For me (and MANY others), the MobileSafari plug-in is not a good solution for MP3s because it removes the ability to stream MP3s. When the plug-in is active, you ONLY can DL those files it's set to intercept. Given the amount of effort needed to work around this, I've opted to set up the MobileSafari plug for other file types, but not mp3s
HistoryDL is extremely simple to use, and it allows you to save not only MP3s, but also web pages for offline viewing.
That said, if you're not SSHing into your phone, and only using Installer app to use 3rd party software, you probably shouldn't use EITHER of these options, because you will fill up your phone's memory with stuff that you can't easily see or delete.
The path that files are saved is easily modified by the user, IF you are installing this manually:
Just open the HistoryDL.app folder, locate the file named "savepath.txt" and modify the path to your liking. The path I set in the version I attached earlier in this thread works fine with Erica's SendFile MP3 player, but if you don't like it, change it, then save the file and install the app into the Applications folder.
To use it for playing mp3s offline:
- Navigate in Safari to the song you want and let it start to play.
- Quit Safari and launch HistoryDL from the Springboard.
- You'll see a list of all the websites you've visited ordered most recent to oldest. Note that many of them will not have names! A blank line still counts as an item. The item at the top of the list will be the song you were just playing.
- Click on the item, and you'll see the URL. If this is the thing you want to save, click the Download button.
- Large files will take awhile, just as they would with a regular download, so if the screen seems frozen, just be patient. When the Download button turns light again, the download is finished.
- If the item you just downloaded is an MP3, you can play it by using Erica Sadun's latest experimental SendFile Utility. Just launch SendFile, choose the file, and click the Play Audio button.
If you used the version of HistoryDL that I posted in this thread, the filename will show in the SendFile list with a name starting with "Websites/".
The Websites folder is automatically created at the path /var/root/Media/Documents/Websites/ the first time you run HistoryDL and save a file.
The files are generally saved with weird names, so it's best to have some utility either on the phone or through SSH to rename the file to something meaningful.
If you are working on a Mac, you should also download Erica's FileCatcher utility. This is a great way to copy the downloaded file! Just launch FileCatcher on your Mac, then launch SendFile on the phone. Choose the file, and click the Share File button. The file will magically appear on your Mac Desktop!
Here's a link for FileCatcher:
http://ericasadun.com/ftp/EricaUtili...cher-0.02..zip
Please DON'T try using this method unless you are very comfortable with SSH and permissions, and can navigate the phone's file directory easily. You will end up regretting it.
One other note for the technically minded (and if you've read this far, I suspect you are!). If you are running Apache, lighttpd, or another local server on the phone, you get the added benefit of being able to navigate to the saved files and use them with Safari exactly as if you were online. This means you can play MP3s in the background while you do other things with the phone (among other things).
I also use HistoryDL to save many other types of websites for offline viewing. It's a really powerful tool if you're willing to learn enough to harness it's power.
12-04-2007, 12:29 PM
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