of determining whether content is legal/copyright protected up to the user.

All new code is being pushed to the following branch (https://github.com/subhra74/xdm/tree/feature/8.0.1)

Thank you for your support and understanding!

Here is a preview how new version will look like

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taking longer than expected but worth it.

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2 replies

No! The New UI looks more friendly and easy to use.

Hi @subhra74 could you tell me how to build this project using command line? Or are you build this app using visual studio? Please write the docs, so we can read guides correctly.

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4 replies

once it reaches pre-release/alpha version, I will update the docs, for now the project can be compiled in Visual studio 2019

@subhra74
can i ask you some questions ？
xdm google chrome extension cannot check.
xdm service is over since 2020？

you,too？
sorry to bother you from repeating the same discussion.
i cannot afford to read all discussions on the issue.

once it reaches pre-release/alpha version, I will update the docs, for now the project can be compiled in Visual studio 2019

Jesus wake up 😒

Thanks for the effort. Really appreciate it!

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Thanks for updating the app . it is so usefull . love your app so much bhai

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Can XDM download video playlist in the future?

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2 replies

Yes

Thank you developers, XDM imporoved significantly in this version.

I am really waiting for that for a long time. We needed some upgrades in the UI also, but I would recommend keeping the XDM icon in the title bar.

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The icon will be there in titlebar, this image are just to give an idea

I was hoping it would be Qt for Linux :/ damn

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Unfortunately Qt does not have good support for DotNet and also Qt libs are pretty heavy in term of installer size

Is it impossible to add channel tracking function to next gen XDM?

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Can you please elaborate a bit about it?

I hope there's a function to track a specific channel (Youtube, Video, Dailymotion etc) and download automatically a new video when it's uploaded.

@erlingmich you can file an issue for this feature and tag the issue as enhancements

Any chance of supporting torrent downloads too like MotrixApp?

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3 replies

At the moment no, but torrent support will be there in future

I would love to switch to new XDM from my current torrent downloader, qbittorrent.

Wow ! I cant wait. But Qt would be good for Linux 🙂.

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yeah Qt works really good in both Ubuntu GTK-based and KDE

but either ways is fine as long as it's not swing

The problem with qt is that it does not have good dotnet binding

Yeah QT means you can use one UI toolkit for both linux and windows but it also means a bigger binary and the headaches which come with Qt. PyQT5 is pretty decent wonder if python will be too slow for XDM.

Choosing Python +QT would have great choice, unfortunately it’s a bit late now to change

Woo! am looking forward for the release. Thanks for the hard work you are putting out. Really appreciate it.

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Looks like FDM now. But appreciate the effort. I like the new UI and it's a good step toward a faster and leaner experience. Cannot wait to test it out.

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Can we get a preview of the separate download progress window? If you left it out or gave one a low priority, take a note from the Free Download Manager Team's analytics. Removing the popup download progress window was the most listed reason why people stopped using new versions of their app (33%).

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3 replies

didn't expect it to be like that, but yeah. i would do the same if they remove the separate download window

Tbh the current popup window is not the best but a very necessary and useful feature. Would love to see a overhaul in the design.
Current design has no borders so the download windows got overlayed under one another during multiple downloads making it harder to click the ones I wanted to click.

Download progress window is there, hoping to release the windows beta version within next few days

Can we download files from command-line terminal using xdman? At least for linux users?

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Thanks, it's been a long time with no update

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Hi, it has been quite a long time since I used the new beta version of XDM. Everything is very smooth: the new modern UI, download speed, browser monitoring,... except for one thing that still very bugs me: when choosing a directory to save the download file into, if the directory was used before by XDM (i.e. was chosen to save some other files), the new choice is not respected, XDM automatically chooses the latest chosen directory.

For example, let's say I already downloaded a file and chose to save it ~/A directory, then I downloaded another file and save it in another directory called ~/B. Now when I download another file and want it to be saved in ~/A, it doesn't work! XDM always chooses ~/B no matter how many times I select ~/A in the "Save As" dialog! I need to use the dropdown and choose from the list there. When the number of directories is low, it's feasible to do, but when the list grows big, it's so hard to find the old directory I want to save!
Could anyone have any workaround for this issue? Or at least a hint on how to delete the list of the "Save As" should be enough.

FYI, here are my OS specs:

XDM version: 8.0.25 BETA
OS: EndeavourOS
DE: KDE Plasma 5.27.7
Kernel: 6.1.46 LTS

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Just came here to say thanks for this new version. It is fantastic.

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Does the "Do not automatically capture downloads from below web sites" support regular expression? I would like to black list all websites since some websites are very, very annoying. When I want to download it will do it manually.

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is this project still active?
there are many bugs and no word from the author in 7 months..

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21 replies

Yeah, I've been searching for alternative, but like, it's really hard to find one that is actually good. I've found some alternative (that is good) like FDM, or aria2c (if you are used to & okay with cli/terminal based application)

Dude I found a warning information about FDM in a blog, guess you need to check this out:
The official website was distributing a spyware-infected version of the Linux client for years. It's no longer safe to trust the developer's application.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/free-download-manager-site-redirected-linux-users-to-malware-for-years/

Yeah, I've been searching for alternative, but like, it's really hard to find one that is actually good. I've found some alternative (that is good) like FDM, or aria2c (if you are used to & okay with cli/terminal based application)

XDM is now very far in my rear view mirror. I've been using File Centipede, Which is far more configurable and just overall a much better product. Plus it is not orphaned.

XDM is now very far in my rear view mirror. I've been using File Centipede, Which is far more configurable and just overall a much better product. Plus it is not orphaned.

Jeez stop spamming already 🙄

The best one for me is something i can run in a docker, to have it inside my Unraid server. IDM and XDM are forcing me to run a Win VM. I need it to schedule anime downloads, that often are one download a week with the same url but the number, so i used to write files with all urls of an anime and import it in IDM, or use the batch new download if XDM (way quicker) but with bugged XDM not able to enable the scheduler, it's a no-go.

@Kedryn Hmm I suggest you write a Python script with some schedulers library that can persists after system reboot.

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Thanks, but i simply went back to IDM, XDM would be better, but it does not work.

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Sure I tried it and deleted it instantly

Hi @subhra74 when will xdm version 8 be released stable?

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There is no sign of subhra74 working on XDM (or almost any other of his projects) for nearly 2 years
He is not responding here, either.
I won't hold my breath waiting for new XDM.

Anyone here found an alternative to IDM's video download through its extension integration?

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I use [Video Downloadhelper (https://www.downloadhelper.net/). I am on Linux and I use it solely for video. In many respects it works better than XDM, but it is not quite as feature-rich. Definitely detects video better than XDM. It has a browser extension and a CoAop. It's too bad about XDM. The quality product that died much too soon. I mourn its death. The developer should at least offer to let someone else take over the project.

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Thank you for the suggestion, but user reviews are reporting it adds a huge watermark that covers third of the video, and many report privacy concerns. That's a pass for me.

You can buy the so-called premium version for $18 for a lifetime license. Just so you know. I have done this and you the daily with no watermarks whatsoever.

You can buy the so-called premium version for $18 for a lifetime license. Just so you know. I have done this and you the daily with no watermarks whatsoever.

Jeez stop spamming about downloaderhelper 🙄

I use Video Downloadhelper. I am on Linux and I use it solely for video. In many respects it works better than XDM, but it is not quite as feature-rich. Definitely detects video better than XDM. It has a browser extension and a CoAop. It's too bad about XDM. The quality product that died much too soon. I mourn its death. The developer should at least offer to let someone else take over the project.

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Just installed and tested File Centipede. Kicks a$$ over XDM. And, it is still in development and production so no one is left hanging. I am converted.

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Just installed and tested File Centipede. Kicks a$$ over XDM. And, it is still in development and production so no one is left hanging. I am converted.

Seems pretty handy for video. I just wish it didn't have all of the other junk bundled in. Like, I don't need FTP, SSH, and all that other stuff. I already have clients for these things that I'm familiar with, and prefer to use. That, and I don't really like the idea of one dev being over the security of these things. I suppose community members could contribute audits and fixes, but I'd rather leave these things in the hands of the Linux industry leaders.

The developer should at least offer to let someone else take over the project.

It's an open source project. Literally anyone can fork it, and take it over. That's how GitHub works.

Just installed and tested File Centipede. Kicks a$$ over XDM. And, it is still in development and production so no one is left hanging. I am converted.

Sure yeah that's why the free version disappeared out of thin air 🙄

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Or you can read this and stop being blind 🙄 This software will no longer be available for free in the future, but the trial activation code will be provided permanently and without any usage limitations.

how to install in linux arch? plz

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It's on AUR as xdman and xdman-beta-bin