How to Download Images from Web Pages

By Susan Brumbaugh, Co-Owner, Aphids Communications

The procedure for downloading images can be different for every browser and every computer. I could tell you how I personally do it, but I'm using Netscape 3.0 on a Sun Solaris unix workstation, and the procedure I use is probably radically different from what's available to you.

How to make your browser download images

One good place for you to start looking for information specific to your browser is right on your browser. Find the Help menu (generally the last menu option on the right) and generate a list of topics, one of which may be Frequently Asked Questions or you can search in the topic list for "download" or "saving" or "images".

Netscape Navigator/Windows

1. Position the pointer on top of the image and click the right mouse button to bring up the menu.
2. Move down to Save this Image as... and click the left mouse button.
3. Save the new image as a file on your hard disk or diskette (make sure you pay attention to the location of the image so you can find it later).

1. Position the pointer on top of the image and hold down the mouse button.
2. Holding the mouse button down, move down the menu to Save this Image as... and release the mouse button.
3. Save the new image as a file on your Mac (make sure you pay attention to the location of the image so you can find it later).

1. Position the pointer on top of the image and click the right mouse button to bring up the menu.
2. Move down to either
   1. Copy or
   2. Save Picture as...
   and click the left mouse button. Then either
   1. Paste the new image into a page you are editing or
   2. Save the new image as a file on your hard disk or diskette (make sure you pay attention to the location of the image so you can find it later).

Most sites that have image archives have a page of instructions for downloading images. These usually include the netscape instructions listed above as well as something like:

For most browsers, choose Load to Local Disk and download.

Where to put the images once you've downloaded them

The tricky part about downloading these images is figuring out where you're supposed to put them once you have them. You'll want to save the images to a location where your web page can find them. Chances are, you're not browsing on the same computer where your home page is. One way or another, you need to either copy or upload that image to the directory where your web pages are stored. And that really is specific to your computer and/or Internet Service Provider. It's best that you look there for help.

Important Note about Using Images You See Online

At this point, it probably seems easier to link directly to a remote image than to download it to your own server. Please don't do this. It may seem harmless, but every time someone views your page, their browser has to go get the image from the remote site. This causes delays when your page comes up because it has to wait so long to load the image. More importantly, it puts an extra load on that remote server.

As one who maintains a web server, I can tell you it causes a noticable increase in our server load when a lot of people link directly to images instead of downloading them. It's a form of freeloading that's just not nice. Most image archives specifically request that you not link directly to their images. Even if it's not specifically mentioned, please don't do it. It will be better for everyone if you will take the time to learn how to get the images into your own web account.

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