How do I bypass the Yahoo Briefcase download limit?

Numerous different methods have been used in the past to bypass these limits, with varying degrees of success. Many of them involve a lot of frustrating and fiddly URL editing, and since these tend to be very hit and miss I'd recommend using a Yahoo download manager instead. One such program is Yahoo Hack, a great little tool, which in addition to allowing you to get around the download limits will also fix the CRC errors caused by the infamous 'extra bytes bug'.

Alternatively, you can grab 'Yahoo Leecher', which does the job just as well whilst helping you to increase the number of simultaneous transfers permitted by the Yahoo servers. On the other hand, if you speak German you might be more comfortable using 'Yahoo Mage'. The instructions for this one look like complete gibberish to me - if only I'd known those German lessons would come in handy one day I would have paid more attention!

So where do you find these programs? Well, any sites using Yahoo to host their files will probably provide them for you in their tools section. If not, Google should be able to point you in the right direction.

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What is an SFV file?

SFV stands for simple file verification. SFV files can be opened in any text editor and serve to verify the CRC status of a set of compressed files to ensure that the files you have on your hard drive are identical to the ones that were originally uploaded. Apparently, if you want to do it "the sexy way" you can use Hoopy's PD SFV (I don't know, I didn't write it).

Not only will this utility enable you to open your existing SFV files to verify that your archives are corruption free, it will also allow you to create new ones for your own DIY archives.
If, like Right Said Fred (just be grateful you don't know what I'm talking about), you're already too sexy, try one of these instead: Flash SFV, Easy SFV Creator, HKSFV, MooSFV.

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Fontastic organization

Pssst, come a bit closer to the screen. I want to tell you a secret which will change your life forever. You need Font Lister. Yes you do, trust me, I know best. If you've ever dabbled in a spot of web or graphic design you will recognize the importance of having a good selection of fonts at your disposal. When I say 'good selection', I mean literally hundreds of the little critters, but how do you scan through them all quickly when only one particular font will do and you can't remember which name refers to which font?

If you're a bit of a masochist you could open the directory where you've chosen to store them and double-click on the first font to see what it looks like, close Window's built-in font viewer then proceed to the next font and trudge through your collection looking at each one individually. Although that sounds extremely tempting, a much quicker way to find the perfect font for your project would be to install Font Lister.

If you open the program, select 'view' from the menu and then click on 'fonts in a folder', a preview sample of every single font in your chosen location will be a mere click of the mouse away. You can even choose to install or uninstall a selection of fonts simultaneously without having to tamper with your Windows fonts directory. Nifty eh!

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Spring cleaning for your registry

Almost every change you make to your system generates an entry in the registry; the heart of the Windows operating system. Over time these entries become invalid. For example, an entry which records that 'My Home Movie.avi' is stored in the folder 'c:\Brilliant Stuff' becomes useless if you subsequently move the file to another folder. Badly written uninstallers, however, are the worst culprits when it comes to throwing a spanner in the works; they are notorious for leaving behind useless entries once a program has been removed from your operating system.

In no time at all these meaningless entries can clog up the registry and slow down your computer. To sweep out these rogue entries and keep your system running smoothly you need to use a registry cleaner. There are lots of these available and many of them are free, yet the most efficient one I've come across to date is jv16 Power Tools. 9 out of 10 registries prefer it... or so I'm told :D

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Why is it that whenever I download a file from Yahoo Briefcase it is corrupt? Surely this is more than a coincidence?

This is a known problem with Yahoo servers and is commonly referred to as the 'extra bytes' bug. The problem occurs whenever additional bytes are tacked onto the files you wish to download rendering them inaccessible. For the files to function normally, these extra bytes have to be removed, but don't try and edit them yourself, get YBC Fix to do the job for you instead.

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Why when I click on the link to a file does nothing happen?

Because some links function in the same way as pop-ups, any pop-up disabling programs you have installed can prevent the download process from initiating. You can test this theory by temporarily turning off any anti-pop-up devices and clicking on the files again. If it works you'll know what was causing the problem.

Also make sure that javascript is enabled in your advanced internet options. To check this, open Internet Explorer and click on the 'Tools' option. Now select 'Internet Options' followed by the 'Advanced' tab - some links, to function correctly, require a javascript enabled browser. If you have javascript disabled, obviously they won't work.

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